Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Exiles

I love Jane Harper’s mysteries. I love reading about Australia and an environment that is often foreign to me. I love her intelligent plots, strong character development, and quirky dialogue.

This is the third in her Aaron Falk series. He’s visiting his best friends in wine country where, despite the happiness of family get-togethers, there’s a pall of grief. One widow and her teenage son lost their husband and father in a hit-and-run six years earlier. The mom of a 6-week-old baby disappeared a year ago, never to be seen again, leaving sadness and dissatisfaction in her absence. The stories are connected through the shared trauma of a small town where everyone is close to everyone else.

There’s a lot here about family and love, but also about how people who are depressed can be increasingly isolated from their best friends. If something happens to them, it’s chalked up to their depression, an easy scapegoat for unusual behavior.

Despite the sadness there’s more warmth here than in Harper’s previous books. There’s so much caring and concern for friends and neighbors that the overall feeling is of welcome and comfort. This is a satisfying mystery as well as a rewarding novel of friends and neighbors.

Content Warnings

firefly's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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hannahwoodson's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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mysterymom40's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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goodin10tions's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. It was extremely compelling if you are in the mood to go along with a reluctant detective to solve the clues and meet some flawed but interesting characters, give this one a try.

A mother goes missing at a festival in Australian wine country. She unimaginably leaves her child abandoned in a carriage. You meet all her old friend group in a small community? I appreciated that the teens were smart and capable in the story.

I read this book oblivious that it was actually the third of the Aaron Falk series. So, I can report that even if you haven't read the other two - this one is enjoyable.

The narrator was Steve Shanahan and he sounded like you would want the a smart, kind, tall and handsome Australian to sound like. sigh :)

Content Warnings

meliemelo's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

While this is much more of a slow-burn and less captivating than Harper's other books (or what I remember of them), I eventually accepted the pace and ended up enjoying it, and it doesn't stop the last act from being absolutely chilling.

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rcsreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I was more invested in whether or not Falk was going to do kissing than in the actual crime!
There's a missing woman and an unsolved hit and run and Falk is helped out in solving both by some meddling kids! It's a bit Scooby Doo, I really wanted Luna the dog to find an important clue.
The mystery of the missing woman is well done and I didn't even consider the conclusion in my guessing. The answer to the hit and run is kind of rushed and tacked on the end.
As a whole the book is far more focused on Falk and his life choices than on the actual solving of the crime. I preferred this as I'm more a kissing book person than a crime person. If you're here for some crime noir then you'll probably be a bit disappointed.

Content Warnings

horizonous's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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