I had a hard time getting through this book due to a combination of a difficult to understand narration and slow pacing of the story. The first part of the book felt monotone in its rhythm and the narration matched that monotony. That, in addition to requiring effort to concentrate on the book because of the accent made for a book that I could only listen to while doing nothing else, even in the car I found it hard to stay tuned in to it. I should say the accent is absolutely appropriate and authentic for the story, but it's all the elements combined that created the issue for me. Another issue (just for the ARC version) is that with no labeled chapters it was very difficult for me go back and repeat sections where I got lost. I would give this book another try in print or e-format.

I received an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

PUB DATE 2.2.21 Thank you to @macmillian and @netgalley for an early, free copy of this book on audio. 

I have read and enjoyed all of Jane Harper's books and THE SURVIVORS is no exception.

A small coastal town on the Austrailian island of Tasmania serves as a beautiful, yet deadly backdrop for this atmospheric murder mystery.  The death a young woman  causes  memories to resurface  from a devastating storm from 12 years prior. Long held secrets start to bubble to the surface that brings long held truths into question. Truths that could change lives.

This novel was a well-paced literary thriller with great characters. I enjoyed how Harper wove the  characters back story into the present day mystery. I had a tension that kept me invested in the resolution until the very end. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

I've read two novels lately, this and THE EXILES by Christina Baker Kline, that have ties to Tasmania where my dear friend Ingrid hails from. I'm taking it as a sign that I should visit sooner than later. I'm packing my bags. 

NOTE to NETGALLEY: While I thoroughly enjoyed the narration on audio, the NetGalley audiobook user experience leaves a lot to be desired. No chapter numbers. Skipping issues. I know- it's a free book. But the lack of functionality of the app could impact early readers reviews at no fault of the book. Something to be aware of..

This is a story about guilt, and how easy it is to drowned in it.

I love a good mystery, and this was a captivating read. The slow burn build up left me increasingly anticipating what I knew was coming, and I appreciated the character dynamics & exploration of the adaptive & maladaptive ways family systems cope with loss. My one significant complaint, is that there was a lot of side character development that was left unresolved- I wanted to know how the twist impacted them!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 rounded to 5.

Thank you Netgalley & Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener’s copy!

Oh, how I Looooooove Jane Harper’s fiercely dramatic landscapes in her stories. Like Bill Bryson’s books, she makes me want to visit and smell and feel her faraway Australian settings., this one coastal. This story was such a slowly-building burn. I just adore how Harper develops her characters, brick-by-brick, never in a hurry, knowing the reader will walk the path with her. She’s great. This book is great! I’m such a fan.. This one was dreamy and creepy and super cool.

I loved The Dry, but this book was way too slow. Unlike The Dry, the story never seemed to build, but just plodded on and on. The mystery was there, but it just didn’t capture me. The best part of this audio was the Aussie accent, but even that couldn’t keep this one afloat.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC audiobook of The Survivors, by Jane Harper.

Kieran and Mia have returned to their hometown in Australia that sits right on the coast. But Kieran is no stranger to the water, or the coves, something that has cost him dearly, and permanently haunts the town since he left. But on their visit home, tragedy rears it's ugly head again when a body washes onto the shore. Does this have anything to do with what had happened so many years ago? Are his friends and family truly the people he always thought he knew?

First off, great narration. I'm almost positive that I've been an audience to his expressive Australian cadence before, and he does a great job everytime.

The story itself was very fun. I love a return to a creepy hometown reunion, with a cast of potential villains. Every now and again it would jump timelines without a whole lot of warning, perhaps a hazard of an audiobook, you miss the change in font etc. Either way, I got lost a few times and had to backtrack before realizing that now we were talking ten years ago.

This is a chilly, creepy read. Great for October!

The Survivors by Jane Harper is a twisty story of secrets eventually revealed. These secrets have deadly consequences that send a small town into a frenzy.

The storyline of The Survivors was interesting. The author created characters that I cared about. However, I found that the pacing of the story waxed and waned in intensity. At times, I had to push to keep listening. In the end, I was glad I did.

If you loved Jane Harper’s NY Times bestseller The Dry, you’ll also love The Survivors.

Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

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Note:. This is for the audio version.

Not every story is for me everyone and this was one for me. I had an issue with the narrator. Very monotone level. I had volume up.as far as it could go and still difficult to focus on story. Heavy accented dialogue did not help. What attracted me to the story was the mystery of a body washing up on shore, but that was not the main focus. I got too much background on survivor s of a storm, one of the main characters parent, a dead brother, the two main friends relationship s with their partners. Lots of back and forth . I wished for more straight forward story and continuity.

These Survivors by Jane Harper is another fantastic novel about grief, regrets, and sadness. All of the characters are well developed and you can sympathize with what they are going through. The descriptions of the water and caves was very detailed and I could clearly imagine the place. I was left heartbroken with the dramatic ending.

Oh, I was so looking forward to this one! Having read and enjoyed Jane Harper's three previous novels, when I saw she had another coming out, I was so excited! While I still think her first two, the Aaron Falk series, are her best, I really enjoyed listening to The Survivors. Harper isn't for everyone. There is mystery and suspense but her storytelling has more of a slow burn. The story unfolds and history is slowly revealed giving the reader/listener clues to what might have happened. Sometimes the reader can guess the ending... and sometimes not! As usual, the narrator, Stephen Shanahan, did a wonderful job. Shanahan also narrated Harper's previous books and I would definitely say his narration adds to the stories. And now, the long wait for another Harper novel...

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise of The Survivors. It was very interesting. I enjoyed all the different characters and learning about how they grew up after the shared event in their past.

As much as I liked the story, I didn't get pulled into the story. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator didn't have a lot of emotion in his voice. Therefore, I think I would've preferred reading the book. As the story went on I got more invested.

The end was definitely the best part and learning what actually happened in the past.

I would recommend The Survivors to fans of Jane Harper.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for The Survivors.

Jane Harper keeps delivering. A creepy and enjoyable mystery that interweaves a current mystery with a past one without letting flashbacks take over the book. The narrator was spot on and I would absolutely choose the audiobook of this novel.

I have never read/listened to a book by this author before and this one really caught my eye. I love a good mystery and the fact that this story takes place in a small coastal town really intrigued me. I really enjoyed this story! There is a lot of development within the characters and the plot. I enjoyed getting to know these character as well as hints as to what really happened. The story moves at a great pace for the content and ending was great. The atmosphere the author managed to create and wove into this story really adds to the mystery and the spookiness of this coastal town. I loved feeling this story as much as hearing and experiencing it. I didn't guess the ending so that was fun for me. My one issue is that the narrator has an accent and while I LOVE accents there were times (a few words or sentences) that I couldn't make out so it pulled me out of the story a time or two. Other then that, I think the author did a great job with this story and the narrator did a wonderful job of bringing this mystery to life! I received an ARC via NetGalley, MacMillan Publishes and the author and I am leaving an honest review.

This one was a DNF for me exclusively because of the narrator.

I listen to 2-3 audiobooks a week while I walk my dog and I have listened to a number of British, Irish & Australian narrators. both men & women, so I feel comfortable saying this one is a narrator problem. As a American English speaker, I found this gentleman’s accent to be thick and had to slow from my usual 1.75 speed all the way down to regular speed to u set stand him without concentrating like a didn’t grader taking a math test.....and unfortunately when I slowed it down the monotone became unbearable.

That being said, I’ve listened to lots of books where the narrator was a bad choice but the storyline kept me interested so I’m not sure how I would have felt about this book anyway.

The Survivors is the latest book from Jane Harper who truly has a voice of her own and a unique style of writing atmospheric mysteries. This story takes place on Evelyn Bay, a small coastal town off of the Tasmanian shore.

Kieran and his girlfriend Mia return for a visit with their infant daughter to see family and friends. Not much has changed in this small town and the past isn’t an easy place to revisit. Not long after their arrival, a young woman is murdered and this tragic occurrence stirs up fear, anger, blame and passions from long ago. This new tragedy is faintly reminiscent of the long ago death of two local men and a girl who went missing during a devastating storm, and everyone is tied to these losses one way or another. Kieran lost his beloved brother, and his wife lost her best friend, and he has carried the weight of guilt and a tarnished reputation with him all these years for his part in the events of the day. As the present day murder is investigated, the great mystery and sorrow of the past begins to unravel and long held secrets are unveiled.

As with all of Jane Harper’s stories, this novel is a bit slow-paced and the plot and tension are slow-building. There are quite a few characters to keep track of and a fairly awkward addition of a baby who seems more of a prop than anything else. Jane Harper definitely writes flawed, tragic, and often unlikeable individuals , and this story is no exception. There is quite a lot of information within this mystery to digest and sort through, and the author utilizes multiple red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I did find the ultimate reveal, though unexpected, rather hard to believe, motivation-wise. I struggled to believe the rationale and reasons for the murder, and therefore it felt a bit anti-climatic.

The Survivors has a unique and vivid setting and the plot contains family drama, friendship-issues, romantic struggles, loss, regret, blame and mental illness. Despite all that, I found this story to be rather dry and dull at times. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and caring about the plot, though I did want to see how the mystery would play out. There were moments of tension, but overall, I wasn’t as captivated by this story as I had hoped to be.

Multi-layered and emotional Aussie coastal murder mystery which won me over instantly.

The Survivors is set along the Tasmanian coast in a small community, so there is intrigue and A LOT of secrets to be uncovered. It settles around Kieran Elliott, a 30-year-old who grew up in this small town. When he comes home for a visit, he barely arrives when a body is found on the beach. This opens a huge can of worms from the family and town tragic past.

First of all, I loved how the setting characterizes the plot and informs the actions of the characters. Both island- and small town mentality is crystal clear in the characters, which makes this novel really well written and unique. On one hand, the sea is a symbol of openness and home, but on the other hand, people in this novel are slowly drowning in their sadness and regrets, just like the victim who was found.

Of course, The Survivors is a mystery, but it's also a very interesting character study with highly emotional undertones. Absolutely well-deserved 5 stars.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Survivors by Jane Harper, narrated by Stephen Shanahan
(Published by Macmillan Audio on February 2, 2021)

4.25 Stars.

Audiobook Production: Excellent.
Narration: Great. Stephen Shanahan makes you feel right in the mix on a remote Australian coast by the Tasman sea, with his accent and inflection.

Yeah, mate!

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In another superbly written effort by author Jane Harper, Kieran Elliott returns to his boyhood idyllic Tasmanian hometown to assist his parents with the care of his dad stricken with dementia, as they prepare for a move to the Australian mainland, for hospice care, presumably.

Fictional Evelyn Bay, Tasmania is a noted dive spot popular particularly with Norwegians, with inlets, coves and semi-submerged caves, whose main attraction is a shipwreck marked with three stylite columns set erect on the barrier reef defiantly against the Tasman sea, and symbolically named, "The Survivors".

Kieran, now a grown man with girlfriend, Mia, and baby, Audrey, is still guilt-ridden and haunted by the death of elder brother, Finn, during a freak storm over a decade ago, in a failed rescue attempt on his younger sibling. The storm had left multiple casualties and broken lives, most notably those of his parents, Verity and Brian Elliott, and markedly, the mental state of his anguished father over the premature death of his eldest.

Then, the death of a transient art student from Canberra temping as a server in the local pub, triggers events and opens a Pandora box of shocking truths, which inexorably alter lives, not least of all, Kieran's own.

Great read, but I felt, the tale itself and its main protagonist were a bit static vis-a-vis prior Jane Harper books on (fictional) drought-stricken Kiewarra, the Giralang Ranges, and the outback. Aaron Falk and Nathan Bright are indeed hard acts to follow.

Review based on an ARC from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

Jane Harper is establishing herself as the author of excellent thrillers that unspool slowly, without ever losing steam. The role that the heat played in The Dry or The Lost Man is now taken by the sea. It’s oppressive and its weight is felt throughout the novel. The small community where the action takes place is tied to the ocean, for good and evil. The pace is slow but steady, like waves. After a long absence and a traumatic past, Kieran returns to his hometown to help his parents. He brings with him his wife and baby daughter just in time for a murder to rock the small town. All the characters are hiding secrets and I really couldn’t tell who was the culprit, even if that is not the point here. The whodunit part may be important but it is secondary to the character development. They are all so complex and fleshed out that you end up really knowing them. The narration by Stephen Shanahan, in a great Australian accent, makes the audiobook even better, since he plays all the characters well. Everyone gets their own voice which, in a novel such as this one, is even more important.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Macmillan Audio!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for the early listen. For some odd reason it would stop playing after each chapter so would have to close the app and open again. Hard to do when driving. lol. Over all I did enjoy this audiobook. Narrator did a great job with each character. Enjoyed the characters' development. Kept me listening until the end (except while driving ha).

I received a review copy of the audiobook from Netgalley, and am leaving an honest review.

The Book:
I did enjoy the story overall, although it was a little slow to get going. There were some surprising twists and turns, and an interesting setting. Several characters, which made things feel a little scattered to me.

The audiobook:
I was pleasantly surprised when this audiobook started and the narrator sounded like a native Australian with a perfect accent. Unfortunately, it all kind of ran together with very minimal voice range to distinguish between the different characters, especially male from female, and this made it a little hard to follow.

Overall:
I think on this one, honestly, I'd stick to the ebook or physical copy. I don't say this often and I don't say it lightly. I think mystery/suspense lovers will enjoy the story, but the audiobook was fairly average at best.