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Exiles: The heart-pounding Aaron Falk thriller from the No. 1 bestselling author of The Dry and Force of Nature (Aaron Falk, 3)

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Between Falk’s closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.

Now, a year later, Kim's older teenage daughter, Zara, and Falk's friend Greg Raco have asked him to look into the case as they ask anyone at this year's festival with more information to come forward. As he looks into the case, questions begin to emerge. What happened to Kim Gilles? What would make a mother abandon her child? Once again Harper proves that she is peerless in creating an avalanche of suspense with intimate, character-driven set pieces that are as As he looks into Kim’s case, long-held secrets and resentments begin to come to the fore, secrets that show that her community is not as close as it appears. The setting of the novel is one of the only places where “Exiles” really shines. The deep bushland, lush vineyard, and reservoir lake serve as significant locations in the plot, and the writing excels at immersing the reader in the surroundings of Maralee Valley and elevating the novel above the rest of its mediocre elements. The recognition came to Falk all at once, followed by a jolt as he realized the little girl now smashing a fistful of dried fruit toward her mouth must be Zoe Gillespie, who up until this moment had remained frozen in his mind at six weeks old.The Dry completely changed my life. It was like night and day – my life before The Dry and after The Dry,” Harper says now. “The lives are really different – there wasn’t even really a gentle transition, it was really clearly defined. I wrote this book and then suddenly everything changed.” The contents of the bay were collected one by one over the next couple of hours, as families who'd been mixing wine, cheese and carnival rides decided they'd celebrated local produce enough for one night. By a little after 10.30 pm, only the pram and the assistant electrical technician's bike were left. Exiles is an excellent addition to the procedural series, following The Dry and Force of Nature. Although you can read them as stand-alone novels, they are better read as part of the series. The novel sets an atmospheric, thoughtful, deliberate pace as both the setting and the investigation are carefully explored. There are plenty of suspects and motives within the narrative as the secrets and evidence is disclosed. The narrative unfolds in three timelines: a year previously, a week in the present, and three years in the future. The kind of crime novel you move into rather than just reading it - a wholly absorbing set of mysteries, a cast of characters that feels entirely real and a setting so vivid you can practically smell the breeze through the bushland. Aaron Falk is the still centre of the novel, a quiet presence like no other in crime fiction. Exceptional in every way." Jane Casey

He climbed out of his car and stretched, the movement stirring the owner of the other vehicle. The man was standing a sensible distance from the lookout’s wooden safety rail. He was also staring out at the view, but his arms were crossed in a way that suggested he was taking in none of it. A child’s sippy cup dangled from one hand and, behind him, a sturdy toddler sat straight-legged on the wooden picnic table, scattering a box of sultanas across the battered surface. At the sound of Falk’s car door slamming, the man unfolded his arms and rubbed a hand over his eyes. He turned and handed the cup to the toddler. The man nodded at Falk and as his daughter swallowed her last mouthful, he hoisted her up and carried her to their car. He seemed to sense he’d been recognized, and his body language didn’t invite questions or conversation. Fair enough, really, Falk thought. The bloke would have had plenty of questions thrown his way at the time. The husbands always did. Exiles works on pretty much every level. The the writing is very good and evocative. Ms. Harper is a very talented writer, able to reveal character and advance the story slowly and steadily through subtle moments. The plot is well-crafted, juggling multiple mysteries in the present and the past, dispensing little clues and a fair amount of misdirection. Aaron Falk is a fully realized character (especially after two earlier books), who ends up playing the role of wise, observant outsider. But there are probably ten other significant characters and each of them is also sharply drawn. Most of the story is told from Aaron’s perspective, but there are occasional chapters from another’s perspective, and each of those is a revelatory gut punch. Jane Harper gifts us with the presence of Aaron Falk, once again, in her third installment of this series. Not to worry. Exiles reads perfectly as a standalone. But when you come front and center with the caliber of Jane Harper, you should read The Dry #1 and Force of Nature #2. They are that good.Aaron Falk is in town to celebrate the christening of his godson, when the subject of Kim’s disappearance comes up. It’s a case that weighs heavily on this tight-knit community and Aaron is asked to investigate the case in an unofficial capacity.

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