The Survivors: A Novel

Jane Harper

Feb 2021 · Sold by Flatiron Books

About this ebook

Instant New York Times Bestseller

"I love Jane Harper's Australia-based mysteries....and The Survivors is the best yet. There are cave scenes that will freeze your blood." —Stephen King

“As always, Harper skillfully evokes the landscape as she weaves a complicated, elegant web, full of long-buried secrets ready to come to light.” -The New York Times Book Review

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.

The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home.

Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.

When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away...

Ratings and reviews

Kieran, his wife, Mia and their infant daughter have moved back home to where his parents now live. Getting older and with his dad being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the young family hopes to be able to help them. But there are bad memories here for Kieran, and for his parents, and for the community. Twelve years ago, 2 men who killed ... one was Kieran's brother ... and a young girl went missing .. and it was Kieran's fault. When a local girl goes missing, the entire community seems to fall apart. There's a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of blaming ... and somehow it all goes back to twelve years ago.... and more secrets are exposed to the elements. Does Kieran really know what really happened the night his brother and his brother's friend died? And how does the murdered woman of today fit in the puzzle? This was a slow starter for me. The suspense just wasn't there ... it was a typical who-dun-it. The ending was a surprise, though. I never felt connected to the characters and it seems they all spent a lot of time at the local tavern. I have read this author before and enjoyed her writing ... this one wasn't her best. It was an okay read, and I admit, I was disappointed. Many thanks to the author / Macmillan Reading Insiders Club/ Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime/mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Jane Harper, author of bestselling books The Dry, The Lost Man and Force of Nature will delight her many fans again with The Survivors. Harper is known for her masterful integration of setting in her novels‒the varied terrain of Australia and its climate is almost a secondary character. She positions her protagonists against a hostile environment, raising the stakes for the mysteries that they attempt to decipher. In her earlier works, the author has steeped her characters in a drought, a desolate desert, and an impenetrable forest. The Survivors leaves the main continent behind and ventures instead to Tasmania, with the ocean and raging storms serving as the antagonistic forces at play. Kieran arrives back to his childhood town with his partner Mia and infant daughter, Audrey. His parents are selling their house to seek support for his father whose dementia has begun to seriously jeopardize his safety. Kieran reconnects with old friends and being back dredges up memories of the traumatic accident that killed his brother and his friend. Kieran has carried the burden of guilt for the loss, since he was the one in need of rescue during a storm that capsized their boat. His mother also seems to grapple with blaming her surviving child, and Kieran deeply senses the distance between them. That storm created chaos for the whole community, and a young girl also disappeared that day. Echoes of that event and the residue of anger that remains still influences the lives of those left behind. The ocean is portrayed as an unrelenting and merciless devourer of youth and potential. The title of the book references a statue commemorating survivors of an earlier shipwreck that has now become a popular diving spot for locals and tourists. It also aptly describes the cast of characters whose life and livelihood are intertwined with the capricious sea. When the body of a young woman is found on the beach, the current investigation reveals secrets and misunderstandings about the events of long ago. Harper skillfully doles out revelations in a way that is believable and unpredictable. The Survivors is nicely paced, with a unique perspective on family dynamics and responses to tragedy. The characters are well-drawn and compelling, even the baby is integrated seamlessly into the action. Jane Harper once again proves that she deserves her reputation as a delightful new voice in contemporary mystery fiction. Thanks to the author FlatIron Books and GoodReads for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.

The locals have never forgotten the tragedy that most people believe was Kiernan’s fault because he shouldn't have been in the caves when the storm surged. Kiernan had been with his girlfriend in the caves, and Kiernan was blamed for the the death of his brother and the father of seven-year-old Liam for risking their lives to save him. A local teenager also disappeared during the storm. Just what was the intrigue of those caves? Twelve years later Kiernan has come back to Evelyn Bay to help his parents pack up their house because his father has dementia and needs to be in a home. A few days after Kiernan and his family arrive, tragedy strikes again on the same beach. Will this current investigation be more thorough than the one many years ago that never did solve the disappearance of the local teenager? Will it bring up things that were kept hidden? Will this new tragedy bring the guilt and regret back to the surface and have everyone reliving the first tragedy? THE SURVIVORS took a bit to connect with, but once you figured out who was who, what the town and the people who lived there were going through, and the magnitude of the first tragedy, the tension ramped up. There were a lot of characters and quite a few that could have been the person who was responsible for the second death on the beach. Ms. Harper kept that a well-hidden secret. I had a few people in mind, but was kept guessing until the end. This was my first book by Ms. Harper, and she definitely keeps your interest with the subtle hints about the characters and who the responsible person could be as well as where the story line is going. Her descriptive writing pulled you right into every place the characters were and into every situation. I enjoyed trying to figure out the undertone of the town as well as the mystery. THE SURVIVORS is a haunting mystery with revelations you won't see coming. 4/5 This book was given to me by BookBrowse and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

About the author

Jane Harper is the New York Times bestselling author of #1 international bestseller The Dry, Force of Nature, and The Lost Man. The Survivors is her fourth novel. Jane previously worked as a print journalist in Australia and the UK and lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter, and son.