I must preface this review by first stating that I love Jane Harper. I've read The Dry and The Lost Man and thought both were fantastic so I was really looking forward to The Survivors. The latest book from this brilliant author did not disappoint. It is a visceral exploration of guilt and grief, populated (as usual) by deeply nuanced characters. Set in Evelyn Bay in Tasmania, the landscape is once again used to great effect. You grow to understand the small town well, understanding how profoundly impacted by trauma this town and its inhabitants have been over the years. Another tragedy happens and Mia and Kieran are drawn back to the past, confronting buried hurts and regrets. I enjoyed the mystery of the book and trying to solve the story behind the latest events, however I do feel that the resolution was slightly rushed at the end. It wasn't a novel with lots of twists and turns, but a more subtle psychological crime novel, rather than a thriller.

This is the first time that I have read a book by Jane Harper.

The first thing that I enjoyed about reading this book is the excellent way in which the characters are developed as the novel progresses. This is supported by a style of description of the landscape which helped to anchor the story to the Tasmanian coast.

I had the fortune to visit Tasmania a few years back and the quality of Jane Harper's writing helped to rekindle so many mental images. This adds a senses of geographical reality to this superbly crafted crime thriller. There are plenty of suspects who come and go as the narrative progresses towards.......
I won't go into detail about how the story ends. However it is worth the wait.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for a copy in exchange for this review.

I don’t know why I haven’t revisited this author since loving her debut The Dry back in 2016. But that changes now. Having just devoured her latest offering, The Survivors, I won’t be waiting so long for my next read by her. This author skilfully blends intriguing mystery with authentic, sympathetic characters and a unique, exotic (to me, at least) setting. It’s the perfect ingredients for a gripping read.

Welcome to Evelyn Bay, a fictional town on the Tasmanian Coast. It’s a typical small town where everyone knows everyone, there’s one local cafe-and-bar which is the only place to hang out, and many of the residents’ jobs revolve around the town’s star attraction; the sea. Our protagonist is Kieran, who returns his hometown from Sydney with his partner, Mia, and newborn baby to visit his old friends and family. But he gets more than he bargained for when a young art student and town newcomer, Bronte, is found murdered on the beach.

There’s so much wrapped up in this little story. There’s family drama – Keiran’s elderly father’s mental health is rapidly declining, whilst he and Mia are adjusting to life as new parents. On top of that they’re now dealing with being back in their hometown at a time when tensions are heightened and old secrets are being dragged to the surface. When the police come to town to investigate Bronte’s death, the residents start to look back to the last time tragedy came to the Bay, when Keiran and his friends were teenagers and a storm swept the bay taking multiple lives.

The setting here is brilliantly drawn. I’ve never lived in a hot country, or by the sea, or in a small town, but this author makes it all visceral. And of course, those simmering tensions and hidden secrets are all the more heightened by the small town community. The story weaves between present day and the summer of the storm years ago, gradually revealing more about each of the authentic characters and peeling back the layers of their complicated relationships. Each of them is troubled, sympathetic and relatable, and the mystery is gripping and emotional. If you like character-driven mysteries with emotional depth and complex layers, I can’t recommend this highly enough.

Another enjoyable read by Jane Harper. A standalone thriller set in Tasmania. A son returns to the community where he grew up bringing with him his new daughter and girlfriend. There is an air of blame in his parent's house for the accidental death of his brother when an oceanic storm hits the coastal village 12 years earlier. Now a recent murder has happened after he has returned and the past is dredged up revealing some unwanted facts about the storm which killed his brother.

Quite a gripping read and one that will do well for Jane Harper as she grows a good reputation for an author to return to.

I hope other fans of Harper's writing find something to enjoy here, but I'm afraid to say I struggled with her latest offering. It contains all the hallmarks of her novels - small town, a mysterious death, multiple characters, a strong sense of setting - but for one reason or another they didn't come together quite as well in The Survivors. Way too many characters were introduced in the early chapters which proved confusing, and the writing felt a little flat compared to her other novels. Disappointing.

A good read despite a slow start. I persevered and I’m glad I did, but I was well through the book before I was sure I wanted to finish it. A current murder causes an unsolved disappearance from 12 years previous to be re-examined. My thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion

I felt this was quite a different read from Jane Harper. I loved the location and description of the coastal small town community and the caves. However, for some reason I really struggled to get a grip of all the characters at the beginning- maybe I was reading when too tired! I really did struggle to get going, however I’m please I persevered as I enjoyed the second half of the book. A steady plot build with many little surprises along the way.

I have seen a lot of hype surrounding Jane Harper’s previous books, particularly The Dry. I knew that I should check them out as I enjoy a good mystery and all the reviews I had seen where full of praise. I decided to try out the latest release on Netgalley and I am so glad I did. Spoiler alert: a lot more praise coming from me.


<blockquote>Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets…

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… </blockquote>

It is a common trope or story telling device to establish the narrator of the book as someone who either doesn’t know about past events or as an unreliable narrator who could be lying to the reader. One of the things that makes a mystery book stand out for me is how unpredictable plot is. I really enjoy being completely in the dark about what is going on with only scant clues to keep me intrigued. The Survivors hit that preference on the nail for me.

<blockquote><i>Kieran hoped the numbness would set in soon. The ocean’s icy burn usually mellowed into something more neutral, but as the minutes ticked by he still felt cold. He Braced himself as a fresh wave broke against his skin. The water wasn’t even too bad, he told himself. Not at the tail end of the summer with the afternoon sun doing its best to take the edge off. Definitely goosebumps rather than the hypothermia. Kieran knew he had personally described water far colder than this as ‘nice’. Only ever here in Tasmania, though, where sea temperatures surrounding the small island were relative.“ </i></blockquote>

Our plot revolves around a group of friends who have known each other for decades and all grew up in the same town. Kieran returns with his girlfriend and newborn daughter to help his parents as they prepare to move, but when he meets back with his friends he is confronted by just how relevant his traumatic past seems to be.

The characters felt more developed than in other mystery novels I have read in the past. It must be difficult to write a short book that balances a larger cast and manage to make each of the characters feel like you could pluck them off the page and into real life. Due to that difficult balance, I normally don’t put the same emphasis on characterisation in my reviews and generally allow the plot to make up for the difference. With The Survivors I would not need to make that change.

<i><blockquote>But no, Kieran was serious. Because all he could think of was Finn’s warning. If you’re in here at high tide, you are not coming out. </i></blockquote>

The characters were multifaceted and flawed. Due to the more lifelike characters it was harder to predict the direction the story was taking. There were so many potential people who could be hiding things, it really felt predicting the plot would be a waste of time.

I flew through this book and absolutely loved it. I read it towards the end of 2020 and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since finishing. I can see myself reading more from Jane Harper.

★★★★★

Kieran and Mia Elliott are visiting Kieran’s parents in Tasmania with their baby daughter Audrey. Verity and Brian Elliott are moving home - Brian to a care home due to his dementia and Verity to a smaller home nearby. Kieron always finds it difficult to visit following a family tragedy 12 years earlier during a freak storm. The whole town is shocked one morning when a body is found on the local beach. Bronte Laidler had been in Tasmania for the summer working in a local bar/cafe. A young man from the town is the immediate suspect as he worked with Bronte and had given her a lift home the night before. Bronte’s death also reminds everyone of a fourteen year old girl that went missing on the day of the storm and was never found. Soon accusations and gossip are rife in the town and old wounds are opened for Kieran, his parents and friends.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book - had me gripped right from the beginning. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group UK and Jane Harper for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Another superb novel from the excellent Jane Harper. As always, the writing is exemplary, the sense of place is striking--in this case Hobart in Tasmania--and the characters are beautifully portrayed. The events of the past are brought to life when a body is found on the beach, and what dramatic events they are! Lives are changed forever in this wonderfully satisfying read.

A good read despite a slow start. It took nearly 40% of the book before I was sure I wanted to finish it. I'm glad I did. A current murder causes an unsolved disappearance from 12 years previous to be re-examined. I could imagine this being a successful 3 part TV drama.

A quick read that you cannot put down. As expected from Jane Harper, the tension and sense of place is hugh and when a girl turns up dead on the beach of a small community, it unravels memories and consequences of the last time a major trauma shocked the residents.

When Kieran goes back to help his parents pack up to move a girl is found murdered on the beach. This brings back memories of a tragic accident where his brother died. An occurrence for which he has been blamed.
I felt as though I got to know the characters and raced through the book

As always an intriguing story from this author

Kieran grew up in Evelyn Bay. During a violent storm he loses his brother Finn and Finn’s best friend. Gabby a fourteen year old disappears and was never found.

We fast forward twelve years and Kieran has a new life in Sydney with his girlfriend Mia and baby, although the guilt at what happened years ago lives heavy in his heart!!

Kieran has returned to his childhood home to help his parents move. Unfortunately it brings back memories of the storm and with it comes the crushing guilt. When a young girls body is discovered on the beach it reminds everyone what happened previously and secrets that had been carefully hidden now want to be revealed!!

A fantastic book that kept me gripped!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

This story is set on the Tasmanian coast in Evelyn Bay where protagonist Kieran has returned to with girlfriend Mia and daughter Audrey to spend more time with his parents in light of his father’s increasing struggle with dementia. Being back where he grew up, Kieran is repeatedly dragged back to a fateful day 12 years ago when a horrific storm hit Evelyn Bay and his brother and his friend lost their lives, which he still harbours guilt for. Also on that day, another girl went missing, never to be seen again. It seems history is repeating itself as yet more tragedy strikes not long after Kieran’s arrival...

This was a fairly enjoyable read with a heavy atmosphere and a gloomy inner monologue by narrator Kieran. The pacing of this story is super slow which I think may be why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have, although ultimately the pacing did work for the plot of the book.

We learn all about the tragedy that struck Evelyn Bay when Kieran was a teenager and the plot only thickens when another deeply traumatic incident occurs on Kieran’s return - the author does a good job of painting a clear picture of the events both past and present which make you feel you are there experiencing it too. I also liked the development of other characters in the story such as Liam, Ash and Olivia - secondary characters who you are given tidbits of information about, leading you to create your own theories and speculations about what the truth of the tragedies are.

This is an interesting and well-written book but unfortunately it didn’t totally grab me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Survivors is a cracking perfectly paced atmospheric thriller.
Kieran returns to his home town Evelyn Bay, a small coastal town in Tasmania, where his mother is struggling with his fathers dementia. Kieran is still guilt ridden over an incident 12 years ago where his brother Finn and his friend Toby died after their boat capsized in a storm when they were trying to save him. A teenage girl, Gabby, had also disappeared in the storm but her body was never recovered. When Kieran arrives with his partner Mia (also from Evelyn Bay) and their baby he meets old friends and old memories are dragged up. When Bronte, a young artist staying in the town and working in the bar, is found murdered the local police and community can’t help but wonder whether there is a connection with the disappearance of Gabby, twelve year ago.
A carefully plotted, character driven novel that will keep you turning pages until all is revealed.

This book is essentially a murder mystery which focusses on two women who died more than a decade apart. To me it lacked excitement and the story could have been told in fewer chapters. An average crime novel.

I enjoyed The Survivors, but I must admit I enjoyed The Dry more. I enjoyed this beginning of this story but I found it ebbed and flowed. I truly became invested at 80% and hungrily then read to the end, but I think the 80% mark being the peaked point of interest would lose many readers long before hand. I did however want to learn what happened to Gabby and Bronte though, which is why I continued to read on. It was an enjoyable read but not one of my favourites.

In my eyes, Harper can do no wrong! Switching her setting to the seaside where a young woman's murder stirs up past secrets surrounding a violent storm, we watch as childhood friends are drawn into a murder investigation. Themes of the past impacting on the present, guilt, memory, loyalty are all explored. I just sit back and enjoy the ride!

'The Survivors' by Jane Harper is set on the Tasmanian Coast in the fictional town of Evelyn Bay. Kieran, Mia and their baby daughter Audrey, return to the town after a long absence and find little has changed. Twelve years before, Kieran was injured and traumatised in a severe storm that resulted in the loss of three lives. People continue to harbour resentments towards Kieran for his perceived involvement in their deaths. This and other gossip rise to the surface after someone else loses their life.

I loved 'The Dry' by Harper, and I enjoyed this book. However, whilst I think it was well written, I didn't feel it had the same originality or sense of location as her previous novel. For me the book could have been set in any small coastal resort. Nevertheless, the characters were well drawn and I was carried along by the cleverly written plot.