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Even 2020 can't dampen Jane Harper's fire! Yet another atmospheric thriller from a recently-acquired fave of mine.

And I'm not just throwing "atmospheric" around because I think it sounds good. This is what makes Jane Harper's books so good for me, and it was the same with The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man. Her settings are almost alive; almost characters in their own right. Here, the author takes us to the little coastal town of Evelyn Bay in Tasmania, and I swear I could feel the salt spray coming off the pages.

It's a stormy book on multiple levels. At the centre of the plot is the actual storm that happened twelve years ago; one which changed the characters' lives forever, left some wracked with grief, and others carrying the burden of guilt. Then another storm comes in the form of a murdered woman on the beach. Who could have done such a thing? And why? And is it somehow linked to the events that unfolded so many years ago?

Harper draws us into her characters' lives; into the tight-knit and complex relationships, governed by love, shared experiences, and, sometimes, blame. Kieran serves as the centre, but there's so much going on around him-- old friends with new lovers, old enemies still grinding that axe, parents who understandably never got over the loss of their child... the fictional town of Evelyn Bay is its own rich world.

And the author proves once again that she is capable of writing a mystery/thriller from the perspective of a civilian. As I said in my review of The Lost Man, so many mysteries are ridiculous when the MC is some kind of amateur sleuth, but Harper makes Kieran's discovery of hidden secrets seem natural and believable.

I look forward to what she writes next.