I didn't finish this book, I didn't hate nor love it. I think you should give it a try but i didn't really read enough for form a solid opinion.

Basically all you need to know is Jane Harper is an author who apparently can do no wrong. In this latest release she has taken the reader from the outback to the beach, but has not missed a beat when it comes to above par storytelling.

Kieren left Evelyn Bay after a terrible storm that resulted in death and a missing girl twelve years ago. Family obligations bring him back just in time for another girl to wash up on the beach dead. This slow burner will put the pieces of both the past and present mysteries together.

As I said above, Jane Harper knows how to get it done. Her stories are atmospheric. Her characters are human and flawed. Her whodunnits always worth the wait. This one didn’t rank as high amongst my friends as The Dry and The Lost Man, but I thought it was just as good.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Kieran Elliott's entire life has been altered due to a single mistake. When he returns home for a visit, his past resurfaces.

I enjoyed this book and stayed up late to finish it, but it didn't have quite the magical pull of other Jane Harper books. Still, this was a twisty read that kept me guessing. It is a slow burn read, however, with guilt and grief serving as the main themes versus a fast paced mystery. It focuses on an older disappearance and a recent death, with perspectives telling us about both of these happenings and information slowly unfurling about each. It's an atmospheric tale--as all Harper books are--set in a small seaside town. This is a character driven tale that will pull you in, especially if you don't come expecting a rapid thriller. 3.5 stars.

Favorite Quotes:

She was four years younger than him and shy to the point that he wasn’t even sure he knew what her voice had sounded like.

… it must have been good fun, Kieran thought, otherwise why did they do it every weekend? But it was interesting looking back how the good fun had sometimes felt a lot like hard work… It had all seemed so important at the time, Kieran thought as he stood on the beach now. Life and death.

He had fed Audrey and read to her from a picture book that hinted heavily on its front cover that it would unlock her genius potential. Instead, it had sent her back to sleep, which in that moment seemed like an even better result. They should have put that on the cover.


My Review:

This was one of those slowly unwinding tales that kept me feeling a bit uncomfortable, on edge, impatient, tense, and unable to put my Kindle down without feeling annoyed at the intrusion. I was hooked from the beginning and full of nagging suspicions as at one time or another, almost every character seemed a bit off and capable of something dreadful. The writing was cleverly realistic with deeply flawed yet enticing characters while shrewdly plotted and cunningly paced to drive me mad in brain itching increments. It was brilliant.

This is a slow-burn mystery. It's a small town that has seen it's share of tragedy. About 10 years ago, a massive storm hit the small coastal town. 1 teenager and 1 adult drown in a rescue boat the was tipped over. One teen girl went missing. The boy the other two had been trying to save barely survived. There are still questions with no answers and a town that has largely tried to move on but never forgotten.

Kieran is now back in town, visiting his mom and ailing father with his nearly newborn daughter and girlfriend Mia. While there, near the exact spot the original teen went missing so many years ago, another woman is murdered.

It takes time to unravel the story. Many people were out roaming that night with few people spotting them. It was an interesting character study. Each person in the story is really fleshed out and you end it feeling like you know the town and the residents well. I like that it felt complete when I was done - I didn't feel like I need another chapter or two to really flesh it out. And I'm glad to say that I had my suspicions about how the story played out and I'm glad to see my original gut instinct was right. In a book club of 5 of us, we spent at least 75% of the story completely disagreeing about "who done it." Definitely the sign of a great story. I'm so glad we read it!

Kieran, his wife, Mia and their infant daughter have moved back home to where his parents now live. Getting older and with his dad being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the young family hopes to be able to help them.

But there are bad memories here for Kieran, and for his parents, and for the community. Twelve years ago, 2 men who killed ... one was Kieran's brother ... and a young girl went missing .. and it was Kieran's fault.

When a local girl goes missing, the entire community seems to fall apart. There's a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of blaming ... and somehow it all goes back to twelve years ago.... and more secrets are exposed to the elements.

Does Kieran really know what really happened the night his brother and his brother's friend died? And how does the murdered woman of today fit in the puzzle?

This was a slow starter for me. The suspense just wasn't there ... it was a typical who-dun-it. The ending was a surprise, though. I never felt connected to the characters and it seems they all spent a lot of time at the local tavern. I have read this author before and enjoyed her writing ... this one wasn't her best. It was an okay read, and I admit, I was disappointed.

Many thanks to the author / Macmillan Reading Insiders Club/ Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime/mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

All y'all should check this out! If mysteries and crime books are your thing. This is my second Jane Harper book. Previously, I've read The Dry and also have her sequel to that book and her other standalone, The Lost Man on my TBR. Just judging by the two books of hers I've read now, this is an author that knows her stuff. I also like the fresh perspective that comes from reading something that takes place in another country, in this case Australia.

Unlike a lot of mysteries, this is one that is not told from the perspective of a cop or detective, but from a bystander to the crime, and to other traumatic events from the past. I think it's all the more impressive that the book is so good, because I think it can be hard to pull that off, to make a narrative full of enough clues that it could be solved by someone who isn't even trying, and to not make it full of improbabilities and coincidences.

Anyway, our main character is Kieran, who is visiting his hometown of Evelyn Bay for the first time in a long time in order to help his mother pack up their home (he has also brought his girlfriend Mia and their newborn baby Audrey). His father has dementia and she can no longer manage him on her own; Kieran also hopes to convince them to move back to Sydney with him so he can be of more help to her. Evelyn Bay is a small seaside town recently discovered by tourists, and features a famous sea wreck that divers will travel worldwide to visit. The wreck is overlooked by a trio of statues the locals have dubbed "The Survivors," and they are embedded in the ocean floor. When they tide comes in high enough, the statues are entirely covered by water.

Kieran hasn't been home because when he was eighteen years old, a terrible storm caught the town by surprise and claimed the lives of three people: Kieran's brother Finn, his business partner Toby, and a fourteen year old girl named Gabby. Kieran still blames himself for the accident, and he feels that deep down his family does, too, along with other locals. All of this is dredged up when another young girl is found dead on the beach near Kieran's parents' home. It seems unlikely that the two crimes would be connected, but the new crime continues to expose the past.

This was a bit slow to start, but once it got going I was hooked. I liked the atmosphere of the close-knit seaside town, and as she did in The Dry, Harper has a knack for writing stories about characters facing their complicated pasts and coming to terms with old traumas. She also seems to know small towns really well, and how they react under pressure, although here we've got an excess of wet instead of a plenitude of dry.

All in all, highly recommend this one, and hopefully I can get to her other two books later this year.

<b>This is a tragic tale about a murder that stirs up old emotions in a small community that hasn’t yet healed.</b>

I started reading one of Ms. Harper’s previous books, but couldn’t get into it. So I wasn’t sure about this one, even with the intriguing description and beautiful cover. But it was amazing...and erased my previous hesitation about this fantastic author! I love settings around the water and this one was really brought to life with so many vivid details.

The murder of Bronte, a young art student, isn’t the first tragedy for Evelyn Bay. Years earlier there was a horrific storm with devastating consequences, leading to the death of two local business men and the disappearance of a young girl.

When an out-of-town detective starts investigating the current murder, it becomes evident that there is some type of link between the recent murder and the previous casualties.

Thank you to for NetGalley, Macmillan and Jane Harper for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!

Another incredible group read with <i><b>No Rules - Just Thrills!</b></i>

<b>My Rating: </b> 4 ⭐️’s
<b>Published:</b> February 2nd 2021 by Flatiron Books
<b>Pages:</b> 320
<b>Recommend:</b> Yes!

@janeharperautho @Flatironbooks #readinginsidersclub
#psychologicalthriller #NoRulesJustThrills #MustRead #Tasmania #InExchangeForReview #JustFinished

A slow burn and tragic story with a quiet sense of foreboding lurking behind every other page, The Survivors by Jane Harper is the perfect book to pick up on a chilly winter night.

The setting of a small coastal town in Tasmania, picturesque and perilous is seemingly ideal for the plot. Mix in a decade old devastating storm that led to multiple tragedies including two deaths and one missing girl and you have a town full of buried secrets, unresolved regrets, guilt galore and a whole bunch of unanswered questions. When a woman's body is discovered on the beach one morning, the small sleepy town of Evelyn Bay comes alive. People are horrified when they realize there's a murderer amongst them. There's gossip and speculation, questions and theories and also a possibility of this murder being linked to that disastrous tragedy that occurred years ago.

Jane Harper knows how to tell a story, and effectively brings to life her characters that seem just so real and nuanced, not at all fictional. Her writing is absolutely exquisite, the lush descriptions bringing to life the ocean, the caves and the rugged coastline. The narrative easily manages to pull readers right into the story making them feel like they're experiencing it all.

Mostly this is a slow building story with character studies and backstories, weaving some events together, asking a few questions along the way, examining a plethora of emotions and thereby constructing layer upon layer to the plot line making it nearly impossible to figure out what's going on. But, after a little more than the halfway mark, the story becomes a brisk and heart pounding thriller, with twists and turns, tensions and revelations and finally wraps up with a satisfying and dare I say very realistic conclusion.

Needless to say, I'll be waiting for her next book.

🌊Secrets and tragedy in coastal Tasmania: couldn't put it down😯😍

⚓I was totally hooked by Jane Harper's suspenseful novel The Survivors. The title refers to a coastal landmark in the dangerous coastal waters near a small Tasmanian town but it also aptly describes the residents who survived a tremendous, damaging storm but suffered the tragic death and disappearance of three young locals. Twelve years later a new tragedy hits and the past comes rushing back like the powerful tidal waters. Suspicion and fears churn up and threaten to expose the long-concealed truth.

Recently-returned, new father Kieran, his family and his childhood friends are at the center of the drama and dementia and strained family dynamics give the story an extra interest. The writing's good and drew me in from the beginning. I loved the plot, the character development and the atmospherics added by the coastal location. Why has another lost her life and does it have any link to the original tragedy? The answer remained out of my grasp right through to the watery climax. For me, the abrupt end was a bit of a letdown but otherwise it was a 💥dynamite book. Jane Harper is a new author for me but, since I truly enjoyed this story and am drawn to books set in Australia and New Zealand, I will definitely be looking for more by the author.

I received a complimentary advance copy of The Survivors from MacMillan in exchange for an honest review.

Kieran Elliot has spent the last twelve years blaming himself for his brother's death. Kieran is back home in Evenlyn Bay helping his mother pack up the family home. The murder of a young woman begins to haunt everyone in this sleepy village. The past and present collide in ways nobody expected at all. Can what happened in the past lead to the present? Your answers await you in The Survivors.

This ARC of Jane Harper's The Survivors was provided by Macmillan Publishers for an honest review.

Returning home is not always easy - especially when it dredges up unpleasant memories and secrets that are best left buried. Kieran Elliot has returned home with his wife and child to help his mother and father move before dementia totally incapacitates Kieran's dad. While they're home, the shocking discovery of a young woman's body on the beach raises a lot of questions while prying open old wounds left by a past tragedy and unsolved missing person case. The small beach community of Evelyn Bay on the Tasmania coast and its residents past and present are thrown into turmoil as the two cases collide and long buried secrets leak out. Who murdered this young woman? Could this case be tied to a past missing girl and tragic event?

Jane Harper can always be counted on to gift readers with a highly atmospheric suspense story. The Survivors is another great example of her brilliant work. This story is rich in setting, emotional turmoil, guilt, blame, hate and love. The story unfolds as past and present collide like the sea crashing on the shore. Kieran has never forgiven himself for the role he played in the deaths of his brother and friend . . . and neither have the townspeople. Now twelve years later, another young life is gone too soon and rumors and accusations fly. Suspense slowly builds throughout this story, moment by moment until events spiral out of control and truths come to light. Harper expertly weaves the past and present, revealing some discerning occurrences leading to a shocking conclusion. The setting is alive with both beauty and ominous warnings, once again becoming a character to be dealt with in this author's story. I can think of only a couple of other authors who can pull this off as flawlessly as Harper. The Survivors is a highly atmospheric, heart breaking, twisted suspense story that I read from cover to cover in one sitting. Highly recommended to fans of suspense thrillers.

This book focuses on Kieran, a young man haunted by his past. With his girlfriend and baby, Kieran is back in his home town, a small coastal town where Kieran’s parents still live. His father is dealing with dementia and Kieran is there to help his mother close up their old family home, a process which stirs up a lot of old memories.

When Kieran lived here with his family, he made a mistake that resulted in great tragedies. His family and the town are still feeling the after effects and it weighs heavy on his mental health as well. In the present day, a body is found on the beach and this continues to dredge up secrets from the past.

After reading all of Jane Harper’s back list over the past year or so, I am a big fan of her atmospheric writing. I am happy to report that this book lived up to expectations! As with her other stories, the environment really plays a significant role in the story in addition to it being very character driven. In this case, we are really inhabiting Kieran’s mind. He has a lot to deal with between being a new father, dealing with his father’s failing health, plus the ghosts from his past.

This is very much a slow burn mystery as elements from the past and the current day are slowly unfurled to the reader. Though sometimes labeled a thriller, I think that mystery is the more appropriate genre. There were some things that I thought I had figured out along the way, but the author definitely had me fooled on a lot of the reveals.

I switched back and forth between the egalley and the audio and I thought the audio was well done. I liked the narrator and my only complaint is that even at top volume, the narrator’s voice was a bit on the quiet side. This wasn’t a problem as I was sitting quietly and listening, but it isn’t a book I think would work well in an environment with background noise, like road noise in a car.

Overall, I think this was another great book from Jane Harper and I suggest adding it to your TBR if you enjoy a good slow burn mystery! THE SURVIVORS is out on 2/2/2021!

“The Survivors” is a set of statues sitting at the coastline of Tasmania used by the community as a guide to know when the high-tide waterline is precarious and anyone exploring the caves on the beach knows it’s time to get out. Twelve years ago 18 year old Kieron, younger brother to Finn, didn’t listen to his gut about the approaching danger of a storm and only thought about romance. A rescue is attempted, but causes the death of Finn and a close friend.

Finn, still filled with guilt, returns to his hometown only to find there are lingering hard feeling about his responsibility for the deaths. However, all is not as it appeared in the past. Then another death occurs with fingers pointing at many in town for the murder. Harper explores the past and present throughout the book. The novel is a slow burn filled with a stormy atmosphere and a study on the many characters of interest that are suspected.

I’ve read all of Jane Harper’s novels and consider The Lost Man her best. The Survivors is very well written, but I prefer the setting of the outback in her previous books. I will continue to read everyone of her books as they are published. Harper is an outstanding author and a favorite.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Publication Date - February 2, 2021
Review posted to Goodreads 12/28/20

I received a free ARC of THE SURVIVORS from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big Jane Harper fan and this book did not disappoint. It had her trademark atmospheric writing which made the setting like a character in the story. She also came up with a fairly complex mystery that had me constantly coming up with theories or reworking theories.

Going to try and keep things vague as the less you know ahead of time usually makes for a better reading experience. Kieran has come back to the small coastal town he grew up in to help his folks pack up and move. A body is found on the beach and that gets Kieran thinking about tragic events of the past.

When I first started reading this book it felt somewhat different because it was a coastal setting. In some of the author's other books, after reading about heat and drought, it's almost like you feel like you are there. With this book you get that same type of feeling of being present in the setting but it does take longer to feel it. The strongest examples of it are in the second half of the story.

This book is more of a slow burn mystery but I was never bored while reading. There were a few times when I would read something and would make a mental note that it could be a factor further down the line and I was proven right. But yet I could never figure out on my own why a piece of the puzzle was important, just that it belonged somewhere in the overall picture. And that's why this was a fun read because I was unable to put it all together. There were also plenty of things I didn't see coming at all.

Definitely recommend checking this book out if you have enjoyed other books by this author and/or you like a good, solid mystery.

What does it take to be a survivor? For Kieran Elliott, who returns to his hometown, Evelyn Bay, in Tasmania, it means putting one foot after the other. Years ago, he survived a fierce storm that claimed the life of his brother Finn and his business partner Toby.as well as a young girl who went missing. Now a young art student – a photographer – has been found dead. And old memories begin to ripple to the surface.

This plot-driven novel focuses on a small-town community and what remains submerged. The cohesiveness of the town relies on people remaining “close-knit”; “once that trust is broken, they’re stuffed.” Perhaps that is why the townspeople have never delved too deeply into what really happened to that missing girl years ago. But now is a whole other story.

We meet a number of characters – many introduced in the first several pages. There is Kieran, his partner Mia and their baby Audrey. Kieran’s mother and father, who is succumbing to dementia. His old “mates”, Ash and Sean and Sean’s troubled nephew. The thriller writer G.R. Barlin who is getting fodder for his next best-seller. There’s Olivia, Kieran’s old love interest And of course, Bronte, the art student who dies early on in the book.

But more than those characters, there are the Survivors – iron statues facing the sea, a memorial to the crew who died in a shipwreck nearly a century ago. Half-submerged, they are a poignant symbol of the main themes of the book: loss and survival, submergence and clarity, guilt and redemption, weakness and resilience, the past and the present.

The Survivors is wonderfully page-turning and atmospheric, and once I dove in, I was in all the way. If you haven’t read Jane Harper —an Australian writer—before, I recommend that you do so. Her books are very absorbing and this one is no exception. I received a free ARC of The Survivors by Jane Harper from Macmillan in an exchange for an honest review.

I’ve enjoyed each of Jane Harper’s previous three books. And this one wins four stars from me, too. She shows her versatility here, moving from the inland to a small Tasmanian beach town. But her ability to give us a true sense of place is the same.
Kieran has returned home with his young family to help his parents move. His father is suffering from early onset dementia. Kieran has been gone almost twelve years, since a bad decision on his part led to the death of his brother and friend during a violent storm. A young woman went missing in the same storm; her body was never found. Now, one day after his return, a young woman turns up dead on the beach.
There’s a great sense of underlying tension with this story. Everyone seems to have secrets and regrets. Harper totally gets small town life, where everyone knows everyone else’s business. And she adds a slice of modern day life, where an online forum opens up people’s suspicions, anger and vileness.
This isn’t a fast paced book, but it totally engaged me with its character studies and numerous possibilities as to who committed the crime. And I will say the ending took me totally by surprise.
A friend of mine swears by reading and listening to a book simultaneously. This is the first time I’ve done it. I found it a very enjoyable experience, allowing me to keep one story going. And this was a story I wanted to keep going.
I enjoyed the narrator, whose Australian accent was tv worthy. In other words, no problem for an American to understand. He doesn’t try to differentiate between the various voices or throw a lot of emotion into his voice. He’s a more straightforward, tell the story, kind of narrator.
My thanks to netgalley, Macmillan and Macmillan Audio for advance copies of this book.

What I recall most from Harper’s new novel is the small tourist town of Evelyn Bay in Tasmania. That parochial town with the roiling sea, the beach at night, footprints in wet sand, the labyrinth of caves, the low and uneven fencing, and The Survivors themselves—an iron monument standing in the waters, changing its look as the tide rolls in and out. It commemorates a century old shipwreck, yet it is also a reminder of a more recent tragedy.

Harper steals the story with her sense of place and haunting atmospherics, more compelling than the story itself. A group of friends, some who moved on elsewhere, are brought together again twelve years after a terrible storm that took and shook lives, including the disappearance of an adolescent girl. The unresolved questions of the deaths and disappearance have altered the little town forever. And now there’s a new murder to solve.

Kieran Elliot has returned from Sydney with his girlfriend and baby daughter to help his parents move out of their beach house, due to his father’s dementia. Kieran’s brother, Finn, was one whose life was lost in the storm. Kieran carries persistent guilt, believing himself responsible for Finn’s death. It affects every aspect of his life, including his relationship with his parents and girlfriend. The story, absent the setting, is fairly formulaic, and the characters felt more time-honored than inventive, a bit out of central casting. Their frictions, frissons, and guarded friendliness with each other felt familiar; if it wasn’t for Evelyn Bay—it’s history, tragedies, nature, and looming singularity as a character itself, I would not have been that impressed.

My complaint is that the structure or unfolding of the story provided too many signals of typical stagecraft. Sure, I didn’t figure it out until Harper wanted us to, but that doesn’t equal great storytelling, especially as she made it to fit more than the organic fit itself. For example, certain character traits aren’t revealed until close to the finale, validating conclusions. Moreover, just as Harper designed everyone to be a suspect along the way, her misdirections were easily sussed out. Maybe it was my spidey sense that did it, but each time the author threw out a red herring, it was obvious to me. At those points I was distracted by the author behind the curtain.

I was expecting an original story, like THE TROUBLED MAN, her previous novel, which was a riveting story set in Queensland’s outback. Like THE SURVIVORS, the setting was arresting. But her former novel was also unique and penetrating. The characters didn’t come across as standard types, like this one does. I was not a fan of THE DRY, either, which was predictable and contrived, with too much info dump near the climax. SURVIVORS is saved by its backdrop and framing, which eclipsed some of my criticism and absorbed me into its ambience. It’s worth a read, especially if you want to encounter a potent locale. 3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to Macmillan and Net Galley for providing an e-copy.

Jane Harper is a master storyteller and she has a way of crafting such stunning descriptions of the settings in her books that in this one I can feel the spray of the ocean, walk into caves with characters, and stroll along the beach, thinking it is really dark out here at night. This time she has chosen the setting as small tourist town Evelyn Bay on the island of Tasmania. It feels so real that I checked to see if it is a real place. Sadly, it’s not. This book, though, is very real!

It does take Harper time to introduce the characters, set the tone for the book, and build tension, and there are some clues thrown in along they way, although this reader missed most of them!

Known for its shipwreck of the SS Minerva that divers love to explore, Evelyn Bay also has a giant metal sculpture of three people, called “The Survivors” that stands sentinel in the ocean near the shipwreck, as a tribute to the lost souls and locals use it to gauge the tides.

More than a decade ago, a horrible storm resulted in the tragic loss of life and a mysterious disappearance. Kieran’s life was forever changed that day and he still struggles with grief and guilt. He has built a new life in Sydney with his partner and new baby daughter. They return to Evelyn Bay to help his mom pack up and move his dad to a memory care facility.

Shortly after they arrive in Evelyn Bay, another tragedy occurs, and the town is busy pointing fingers and dredging up the past. Could the events be related? There’s a smart policewoman who is on the case and I love that she is presented that way. She is determined to solve the new crime and is very competent.

Harper does not disappoint with this one and the ending was a surprise to me but made perfect sense to the story. I highly recommend this one! If you are a fan of Jane Harper or new to her work, this made for a perfect read!

Having lived at the beach for eons, I LOVED this setting! There’s nothing like swimming in the ocean every day and I was brought back to paradise while reading this.

Kiernan has returned to his little beach town with his partner and infant after twelve years. A few residents weren’t happy with his reappearance and let it be known that he wasn’t welcome. His blame for two deaths many years prior still simmered. Small communities don’t forget.

Soon after, a young woman connected to their group is found murdered and the events of so long ago begin to surface. Uncovering the ‘whodunit’ takes paying attention to the relationships and character motivations.

Despite the wonderful writing and the beach setting, I wasn’t totally absorbed into the story. I don’t know the reason why, but I was fortunate to be able to read and discuss it with friends. Their notes assisted me with missed connections, clues, etc. so I was more able to appreciate the plot.

Lastly, if you want to feel like you’re on vacation, try reading this!

Thank you to MacMillian and the author for my advanced reader’s copy.

Posted on Goodreads 10/18/20