I really enjoyed THE DRY by Jane Harper, so when THE SURVIVORS was announced, I was very excited. Set in Tasmania, the novel explores a small-town community, broken by tragedy. Two deaths of young girls twenty years apart haunts the town and its inhabitants, and its inhabitants seem to be slowly drifting away.

I enjoyed the audio narration, and the narrator was well chosen. However, I did find myself less compelled to listen after a while, and I'm not sure whether that's because the story itself was losing interest or the narration itself. The sense of pace didn't really come through. Bit of a slow burn, and by the end, although I was intrigued, I wasn't desperate to find out who was the killer.

Love Jane Harper,
This one doesn't make her style.
Although gave me anxiety. But the foot type. Will continue looking forward for more of her books.

Authoress works well here with the topics of guilt, grieve, shame and how they - unprocessed - can influence the relationships. How past still speaks in the present time. I very much enjoyed that aspect, as I love my mysteries being psychological and with the character development. Believably and realistically done, this aspect is why one cares about the characters and I got that here.

Unfortunately, this is also a very slow burner. Some false leads thrown your way can not save you from wishing to know WHAT has really happened and WHY.
You get that in the last chapters, of course, but while the solution is believable, it also comes to the reader tired with waiting for it. There are also some aspects unsolved and the finale feels rushed. I miss some greater conclusions.

I think that the narrator was OK, his voice did not distract me. But as the novel already is a slow burner, I would like his narrating being more energetic.

Another great read from Jane Harper. Incredibly atmospheric, you feel you know just what the caves would be like to explore. Strong story and great twists and turns which keep you guessing.

If you favour creepy crime mystery tales then The Survivors by Jane Harper could be for you.

The novel is set in the coastal town of Evelyn Bay, in Tasmania. The reader follows sports physiotherapist Kieron Elliot, who returns home bringing with him his partner, Mia, and Audrey, his baby daughter, to help his mother, Verity as she packs up their home in preparation for his dementia suffering father, Brian to move into a care home. Kieron has kept away, ever since a devastating storm twelve years ago took the lives of his brother, Finn and Toby, the father of Liam. They were trying to save Kieron who was eighteen at the time. That same day, Gabby Birch, age 14 went missing, her rucksack later recovered from the sea. Kieron meets up with a friend, Ash who encourages him to catch up with Sean, another childhood friend. At the Surf and Turf, a local bar, he runs into Liam who still blames him for Toby's death. When Bronte Laidler, a young artist and waitress is found murdered, the events from years ago haunt the Evelyn Bay community and gossip, malice, rumour, jealousies and resentments take hold.

Jane Harper is definitely a very adept storyteller. Her rich descriptions make this location come to vibrant life. In this character-driven tale, every page is filled with menacing, creepy and eerie narrative, and I was beguiled and engrossed.

I alternated between reading and listening to this book, and the narrator of the audiobook, Stephen Shanahan really brought the characters to life effectively. The different voice intonations were noticeable and the ranges of emotion in the voices were great.

I loved that Jane Harper included a clever, unguessable (to me anyway) ending. I was convinced I had the conclusion all worked out early on, but I was so wrong!

I received complimentary copies of this novel at my own request from Hachette Audio and Little, Brown Book Group via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I have really enjoyed previous books by Jane Harper and was delighted to get the opportunity to review her newest book, The Survivors. I loved the plot of the book and was left guessing untiL the very end.

Audiobooks are becoming my jam - and when the genre is thriller/mystery just becomes the icing on the cakes tbh!

The Survivors by Jane Harper was another audiobook I really enjoyed - which I requested because I have wanted to read The Dry ever since I found out about it, but somehow needed a physical copy to actually pick it up. Yeah I am a weird reader like that.

The Survivors is a dark, atmospheric read; about the secrets of the past and how it can affect you in your present.

Kieron Elliot returns to his small coastal town, with his now partner, Mia and their infant daughter, Audrey. At first, its all hunky dory - he gets his time with his parents with whom, he has had a strained relationship ever since he survived a fierce storm; that took the lives of his elder brother, Finn and hi best friend Toby when they were on their way to save him.

It was also the same night when a young girl, Gabby also went missing, never to be seen or heard from again.

But it is also when another young woman, Bronte, a college student only in the town for the summer turns up dead on the beach and thus opens up a can of worms that everyone in the town thought was closed a long time back.

The Survivors is a book that delivers exactly what it purports to do - reveal secrets, gossips and making the reader gasp at the twists and turns delivered with such a panache that one can’t help but tuned into the book until either you figure out exactly what happened in the past and the present.

I realise now why Jane Harper has such a huge fan following, for she ha also found a fan in me. I have got to pick up her backlist as soon as I can!

Jane Harper is one of my favourite crime authors. She writes with an unerring knowledge of her surroundings and, during lockdown, makes you feel like you have visited Australia which is no mean feat. She's a writer who can deftly draw characters and relationships and takes her crime writing and her audience very seriously.

Another amazing thriller from Harper. She's definitely a great writer to go to every time. Her characters are impressive and the story is always intriguing.
This audio book was also well narrated and easy to follow.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

This is a good book, which left me guessing until the end. The main character who is called Kieran, along with his partner Mia and his daughter Audrey, return to his childhood home town and while there, a body is discovered on the beach. The whole community are questioned by the police and many hidden secrets come out from years ago. The book is suspenseful and it feels as if you are right there in the community with the people concerned. I enjoyed the descriptions of the environment and the people, which made the story feel like real life.

The narrator is excellent and he really helped the story to come alive.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

#Survivors by #JaneHarper was one of my first reads this year. I have lifted this book on so many occasions and just couldn't get into it, until I did and then WHAM, totally gripped. I absolutely have fallen in love with the characters and the writing. I will definitely be looking up this author for future reads.

Many Thanks to #Netgalley for gifting me this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Kieran, his partner Mia and daughter, Audrey, return to Tasmania where he grew up, where his parents live and where his childhood friends are. While in his hometown, a body is washed up and discovered on the beach. This leads to suspicion and questions in the local community which brings up buried secrets that seek to destroy this tight knit community. Secrets that seem to connect to a tragic accident that occurred during a fierce storm 12 years ago which led to devastating consequences including the death of Kieran’s brother, Finn.

𝘼 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙠, 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮...

I love the slow burn of this book which creates such great atmosphere and tension from beginning to end. Harper provides an immersive experience of island living surrounded by a community that knows everything that is going on, and that any hidden secrets will be soon be discovered one way or another.

Harper writes in a style that makes the events that happened in the storm 12 years ago and the recent murder of Bronte less terrifying but more mysterious and intriguing, shrouded in secret, like the Nautilus Blue shipwreck and the silent witnesses of The Survivors sculptures standing out at sea by the entrance of the caves.

In a way the story creeps up on the reader, casting doubt and questions on who the murderer may be, making it so unpredictable. I tried really hard to be detective here and totally failed 😂 But I love how Harper keeps the reader guessing until the very end!

As other readers have noted, the ending seemed to end abruptly (so much happened in last few chapters) that perhaps this could have been built out a little more in line with the rest of the story.

Fantastic crime thriller! Highly recommend!

As a child I wanted to be a hairdresser during the week and a detective on the weekend 🕵🏼‍♀️ 💇🏼‍♀️

The Survivors by Jane Harper

Tragedy strikes Evelyn Bay. When a body is found on the beach, no secret will stay hidden when the past is dug up 🌊

This is my first Jane Harper novel and I loved it! The setting by the sea in a small tight knit community builds the tension so well! It has the reader thinking it’s got to be someone they know!

The mystery of the past and present is intertwined so effortlessly, I just couldn’t wait to see what happened!

I wish there had been an epilogue or another chapter or two as it ended so abruptly. I guess that leaves it up to the reader’s imagination!

Thank you @tandemcollectiveuk @janeharperauthor @littlebrown for this #gifted copy! Really enjoyed this readalong and it won’t be my last @janeharperauthor ✨

I’m using this whiteboard for suspicions from now on 🕵🏻

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved this book. It kept me listening as I couldnt wait to find out what was going to happen. This was my first audio book and it certainly wont had my last! A gripping, fantastic 5 star read.

Slow build with an enjoyable storyline. Enjoyed the character development and the joining together of the many strands

Great book. Had me hooked right from the beginning trying to guess what had happened and who was responsible. Had no idea in the end. Well written and thoroughly recommend

I have read all of Jane Harper’s books and unfortunately for me this is my least favourite one but it’s still really good. I just didn’t feel like I got as much out of this plot as the others, I do love this narrator for these books as he has read her other ones as well and his accent for me just helps bring the book to life a bit more.

Great whodunnit. Loved the setting and could really imagine being there, actually I longed to be there apart from the horrid suspicious deaths going on of course! Different from other Jane Harper books I have read but yet another well written thriller that keeps you guessing and turning the pages late into the night.

Synopsis/blurb ....

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on a single day when a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that haunts him still resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal town he once called home.

Kieran's parents are struggling in a community which is bound, for better or worse, to the sea that is both a lifeline and a threat. Between them all is his absent brother Finn.

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

My third outing with author Jane Harper after enjoying two of her previous three books - The Dry and Force of Nature. The Survivors is another gripping read, one which I kind of thought I had a handle on where it was heading and what had happened, but which ultimately showed me to be clueless as Harper neatly managed to outfox me.

Kieran Elliott, his wife and baby daughter return to the town of his childhood to help his mother with her relocation. His father has dementia or Alzheimers - I forget which and needs to be homed in order to provide the best level of care for him and allow his mother some respite. Kieran doesn't return home too often.

Home is a painful place, full of unresolved grief and guilt and trauma, which affects not just Kieran, but his family, his childhood friends and the wider community. Kieran's brother Finn drowned along with a friend years ago, an event which Kieran bears responsibility for. Another event of a tragic nature occurred around the same time - read the book to discover what.

Barely back in town 24 hours and Kieran is already the target of some barely restrained hostility. A few more hours pass and a body is found on the beach - murder.

The book leads us through the present day police investigation and back into the past where we eventually discover what actually happened and it's connection to the killing which has just transpired.

I really enjoyed this one. I listened to it over a month ago on Audible and I was quite taken by the narration. I think it added to my enjoyment. Events, unless I'm mis-remembering are mostly seen through Kieran's eyes. He's a likable character. I wouldn't class him as damaged because of events of the past, but I would say it has affected his relationship with his parents. The loss of his brother was never really discussed openly and it has sort of festered, like an untreated wound. There's no rejection or rift as such, it's just the bloody big elephant in the room. His father's condition doesn't lend itself to a frank discussion and a baring of the soul. Reconciliation and forgiveness doesn't seem a likely prospect.

I enjoyed how the author developed the plot and relayed the tale. I'm a sucker for a kind of dual timeline narrative where we flip flop back into the past and forward to the present. There were a few likely suspects for the present day murder, which kept me on my toes guessing. Similarly I was sucked in by an event in the past, which had me patting myself on the back prematurely as I had everything all sorted and solved in my head. Jane Harper knew better.

Aussie crime, Aussie setting - tick.
Tragedy of the past, murder in the present - confusion, possible scenarios and happenings, secrets, misunderstandings - multiple suspects - plenty of intrigue - big tick.
Characters - well-developed, credible, interesting relationship dynamics, conflict, love, hatred, guilt, separation - big tick.
Outcome - satisfying, all questions answered.
Pace - worked for me. I probably enjoyed it more as an Audible book, than I might have done on the written page. I perhaps would have taken a lot longer to get through it and as a result it might not have had the same impact.
Length - okay. No real sense of padding or drag or boredom at any point.

5 from 5

Despite a massive TBR pile, I think Jane Harper is an author I want to try and follow with each new book. I do still have her third - The Lost Man to get to at some point. Sooner rather than later.

Read - (listened to) December, 2020
Published - 2019
Page count - 385 (11 hrs 57 mins)
Source - Net Galley - audible copy
Format - Audible

http://col2910.blogspot.com/2021/01/jane-harper-survivors-2020.html

This was a slow burn of a story that didn't get going as much as I was hoping for. The narrator was very good though.