Jane Harper is one of my favorite authors and her newest book did not disappoint!

Aaron Falk is headed back to the South Australian hometown of his good friend, Greg Raco. Maralee Valley, an idyllic town he visited one year ago when the unthinkable happened. Greg's good friend and (ex)sister-in-law, Kim Gillespie, left her 6-week old daughter in a stroller and disappeared without a trace during the annual fall festival.

Fast forward one year and Kim still has not been found. As Aaron arrives in Maralee for a holiday and the christening of Greg's son Henry, he has more time to get reacquianted with Greg's family, close friends, and Kim's teen daughter, Zara. They are all still struggling with Kim's disappearance as well as the death of a close friend, Dean, who years earlier was killed in an unsolved hit-and-run case. Putting the missing pieces and evidence together, Aaron starts to realize that not all is quite what it seems and there may be more to Kim's disappearance and Dean's death than many of them realize.

I read this book in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. I was fully invested in the characters and the quaint, small town, Maralee Valley. I highly recommended this title for fans of Jane Harper, mysteries, suspense, and characters with depth and emotion.

Thanks to Jane Harper, NetGalley, and Flatiron Books for an advanced eBook in exchange for my honest review.

I've been a fan of Jane Harper since I read The Dry years ago, and I was excited to get an ARC of this new Aaron Falk mystery. I don't read a ton of books with male main characters but I find Aaron really relatable (even though we really couldn't be more different). In this novel, Aaron heads to a vineyard in South Australia that's on Raco family lands (Greg Raco and his wife Rita were introduced in the first Aaron Falk book, the dry). Aaron has been asked by Greg and Rita to be their baby's godfather, and the christening is happening at the family vineyard. We learn quickly that the christening was delayed because of an incident one year prior to the main events of this book - the disappearance of Kim Gillespie, a 30-something mother and wife who left her baby unattended at the local food and wine festival on opening night. Her shoe was found but Kim never was, and her older daughter (Greg Raco's niece, daughter of Kim and Greg's brother when they were long-term partners) refuses to give up hope. A year later, Falk is in town for the christening and gets wrapped up in the mystery of Kim's disappearance. There were some solid twists and turns here, and I thought the character development was really strong for a novel that's set over the course of like, a week. I'm curious to know if this is the last Falk book. Either way, I hope Jane Harper keeps writing satisfying mysteries.

A satisfying slow burn detective drama that leaves you looking forward to the next book in the series. The author returns with a uniting again of Falk and Raco but not at Falk's hometown but Raco's. Raco has asked Falk to be the godfather of his son and so they both end up in the small Austrailian town where Raco and his wife grew up. While there for the happy occurrence of his godson's christening, Falk gets involved in the anniversary of the mysterious disappearnce of one of Raco's old gang and mother to Raco's niece. As Falk gets to know the gang he finds himself magnetically drawn to one of them, Gemma whose husband had died in a mysterious way as well. Falk tunes his detetctive sense to the mysteries and slowly puts the pieces of the puzzle together. While this book moves slowly it also keeps you hooked with great writing and a love story added in. I can't wait for the next installment by this excellent author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.

Exiles by Jane Harper
Narrated by Stephen Shanahan

Deep in wine country, Aaron Falk is back at the same place he was at this time last year. At a small town festival with his best friend and his friend's family. Last year Greg and Rita Raco's son Henry was going to be christened and Falk is Henry's godfather. But the christening didn't happen because the mother of Greg's niece went missing from this very festival, leaving her baby unattended in her stroller. Despite pulling out all the stops, Kim was never found. Now, a year later, Aaron is visiting again for Henry's christening and to spend time with Greg and Rita, two people who are the closest people to family that Aaron knows.

Aaron spend all his time snowed under at his job as a financial federal investigator. He's sacrificed so much for his job that he seems to not be able to ever let up. It's a big thing that he took this time off, two years in a row, to spend time with friends. But this happy time of christening little Henry is weighed down by the continued absence of Kim. There are posters asking if anyone has seen her and her seventeen year old daughter is intent on being sure every festival attendee knows that Kim still needs to be found.

Another sad event is the hit and run death, several years ago, of Dean, one of the many classmates of Kim and the group of kids she hung around in high school. This story involves a lot of folks who have been close for a couple of decades and along with knowing each other for so long there are rumors and innuendos that run beneath the surface of polite conversation between the people present now. Who is the person whose vehicle ran Dean down? What caused Kim to pull away from her friends and family in the last year or so before she disappeared? Why would she walk away from her new baby? Was it suicide, a kidnapping, or did Kim just want to be done with the life she was leading?

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.

I was able to listen to the audiobook of this story while having the digital copy in front of me, a great way to enjoy Stephen Shanahan's voice while being able to see the spelling of names and places at the same time. Shanahan represents Harper's stories to me. I've now listened to him so much that I can understand his accent, which fits Aaron's so much.

Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the digital and audio ARCs.

Jane Harper has done it again. I have enjoyed all her novels for the slow, steady way they build around the mystery without giving too much away. I have never yet guessed the twist! This book centers around a woman missing in rural Australia, and the detective and family friend hoping to bring her home. All the small details are there, as a reader, you get inside all the characters heads and see the drama from their eyes. It's a keep-you-guessing kind of story, which I thouroughly enjoyed.

Set in Australia, there are not one, but two mysteries — a mother abandons her baby and disappears from a wine festival; a man is struck by a hit and run driver while jogging in a wooded area. I’ve read all four of Harper’s novels and gave a solid four stars to three of them. Her latest doesn’t have the prominent atmospheric setting of her previous novels, but the characters and mystery elements are still strong with deliberate pacing plus a bit of romance.

Netgalley and the publisher provided this book for review consideration, but all opinions are my own.

I went into this book knowing it was the third in a series in which I had not read the first two, but what I didn’t know was that it was going to be the final book. But you know what? It really didn’t matter that much in my enjoyment of the story. I really liked the characters and the two mysteries were very well done.

The majority of the book is told through Aaron Falk’s viewpoint, with two chapters from other character’s points of view. We really get to know Aaron quite well from his inner dialogue and how he interacts with the other characters around him. I really like Aaron and how he methodically thought through the events that led up to the disappearance of Kim Gillespie. I also liked how determined he was to solve the other local mystery of the hit and run of the husband of his love interest. Both mysteries were very well done, and even though the clues are all there you don’t necessarily see the big picture until the end.

There is a love story interwoven into the main mystery plots. I really liked the mature way the story of Aaron and Gemma developed. They discuss their relationship in very grown up terms and the ins and outs of how it could work or not. Aaron’s own past as well as Gemma’s play into this immensely, both of them having demons that need to be tamed before the relationship can grow.

The setting of a small town in the Australian outback was very well done. I love that a small town almost anywhere can feel familiar, with everyone knowing everyone else’s business. The plot does tend to be a bit slow, but it is steady and strangely intriguing and hard to put down. The three timelines are a bit hard to keep track of, but it really did work for this mystery.

I enjoyed this final installment of the series so much that I am pretty certain I will read the first two books at some point. I might then reread this one just to see how well Aaron’s character developed over the series. The ending was slightly open ended enough that if the author ever feels the need to revisit Aaron and have another mystery for him, I and I am sure his many fans, would certainly be delighted.

Aaron Falk, AFP officer, returns for a third case, this time in the wine country of Southern Australia near Adelaide. He has been invited to be godfather to his friends' new son, set to coincide with the local wine and food festival. But what should be a happy occasion is overshadowed by the mysterious disappearance of a young mother,. as well as an unsolved hit-and-run case that continues to affect the community. The more Aaron looks into the woman's disappearance, the more convinced he becomes that she didn't vanish by choice.

I really enjoy Harper's Aaron Falk series and this one does not disappoint. While her detective is intelligent and professional, he also has a vulnerable human side. Harper's clever mysteries wind in all the seemingly unrelated threads to a satisfying conclusion. I didn't enjoy her previous standalone title (The Survivors) nearly as much, so I'm glad she's returned to the Aaron Falk series. Readers who enjoy the Harry Bosch series will enjoy reading about Aaron Falk's cases.

I think the things I like most about Jane Harper’s books are not the mysteries or the suspense, even though that is enjoyable, but the characters. They are always fleshed out so well and they really spring to life off the page. This book was excellent!

I have always enjoyed this author and this book is not different. It was a bit slower moving than I expected but that actually seemed to suit the setting and plot. I enjoyed this sweeping novel.

The next installment of the Aaron Falk series finds him going to a small town to celebrate the christening of his godson. This was supposed to happen a year ago, but then a woman disappeared from a festival. Kim Gillespie just disappeared after leaving her 6 week old baby alone. Aaron isn't there to investigate but he can't help but be curious about what happened. However, that might mean investigating those who are close to his friend there.

This was a slow burn of a mystery, but it was good! You get the mystery early on, but it's very character forward, not packed full of action. You don't need to have read the previous two Aaron Falk books (Although I enjoyed those too and would recommend!) to read this one. I'm hoping that there are more in this series because I really enjoy them, but the author left it ambiguous - he has an opportunity to return, but also could just retire completely.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having read the first books in this series, it was fun to visit with Aaron Falk again. While the landscape is less a main character in this book than it is in some of Harper's others, I still enjoyed her vivid descriptions of the natural environment. For me, the pacing of the plot was just right and the characters were believable and recognizable, although Zara is sometimes more level-headed about her mother's death than I would usually expect a grieving teen to be.

Harper made me feel towards these characters. There's one parallel "mystery" to the main one that felt a little too neatly resolved, but for the most part, this was a solid, enjoyable book!

Much thanks to the publisher and the author for a free advance copy to review.
4.5 stars

Jane Harper never disappoints. I enjoyed the Australian wine country setting of this mystery and how the character of Aaron Falk develops and fills out. The slower pace for the first 2/3 of the book seems to reflect the deep grief of the people at the center of the mysteries and as Aaron pursues the truth, he also finds the courage to open his heart.

This is the first book I have read by Jane Harper and jumping into book 3 in a series isn't always the best way to go. I couldn't help myself the synopsis was just too intriguing to not read.

Jane Harper has not just created a story with characters but a world that comes to life as readers start a slowly mystery that takes times to tell the story giving every moment a reason to be in the story. The characters will come to life having readers staying up late into the night unable to say goodnight to the characters in case something might happen to them. The mystery is well told, and every question will be answered making sure readers know who, what, why, where and how.



Thank you to Netgalley for advance copy of Jane Haper Exiles.

I was excited to get to read another book in the Aaron Falk series from Jane Harper. All of her books are so rich in atmosphere in their various Australian settings. Her writing really transports me to the land of the story. In this book Aaron Falk is helping to investigate what really happened when a woman named Kim went missing last year at a wine festival.

In addition to what happened to Kim there are some other mysteries that are also solved throughout the book, which kept the story from feeling too one-note. The location of the wine festival, parties in the wilderness, small towns, and cliffs over sea gave the story a lot of different interesting avenues to go down. There’s also another interesting layer to the story as Aaron is close friends with Kim’s family.

However, I found myself not being invested in a large portion of the book. There’s a plotline of Aaron starting a romance with a woman in the small town and I just did not care. I didn’t really feel any chemistry between them and at times it felt like it was overtaking the mystery plot. I think the idea of Aaron realizing how his career has consumed his life and needing to find something else to live for is a great idea. But I just don’t think it was executed well. I love a great romance in a book, but it was so lackluster here.

Even though this wasn’t a new favorite for me I’m definitely still looking forward to reading more books from Jane Harper in the future. She has a knack for creating stories that really leap off the page.

3.75 stars…. Exiles by Jane Harper is another stand alone Falk mystery. While I enjoyed this book and read it fast there was something missing for me. What I liked was the closeness of everyone who lived in the small Australian town, the way everyone looked out for each other and how they continued to investigate two unsolved murders years later hoping to find answers. They could not leave the past in the past. They needed to know what happened to their friends and family. Harper did an excellent job describing the town, to the point that you felt the town was a character. I loved the last third of the book where the reader hears Kim’s perspective and Rohan’s perspective of what went on before and leading up to the murder. Also the story is very believable something that could actually happen. The downside of the book for me was that the first three quarters of the book was slow and very character driven with not enough happening to solve the murders. All in all I did enjoy the book as it all came together.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️: 4.5/5

While visiting his friends, the Racos, Aaron Falk is present when one of their other friends goes missing at a festival, leaving her newborn baby, teenage daughter, and husband searching for answers. One year later, Kim Gillespie has still not been found, and her daughter Zara is looking for answers. Back in town once again to serve as godfather for the Raco’s son, Aaron finds himself drawn into the search for new information on Kim’s disappearance.

I find it so funny how Aaron is a financial crimes investigator, but all the books in this series have been centered around him being in some way involved with the cases of missing women. I’m not complaining, it definitely makes for a more interesting storyline than reading about him going through the financial records of various money launderers or extorters, but still funny that his backstory is so different than the cases that the book is about. I was concerned going into Exiles that it would be more like Force of Nature than The Dry (I liked The Dry a lot more) but this was my favorite so far in the series. It paralleled The Dry in terms of keeping the main story personal to Aaron, which I think is key. Force of Nature was not nearly as interesting of a read due to the rather perfunctory role that Aaron played, whereas in The Dry and Exiles, we get to know him more as a person, and his story arc grows too. Detective novel series time jumps are always a little hard to wrap my head around, especially reading them almost back to back like I have been with this series, but I think the author handled it well, and made the passing of time fairly explicit to avoid confusion. I was deeply invested in the new characters present in this book, and couldn’t put it down once I got to the second half, because of the double mysteries that I knew would be wrapped up soon! I highly recommend this whole series, but this is one that you’ll definitely want to read in order.

Thank you to @netgalley and @flatiron_books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Jane Harper for the advanced copy of Exiles in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved all the Aaron Falk books I've read in the past, so when I saw another one was being published I was beyond excited! Jane Harper is a fantastic author and I will read anything and everything she writes.

This was probably my least favorite of the Falk novels to date. I had a hard time staying fully engaged and it took me a lot longer to read this book than it usually would. I will say once the secrets started to unravel I was fully invested, and I didn't see the ending twists coming.

Based on the ending I'm hoping this isn't the last we will see of Aaron Falk, but I could definitely see that being the case.

Exiles will be on US bookshelves January 31!

Exiles by Jane Harper
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
Exiles takes place 1 year after Kim Gillespie goes missing at a local food and wine festival. Left behind are her husband and 6 week old daughter. Kim's extended family has gathered 1 year later to celebrate a baptism, with Aaron Falk joining them as godfather. With the festival as the background, Falk starts to uncover more and more secrets as he looks into Kim's disappearance.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I am a sucker for stories about family drama. The characters were well developed, and the premise was intriguing. However, the first 50 percent seemed to drag, and I wasn't immediately hooked. There were a LOT of descriptions of the fairgrounds, reservoir, and surrounding land that seemed unnecessary and there was more romance than I usually like.
My biggest criticism is the investigation of the crimes though. Falk uncovers information that would have been discovered during any half-decent police force, and that would have especially come to light if the missing person's relative had done their own exhaustive research. The romance and the ending also seemed completely unrealistic and I was a little disappointed. I did like this book though, and finished the last 1/3 in one sitting. Thanks to Netgally for the ARC of this book

Loved this! Slow start but definitely makes up for it with twists and turns! Things are definitely not how they appear in this book.