ŷ������

4.5 Stars* (rounded up)

A Character Driven Novel to be Cherished! Extremely Thought-Provoking.

Living is hard in Queensland. The dry, the heat, the financial hardship and the inability to make a living. Families attempt to live off the land, raising cattle, red dust swirling all around them. Most eventually leave and truthfully, few survive.

The Bright brothers grew up in a time of struggle. Nathan, a divorced dad to Xander, is the eldest son, who was shunned from town when he was young; Cameron, the middle son, is married with two children, and is also a very successful rancher and businessman; and Bub the youngest, has always felt like an outsider.

When Cameron’s body is found at the Stockman’s Grave, it seems unfathomable. Did Cam take his own life or did someone end it? If so, was it stranger or someone close to him?

For me, “The Lost Man�� isn’t a suspense or a mystery novel, even though it begins with the death of Cameron Bright. It is a slow moving yet fascinating character study of a family in turmoil. My favorite characters are Nathan and his son, Xander. Every thought and action they take in this book are sheer perfection. Xander is extremely observant and is also wise beyond his years and as for Nathan, he just about broke my heart.

There are many questions that swirl around in “The Lost Man�� by Jane Harper. What is survival about? In addition, what makes a life? Thinking about these answers, my heart is heavy. “The Lost Man�� is such a thought provoking book. This was my first read by Jane Harper. Going into it, I was expecting it to be completely different - I was therefore pleasantly surprised as I love character driven novels and the character of Nathan made a huge impression. This is a book to savor, to think about for hours and days after and just revel in the beauty of.

This was a buddy read with Kaceey - it garnered much discussion. I think this would be a fantastic book for a book club discussion and I highly recommend this novel.

A huge thank you to Cathleen Kenney, Flatiron Books, NetGalley and Jane Harper for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and ŷ������ on 12.28.18.
*Will be published on Amazon and Twitter on release date of 2.5.18.