The Lost Man by Jane Harper @janeharperautho @caolinndouglas @GraceEVincent @LittleBrownUK #TheLostMan #TheLostManIsComing

Little Brown UK 7th February 2019

Book Description

He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked.  What ever had been going through Cameron’s mind when he was alive, he didn’t look peaceful in death.

Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the relenting sun of the outback.  In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other’s nearest neighbours, their homes hours apart.

They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old that no one can remember who is buried there.  But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron.  The family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish.

Something has been troubling Cameron.  Did he choose to walk to his death?  Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects…

My Thoughts

Being a big fan of The Dry and Force of Nature this has very much been an anticipated read for me and my thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book and inviting me to participate in this blog tour.

Set in the Australian outback The Lost Man is the story of Cameron’s death and his life and that of his family the Brights, told from older sibling Nathan’s point of view.  As with Jane Harper’s previous books the environment is key and the desolation of such a remote and searing environment as the outback, is captured in the first part of the book when we learn about the safety precautions required when your nearest neighbour is several hundred kilometres away and the risks from the heat and dehydration are eradication.  With a tiny ‘local’ community, spanning vast distances, there is of course a ‘local’ pub and as in any small town news travels like wildfire and everyone knows your business.

Nathan is ostracised from the community at the time of his brother’s demise, living a lonely life on his land neighbouring his brother’s land but hours away.  The story unfolds with the family gathered at Cameron’s home, previously the family home, where the sibling’s mother remains, with Cameron’s wife and children and some hired help including a couple of backpackers passing through.

Throughout the book we are constantly reminded of the harsh environment and the epic distances between people, the vast desolate land without any sign of life as far as the eye can see.  And it is within this remote setting that Nathan determines to understand his brothers death.

There is clearly much more to this book than meets the eye, the synopsis doesn’t really give an indication of how rich this book is and equally I am struggling to really tell you much about it without giving anything away!  A small cast existing in the time between Cameron’s death and his funeral with brief interactions with Police – there is a local office who covers an enormous geographical area and so may be 2 days travel away, the switchboard is manned in Brisbane 1500km away.  So much of this novel was about the remoteness of the setting and this was captured vividly by the author.  Although it is noteworthy to comment that for such a vast geographical community there is something incredibly claustrophobic about this community, which is reflected in the Bright family.

I thought this book was excellent, Nathan is curious about his brothers death, it looks like suicide, something everyone is mindful of when life is so hard and lonely.  Were the signs there, had they been missed, overlooked or had something else happened?  Along with Nathan this book kept me guessing, there was a sense of tension throughout and lots of questions – who were the  backpackers, why is Nathan exiled from the small community and many more.

A real page turner which I didn’t want to put down and I feel it is safe to say I am certain this book will remain one of my favourite reads of 2019.

This is an epic blog tour with lots of awesome bloggers posting daily.  Today you can check out these other post and follow the tour using the #TheLostManisComing pre publication and from Feb 7th #TheLostMan

Thanks as always for reading and if you have enjoyed this then please do share it across social media. Thanks.