𝐁 𝐎 𝐎 𝐊 𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖

3.9/5⭐️Exiles- Jane Harper (pub date 1/31/23)

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:

At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.

A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.

Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.


𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:

As is this author’s style, this is a slow burn mystery and requires patience to read as she slowly sets the atmospheric scenes and the majority of the book is explaining and showcasing dynamic between the large net of characters.

This novel is intricately plotted, setup and well written. This author writes LONG books, this one felt a little too long for me and so full of detail (I must say I wanted a bit more mystery solving action)- however it never quite bored me. I think my favorite by this author so far is The Dry

Thank you to netgalley and flatiron books for allowing me this ARC!

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Excellent read! Jane Harper once again creates a story that drags you in by your shirt front and doesn't let go. I became totally immersed in a very short amount of time. I literally did not want to put it down! Highly recommend!

Although it completely works as a standalone title, this is a another in a series featuring the police detective Aaron Falk. Fans of Jane Harper will not be disappointed, and she will surely attract new readers with this wonderful story that takes place in a small town in Australia. Aaron Falk has returned to be the godfather at the baptism of an old friend's baby, and while there, a mystery emerges about a young mother who left her child in a stroller during a local festival, then simply disappeared. Lots of atmosphere, great characters, and a low-key, non-violent mystery. I look forward to recommending this to everyone who has been waiting for Jane Harper's next book, as well as Louise Penny fans.

This is a great third book into this series! I truly felt like with it without the first two books you could read it either way and enjoy it the same amount. The way and skill this book was writing was so good! The story was page turning from beginning to the end. There may have been a slight confusion mid book but by the end it all wrapped up and made complete sense. Jane seems to always deliver so nicely! I just wish this book had been longer! Four stars for me!

I’m a big fan of Jane Harper but this is my least favorite of all her books. I like the character development and the setting and I also liked how this is sort of a police procedural, yet the police officer is off duty. Aaron Falk is visiting friends a year after a local woman with ties to his friends and their family disappeared. He pokes around the case and yet another cold case while in town for his godson’s christening. A lot more happens, but I feel like this is a character study of small town dynamics and family ties more than anything. It’s well written, as always, but I just couldn’t stay interested. I feel like this is a true case of “it’s not you; it’s me.” I’m still a fan, even though this book wasn’t that gripping.

It’s three star writing. Two stars for entertainment for me.

I am still absorbing The Exiles by Jane Harper. I started reading knowing this would be the final in the Aaron Falk series which I did not want to happen. Aaron’s world is so engrossing and I love getting caught up in his life and the mystery he is involved in. I expected a slow burning but I didn’t expect to love all the characters and their families and friends in the wine country community. The unexpected family history pulls Arron and the reader into their lives and you just want to stay there. Aaron Falk at his best.

Exiles is a slow burn mystery that unfolds as more characters emerge and their stories begin to intertwine in a small wine-country town in Australia. Aaron Falk is visiting for a friend's baby's christening and yet ends up learning about the disappearance of Kim Gillespsie a year prior and unintentionally becomes involved in trying to solve what happened. Being a small town, everyone grew up with each other and they all have their own history that slowly gets explained throughout the book. Harper does a great job of revealing tidbits that start to make you wonder, was this person involved in Kim's disappearance? Told primarily from outsider Falk's point of view, it all starts to come together as he finds out what happened in the past couple of years as well as in everyone's childhood and the consequences from those events. Another great read by Harper, who has yet to miss.

Another winner from Jane Harper. This is a pleasant return to Aaron Falk, who is visiting friends who is trying to overcome a year old family tragedy. Slowly it is revealed that not everything is at it seems (which the reader already knew if they had read anything by Jane Harper before). But although there is a sinister undercurrent throughout the story, the slow pace makes room for the characters to evolve and really sets Jane Harper's books apart from other mystery writers.
My only regret is that I now have to wait a long time to read another of Jane Harper's books.
Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

This is the third and final book in the Aaron Falk trilogy. I initially went in think this would be a page turner thriller but falls in the slow burn mystery. I love Jane Harpers writing and I love how deep and human her characters are. Be sure to pick this on up in January 2023.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found this story to be very intriguing, although it was a slow burn. What happened t o Kim?? The initial idea that she ran away is slowly but surely dismantled by the outside to the community. The startling climax comes full circle and I love that in a story.

This third in the series finds Falk in a small town far from Melbourne for the second time in a year. On the previous visit a mother left her child at the ferris wheel and disappeared into thin air. As Falk becomes more involved with the townspeople, his mind is working on the puzzle of the woman who vanished. Intricately plotted, this slow-burn of a mystery will appeal to fans of international police procedurals.

Another great read from Jane Harper. Exiles features our old friend from some of her previous books, Aaron Faulk.

Aaron travels to the Australian wine country to visit his closest friends. The timing of his visit coincides with the one year anniversary of a women in their group of friends. Aaron becomes involved with the local theories of what may have happened, none of which the woman’s teenage daughter believes to be true. Soon Aaron has reason to believe things within the community and his circle of friends may be not be what everyone seems to think and ultimately follows the clues to what really happened.

Thank you so much to Jane Harper, Netgalley, and Flatiron books for this ARC! This was the second Harper book that I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was afraid that I would be at a disadvantage since I had not read the previous Aaron Falk novels but the author does a great job making it feel like a standalone book. The beginning was a little slow for me and I thought about switching to something on my TBR a few times but after getting about 1/3 of the way through I found myself thinking about where Kim could possibly be. The outcome was something I never originally thought about and I was very happy that nearly all of my questions were answered at the end. I’m interested to read the first two books in the series now and even watch the adaptation. 4/5 stars!

SHORT TAKE:

I have been a fan of Jane Harper ever since I read her book "The Dry," which also features the character of Aaron Falk. Although Harper has published other books featuring Falk, this one felt like the most direct "sequel" to the events that happened in "The Dry." I found this book very satisfying. I definitely recommend it for fans of Harper and also for new readers of the author. I suspect once you read one of her books, you'll want to read more.

PLOT SYNOPSIS:

Jane Harper writes mystery books set in Australia. She mixes things up from book to book, but she has returned a few times to the character of Aaron Falk, who was featured in a few other books but most notably "The Dry."

In this book, we're back with Falk as he visits with his friend Raco (who was featured heavily in The Dry) and his family for the christening of Raco's newest child. The christening had been delayed from previous year after the ex-wife of Raco's brother went missing during the opening night of the town's festival. Now, a year later, the body still hasn't been recovered, and the family is anxious to do one last appeal for information. Perhaps someone who attended the festival last year saw something without realizing what they saw at the time.

We meet the various members of Raco's extended family and friends, including Zara--the daughter of the missing woman--who is obsessed with figuring out what happened to her mother. You see, the facts of the disappearance don't really add up because Kim (the missing woman) left her infant daughter Zoe behind in a stroller. The father of the baby (who was out to dinner with his parents at the time) is also back in town with Zoe to help with the investigation into the disappearance of his wife.

Along the way, we learn more about the tangled relationships that develop in small towns. All the adult characters (save for Aaron) knew each other while growing up, and these relationships run deep. They can also be complicated, especially the relationship between Charlie (Kim's ex-husband) and Rohan (Kim's new husband). Mixed up with this plot is a previous death that occurred in the same location that Kim seems to have disappeared.

That death (an accidental hit and run) that led to the death of a town's accountant may or may not be a factor in Kim's disappearance. Are the two deaths related? As Falk helps Zara and Raco answer some of the questions caused by Kim's death, he gets to know Gemma--a friend of Raco's who Aaron had met 16 months ago and felt a "spark" with. Gemma is also the wife of the man who was killed in the same location that Kim went missing.

The book moves back and forth in time uncovering bits and pieces of events in the past and the present. As things develop, life gets complicated for Aaron as he begins to get a feeling that all is not as it seems. Aaron also has to deal with his feelings for Gemma and questions what his future might hold.

MY THOUGHTS:

This book was super satisfying to read! Not only do you get caught up in finding out what happened to Kim, but you also begin to get invested in Aaron and Gemma's relationship. As such, this ends up feeling as personal as "The Dry." In fact, I would recommend reading "The Dry" before reading this book to get a fuller picture of Falk, Falk and Raco's relationship, and life in a small town.

As with all her books, the landscape of Australia feels like a character in and of itself. I always feel like the land is big piece of Harper's books, and it adds to the atmosphere and suspense of the book.

The mystery aspect of the book is interesting, and the resolution was quite satisfying but also emotional. I may have even teared up when we finally discover what happened with Kim's disappearance. If you're not familiar with Jane Harper, I highly recommend reading her books. She's a talented writer whose mysteries always pack an emotional punch.

She just disappeared and for all the wrong reasons. It's a fast story. Your trying to find out what happened to her. Is she dead or has she run away? This book is about friends and family and definitely tells the good and the bad. I have always been a big fan of Jane Harper since her very 1st book. If you have never then you need to catch up. If you can even put this down for a few minutes it will still be on your mind. Questions about every single character. I don't think you will be disappointed at all. Thank you Publisher.

Thank you to Jane Harper, publisher, and NetGalley for my eARC of this book in exchange for my review.

I have read the other Aaron Falk books in this series (even though I do not feel that you need to in order to read this one) and I love how Harper has captured his character, which is a feat in itself since I am usually not a fan of detective/inspector novels.
The slow building of tension had me enjoying this book from start to finish. I loved the twists and turns revealed throughout the book. This is a fantastic mystery that I think fans of Jane Harper's work will love!

A compelling read! The characters are so well drawn, and the storyline keeps you interested throughout. A mother is missing after abandoning her child at the local festival. Aaron Falk, a friend to the family and a federal investigator begins to put together the many pieces of the puzzle of the missing woman. Lots of twists and turns, with suspense building slowly. This was such a good solid mystery, well told, and thoroughly enjoyed! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Exiles is a mystery set in Australia, the third in the Aaron Falk series. A child abandoned at a local festival, a missing mother, and a cold case hit-and-run make up the bones of the mystery. The story builds slowly, but the characters are well written and fully realized. There is a lot of back and forth in time as clues are pieced together, reasons for underlying tensions between characters are revealed, and details become clues, until it all comes together for a satisfying resolution.

'm so happy that Aaron Falk is back! In this installment, Aaron is going to the wine country of Australia, where he will be The Godfather for his good friend. One year ago, Kim Gillespie disappeared at the annual food and wine festival in the town, leaving her infant daughter, Ava, tucked into her pram. Her husband has gone to meet his parents for dinner, and Kim was supposed to meet her daughter from a previous relationship to celebrate her birthday. One year later, as Aaron again travels to the town to celebrate the christening of Henry, his friends child, he is drawn into the mystery of Kim's disappearance. No body has ever been found, and the leads are cold. When Kim's daughter makes a plea at the festival, Aaron can't help start investigating. Jane Harper slowly reveals the mysteries of of the town, including another mysterious "hit and run" accident that occurred at the festival a few years before Kim's disappearance. We also meet a new romantic interest for Aaron, and learn more about his personal life. No spoilers here, but there are decisions to be made! A solid installment in the series. Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

This was my first book by Jane Harper and I was completely blown away. This book was written with such a lovely slow, deliberate tension. We have flashbacks in time, interactions with a wide range of characters. I loved Falk, and the way his mind works. He was very methodical, by the book - but also always an emotional element. I loved see his inner dialogue as memories returned to him. Though there were pieces that I felt were fairly predictable, it didn’t take away from the story for me. I loved Gemma, Joel, Zara and really all of the cast of characters. I don’t have anything negative to say! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to give my honest review.