Reviews with content warning for Dementia - The Survivors

Thanks to Libro.fm, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for a complimentary audiobook.

Jane Harper writes character driven mysteries that are slower in pace, which is why it's surprising to me that I keep reading her work, I normally don't like books with a slower pace. But the way she writes about place and emotion and relationships is so engaging and captivating that I cannot stop wondering what she has up her sleeve next. She writes insular communities in such a way that you feel the social dynamics of them so viscerally.

This book intertwines the fallout from a 12 year old tragedy with a recent murder and since this community is so small, of course there is overlap. But how is valid and how much is speculation? And what long buried secrets will come to the surface?

I thought I had the ending to this one figured out about 3 times, but I was not prepared for the gut punch that the ending actually was.

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charliechops's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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ericarobyn's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Survivors by Jane Harper is a stormy tale, both literally and emotionally.

I adore Jane Harper’s work, but tread lightly here if you have a loved one with dementia or have dealt with unfair blame from parents.

In the prologue, we get a very quick glimpse into something that happened. When we dive into chapter one, it’s not clear whether that was a scene from the past, or if it’s where the story is going to end up. I though that element set the tone of the mystery wonderfully!

Throughout the book, we get glimpses back into the past that gives us more information about a really awful storm that had hit, and the deaths that occurred during that time.

Our main character, Kieran, is back in his hometown with his girlfriend and infant child, helping his mother pack up her home as she is moving into an apartment while his father will be going to a care home because his is struggling with his dementia. But of course, while he went away from home, the guilt he feels when he’s back in town comes on very strong.

I loved the small town vibes, especially one with a huge summer tourist community as that hits home for me. But of course, with small towns, you also have the negative side affects of living in a small population…

While reading, I couldn’t wait to see how everything was going to play out. My heart broke for many of these characters that were all dealing with various struggles.

I will admit that this mystery was a bit predictable at times for me, however, I did not see the overall reveal coming!

My Favorite Passages:

Even as he said the words, a memory Kieran had almost forgotten tumbled off a dusty shelf in his mind.

He’d been carrying this weight for so many years, he couldn’t imagine what it might feel like to be able to set it down.

My Final Thoughts:

The Survivors is another really twisted mystery filled with amazing characters from Jane Harper! I highly recommend checking this out!

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chelseasbookshelf2's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

I was warned by Book of the Month that this was a slow burn, and that was definitely true. This was very slow building, but I really wanted to know what the heck happened all those years ago.

I felt like we didn't really get to know each character very well. The last 1/3 of the book is where it starts to pick up and you find out more. One thing I was glad about was finding out some of the truth behind the "murder" toward the beginning of the story. The author could have kept the readers believing something about the main character until the very end, but let us in on part of the secret.

I enjoyed the ending of this and had guessed every single character at one point was responsible for the current death. Everyone had their secrets, and I didn't think the reader got to fully understand them all. I felt like there were many storylines left unfinished and as a reader left me confused. I think this story needed another couple of chapters to wrap it all up.

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