Exiles: The heart-pounding Aaron Falk thriller from the No. 1 bestselling author of The Dry and Force of Nature (Aaron Falk, 3)

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It was a spring night and the South Australian sky was clear and starry with no rain forecast, but the weatherproof hood had been pulled over to full stretch. A linen square normally used as a sunshield was draped over the opening between the hood and the pram. A casual glance would not now see the sleeping girl at all. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Two days later, they found a shoe. Kim Gillespie’s white trainer, waterlogged and streaked with sediment, was recovered more than a kilometre to the east, jammed in the dam’s filters.” FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AND AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR JANE HARPER COMES EXILES , A CAPTIVATING MYSTERY ABOUT A MISSING MOTHER Though she makes a point of careful plotting and neatly tied-up threads, Harper’s books are as much about Australian society and the pressures and dangers of the country’s landscape as they are about finding missing people and solving murders...The ability to spot subtle warning signs of a troubled soul is probably Falk’s greatest gift as an investigator, leading him to look for answers about Kim’s fate very close to home.” Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for sending me an ARC of Exiles in exchange for an honest review.Ultimately, all the plot threads converge and details get spelled out and characters’ motivations get explained, though Harper sustains the overall air of mystery and a satisfying level of suspense until the end. I’m not a reader of the romance genre, but felt the generous helping of a timeless romance that develops between Aaron and Gemma was far and away one of the strongest parts of the story. Especially since their happy relationship stands in such sharp relief to the darker relationship between two other major characters. In the third installment in Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series, we travel with AFP Officer Aaron Falk to South Australian wine country, where he is to attend his friend Greg Raco’s son Henry’s christening. Aaron is Henry’s godfather. After his arrival, Aaron finds himself helping Raco investigate the disappearance of a local woman from a year ago. One year ago, thirty-nine-year-old Kim Gillespie, was reported missing, last seen at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival. Her baby daughter was found safe in her stroller. Kim was close to Raco’s family, having previously been in a long-term relationship with Raco’s brother Charlie and was the mother of his now seventeen-year-old daughter Zara. At the time of her disappearance, she was married to Rohan Gillespie. The discovery of her shoe near the local reservoir prompted conjecture that Kim had taken her own life. But her body was never found and her daughter is convinced that Kim would never commit suicide. Aaron finds himself involved in the search for Kim as well as trying to get to the truth behind a hit-and-run case from years ago that caused the death of a local man. As the narrative progresses, we follow the investigation into the lives and secrets of the local community. Stellar…Writing at the top of her game, Harper effectively uses whodunit tropes to explore her characters’ hidden lives. Readers interested in literate and nuanced mysteries will be eager to see more of Falk.” The man nodded at Falk and as his daughter swallowed her last mouthful, he hoisted her up and carried her to their car. He seemed to sense he’d been recognized, and his body language didn’t invite questions or conversation. Fair enough, really, Falk thought. The bloke would have had plenty of questions thrown his way at the time. The husbands always did.

I enjoy spending time with Aaron. He has a troubled past that will never let him go but he does his best to treat people right and be a good friend to the few people he's befriended. Now he's a godfather to little Henry and more a part of a family than he's ever been. He's even met someone who he'd like to spend more time with if his job didn't take up his entire life. At least while he is here he can help his best friend puzzle over the situations of Dean and Kim. If only he could stay here forever, a place he knows could be a home for him, if his job didn't place such huge demands on his conscience. This is a softer, gentler Harper, but with the same fine writing and addictive storytelling." Ann CleevesThe mysteries are engaging and compelling. My suspicions were all over the place. The clues were there, but caught up in the atmosphere of Harper's writing and seeing the situation from the perspective of her friends, I missed them. Well, not exactly missed them, but didn't attach to them the importance they deserved. The answer to Kim's disappearance is chilling; to who caused the death of Dean Tozer, sad.

Exiles is an excellent addition to the procedural series, following The Dry and Force of Nature. Although you can read them as stand-alone novels, they are better read as part of the series. The novel sets an atmospheric, thoughtful, deliberate pace as both the setting and the investigation are carefully explored. There are plenty of suspects and motives within the narrative as the secrets and evidence is disclosed. The narrative unfolds in three timelines: a year previously, a week in the present, and three years in the future. Bits and pieces from the two previous Falk novels are mentioned. One doesn’t need to read them to read this book-- Exiles can be read as a standalone; however, the earlier books add to the layers and dynamics of Falk’s character. Aaron Falk was at the festival that night, visiting Marralee, for Greg Raco’s (more on him later) son’s christening. It’s now a year to the day since Kim disappeared, and Aaron has returned to Marralee for the same christening, which was postponed due to the tragedy, as Kim has close personal ties to Greg’s family. MY THOUGHTS: Marralee is a small town in the heart of the South Australian wine country. A small, prettyThe one minor gripe that I have involves two chapters told from the point of view of two additional characters. I wish Harper didn't include them--they explain what happened to one character and add insight into another, but because their chapters come near the very end, they pulled me out of the narrative and disrupted the flow of events. Kim Gillespie is still missing a year later and Falk reluctantly looks into the disappearance for his friend, Greg Raco while taking on the duties of godfather.

A truly wonderful read. Rich in detail, landscape and character and deeply satisfying on all levels." Sarah Hilary

BookBrowse Review

As it happens, Kim's vanishing isn't the only mystery in Marralee Valley. Six years ago a man called Dean Tozer was killed in a hit-and-run incident, but the perpetrator cleaned up the scene and was never identified. The slow-burning, brilliantly twisty mystery from Jane Harper, the international bestselling Number One author of The Dry I can highly recommend this novel to all mystery lovers, especially fans of Ms. Harper. She never disappoints!