Member Reviews
I really enjoyed this novel. Really well made charactersa d environment. A mix of past and present narrative which enables to you fully immerse yourself with what is going on and what has gone on 20 years earlier. A solid read for whodunnit , murder mystery fans.
4 Stars from me.
This book is superb and it definitely ranks as one of the best I have read.
I can't say it is full of action, nor is it rich in character depth but taken as a whole it kept me gripped throughout. I found myself in the strange situation of regularly stopping to check the percentage read - really needing to keep on to the end but not really wanting the book to end!
One of the things I liked most was how the flashbacks to explain events 10 years or so earlier were handled within the body of the sequential chapters. Often separate timelines are used and I often find myself speed reading through pages of inconsequential details to try to find the sentence or paragraph that is relevant.
As usual I decided on what happened quite early in the book - 'well it must be him/her or if not and must be her/him' - as usual I got it wrong.
The ending and reasoning were perfect for the book and I recommend anyone who can to read this book
I have read previous Jane Harper books and they always remind me of home back in Australia spending time in the bush and coast every summer.
I found this very slow to start with and had to force myself to continue but once it got going it was really good. I got enthralled. and had to keep reading to find out what happens.
The characters were very well developed, apart from Brian. There were lots of teasers about him but went nowhere.
I loved the way the story got teased out so you didnt know what had happened ten years ago until it was appropriate.
I was given and advance copy of this book by net galley in exchange for an honest review which I have done so.
I enjoyed this book, though it loses pace in the middle, hence only 4 stars. It has a strong sense of place in a small seaside town in Tasmania, and a good group of characters. The murder of a young artist/waitress shocks the town, and is it linked to tragic events that happened during the big storm 15 years earlier? I will look out for the next book by Jane Harper.
I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. The story is good, and the setting unusual, but I didn't warm to any of the characters, and I didn't feel that their personalities were particularly distinctive. The book was quite slow-paced, which felt natural, but meant that it dragged at times. I would probably still look out for more books from this author.
The Survivors by Jane Harper is another of her novels that uses the setting as a character in its own right. The shift from Jane Harper's favoured Outback to a beach in Tasmania may be a surprising choice. It works though. I don't know of many other authors who can summon so many feelings, emotions, questions, tension, and suspense the way Jane Harper does through her settings. The tumultuous sea and the twisting caves add to the menace of the deaths from the past and that have happened now.
Delving into Kieran's psyche really opened up the novel. This book is called The Survivors for many reasons. All of the characters have survived or are surviving an event, trauma, or a part of their life.
The pacing is slow initially and adds to a slow-burning effect. Some readers may not like this but I enjoyed how it picked up the pace towards the ending.
The ending is the only thing about this novel that I didn't love so much. It makes sense and is well-written. It just felt abrupt. There are many loose ends and questions I have about particular characters. It felt like the novel ended with a jolt. That said, I enjoyed the whole novel and thoroughly recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my early proof of this novel.
Keiran and his partner and baby girl return to their home town to help his parents pack up their home to move. It brings back bad memories of a great storm twelve years ago, which cost his brother and his business partner their lives, and for which Keiran has always blames himself – for getting into difficulties with the tide. The characters are complex and credible, and a new murder carries echoes for some, to the earlier deaths, and a missing girl. I found the pace rather slow and it took a while to hook me into caring but when I did, I couldn’t help reading on. As the present day narrative unfolded, I could see how it had happened. Another good story from Jane Harper, full of the atmosphere of the place.
I really enjoyed this book and quickly became involved with the characters. It tells the story of Kieran returning to his home town, still ridden with guilt from events of 12 years past.
Many of his childhood friends are either still there or have returned. Another murder rocks the community and its investigation brings up questions about what really happened all that time ago.
Read it in a sitting and will definitely look out for other books by this author.
The story follows Kieran and his wife, Mia, who have returned to their home town to visit his parents with their new baby. Both grew up in the coastal village and Kieran has always carried the guilt of inadvertently causing the death of his brother and a man called Toby. You get to know Kieran and his childhood friends Ash and Sean before a girl is found dead one the beach. The investigation finds a link between this death and the events of Kieran’s childhood. The book is more about his internal feelings than a police investigation and new truths are revealed. This wasn’t quite as atmospheric as The Lost Man which I thought was excellent. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this amazing book. Once again Harpers talent shines through & her writing and storyline is gripping exciting and thrilling An excellent read
A great story! Jane Harper manages to combine several strands: the feeling for the location that a good travel-writer creates, the relaxed informality of Australians, and the tension of a good thriller. As I got further into the book I found it harder to put it down and bedtime got later each day! My only criticism arose towards the end when the situation unravels. To expand on that would call for a 'spoiler alert'. Much better that I will simply suggest that you read the book and judge for yourself! I really enjoyed it.
love Jane Harper. The writing quality, the deeply complex characters, the always involving stories, the books are simply a pleasure to read.
The Survivors continued this trend, set in a small coastal town that has seen it’s fair share of tragedy, a man returns to help his family during a difficult time, finding himself having to face his guilty past.
The Survivors drips with atmosphere giving a real sense of place that sets the scene, then proceeds to offer a twisty tale, a character driven story of past secrets haunting present events and deeply held secrets coming to light.
It was a brilliant page turner once again from Jane Harper. I could easily read a book per week from this author.
Highly recommended.
Well, this is a Jane Harper novel so of course it is superb. Kieran goes back to his family home in
Tasmania with his baby daughter and her mother who also grew up there. His father suffers from dementia and they have come to help the move out of his childhood home. A home he shared with his elder brother
Finn until he drowned in an apparent attempt to save Kieran from drowning in a severe storm. All that is in the past until a body is found on the beach and these events are opened up again. It seems that all was not as straightforward as it seemed at the time. The characters are well drawn, the setting well described and used. The story unfolds with numerous unexpected twists. Like Harper’s other books, this is a gripping, immensely satisfying read. She is an outstanding creator of stories and an accomplished writer of them. I recommend this without reservation.
I have read all of Jane Harpers books so I was really looking forward to reading this one. It was entirely different - from hot dusty outback to a small coastal town in Tasmania. It did not disappoint. The Survivors are statues by a wreck and it becomes obvious as they play a big part in the story that they are metaphorical as well as literal. It starts slowly and builds gradually. The atmosphere of a small town and the people who live there are beautifully drawn, the characters are believable and Jane is excellent at portraying relationships in different forms. I became immersed in the day to day lives and the unfolding mystery of the murder and it’s possible connection to a disappearance some twelve years previously. Cleverly plotted, there are several possibilities and I was actually sad to reach the end and find the answer. Such a good read in my opinion and I definitely recommend it.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early reading copy in return for an honest review.
Three life size iron figures stand just off the rugged coastline of Evelyn Bay, a monument to the survivors of the wrecked Mary Minerva that lies in the bay. They aren't the only survivors, twelve years previously during a storm Kieran survived too whilst his older brother, Finn and friend Toby lost their lives trying to rescue him, a tragedy that has cast a shadow over his life and that of the community. Returning home to help his mother pack up home was never going to be easy but when the body of a student is discovered on the beach the whispers and finger pointing bring back to the surface past events and an unsolved mystery.
She did it again, another 5 out of 5 stars for Ms Harper, I love the way she writes.
A master at scene setting and characterisation I found the rugged coastal landscape and community of Evelyn Bay coming to life as I turned the pages. This wasn't a thill-a-minute-page-turner, instead it was a beautifully drawn and compelling whodunnit that drew me in and captivated me from start to finish
There were enough twists and red herrings to make me change my mind several times regarding the guilty party and for what its worth, I wasn't right.
My thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the advance copy for review purposes, I was under no obligiation to provide any rating other than my own honest opinion.
Jane Harper set herself a very high standard with her first novel The Dry, one of the best crime novels I’ve ever read and I was slightly disappointed with her follow up. Then I loved her third novel The Lost Man, thought it was even better than The Dry, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one. It’s a pretty good story, set in Tasmania interlocking 2 suspicious deaths twelve years apart with enough of a mystery and investment in the characters to make you want to read on but not a story that will stay with me.
I have read all of Jane Harper’s books now and have loved every single one. This book was particularly good because of the detailed descriptions. The sea, the diving, the friendships - everything felt familiar and homely, yet something was not quite right. As the story unwound, the reason that things didn’t feel right, all dropped in to place. I was gripped from start to finish and found the ending emotional, but fitting. I won’t ruin it for you, but I think you’ll be surprised - I was. Yet again, a super gripping read by this author. Thank you for letting me be one of the first to read and review your book.
I love Jane Harper's writing, how she makes Australia's landscape into another character, the Outback, the deserts and now the Tasmanian coastline.
She explores the perils and darkness of both man and nature so well, that pull that the wild has on humans, but also the dangers it possesses.
The title is a reference both to the sculptures in the Bay and the characters of this novel - who have survived a terrible storm thirteen years ago which left tragedy in this small community. The deaths of three people have torn terrible wounds in their families and none of them have been able to forget the awful night.
Now a new death will draw them together and possibly push them apart forever. Secrets and truths start to surface as the police dig into this case and its links to the past.
Utterly gripping and totally absorbing.
I have enjoyed all Jane Harper’s books, although they usually involve a murder, there is so much more going on, and the characters are always flawed, but very believable.
The Survivors is an artwork on the rocks outside caves, in a small Tasmanian seaside town, where a tragedy occurred during a storm over a decade ago.
It can also refer to the community, who have never really recovered from those events.
Kieran and his partner Mia, and their baby Audrey have returned home to help his mother and father, who is in the throes of dementia, pack up the family home.
Soon after they arrive, Bronte, a student waitressing for the summer is found dead on the beach.
Memories of the past are stirred up, and the reader starts to understand what happened, and how this has affected the people involved, and shaped their lives.
As the investigator from outside comes to work with the local police, awkward questions are asked and the truth about the events of the storm is finally uncovered.
There is so much emotion and loss in this book, some sections are raw and difficult to read, but there is also humour, and finally hope for a better future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read this book.
I enjoyed ‘The Survivors’ by Jane Harper but not as much as her previous novels. I absolutely loved ‘The Dry’ Whilst this new novel is in the same vein it just didn’t feel as plausible and the reveal wasn’t as shocking Nevertheless it was a good read.