After reading the first 2 in this series, I was expecting an equally gripping page turner; unfortunately this was not the case. Reading this was like wandering round the festival in it's pages, there was no set plot line or path, and it felt like the story kept covering ground already covered.

Needless to say, after aimlessly wandering through its pages, I laid this one aside. I will try again to read it at a later date, but for now it's back on the shelf. ( )

In Jane Harper’s fifth novel and third featuring Australian Federal Police officer Aaron Falk, at the invitation of friends Aaron has returned to the Marralee Valley, in the heart of South Australian wine country for a christening, and for the local food and wine festival. Among the people welcoming Aaron to the valley is Greg Raco, the police officer Aaron met and befriended in The Dry, whose family lives in the region. Greg’s brother Charlie runs a vineyard in Marralee. Charlie’s product features at the festival. Unfortunately, it is not an altogether celebratory occasion. Aaron was also there the previous year when an incident occurred that remains unresolved: the disappearance of Kim Gillespie, Charlie’s ex-wife, who was last sighted on the festival grounds and hasn’t been seen since. Inexplicably, chillingly, Kim was last spotted pushing a stroller holding her newborn daughter Zoe, and people were alerted to her disappearance when the stroller was found abandoned with the sleeping baby still inside. The only remnant of Kim to appear in the intervening year is a shoe discovered in a nearby reservoir, leading police to conclude that Kim drowned herself. Aaron does not want to get involved, but is pushed to do so by Zara, Kim and Charlie’s teenage daughter, who’s convinced her mother would never end her own life. Along the way, Aaron becomes involved in unravelling a cold case: six years earlier a man named Dean Tozer was killed on the road skirting the edge of the reservoir, a tragic hit and run, his body found in the water months later. Complicating matters is Aaron’s budding relationship with Gemma, festival organizer and Dean’s widow. The story Harper has devised offers bottomless family entanglements, lots of secrets and suspicious behaviour, and a multitude of avenues for investigation. As with her previous novels, Harper is as concerned as much with character as she is with story. The mystery of Kim’s disappearance is absorbing, and Aaron is a deeply sympathetic man whose own past includes tragedy and regret. But all of Harper’s characters exhibit the depth and vulnerability necessary for them come alive on the page, making Exiles a gripping read and perhaps Jane Harper’s best book yet. ( )

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Jane Harper - Exiles: A worthy junior effort, and with what I consider a surprise ending (no, not the murderer reveal). #cursorybookreviews #cursoryreviews ( )

Investigator Aaron Fulk goes to southern Australia after being chose godfather for friends baby. Kim Gillespie went missing one year ago. The only clue was her shoe found in a reservoir. Her teenage daughter, Zara insists that her mom did like the reservoir, so she would not have drowned there. While visiting Aaron encounters a second mystery of a man who apparently was killed in a hit and run accident while walking his dog. The lives of the two families left are intertwined. With a little detective work, Aaron is able to solve both mysteries and bring the book to a satisfying conclusion and make himself happy in the process. ( )

3.5⭐️

In the third installment in Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series, we travel with AFP Officer Aaron Falk to South Australian wine country, where he is to attend his friend Greg Raco’s son Henry’s christening. Aaron is Henry’s godfather. After his arrival, Aaron finds himself helping Raco investigate the disappearance of a local woman from a year ago. One year ago, thirty-nine-year-old Kim Gillespie, was reported missing, last seen at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival. Her baby daughter was found safe in her stroller. Kim was close to Raco’s family, having previously been in a long-term relationship with Raco’s brother Charlie and was the mother of his now seventeen-year-old daughter Zara. At the time of her disappearance, she was married to Rohan Gillespie. The discovery of her shoe near the local reservoir prompted conjecture that Kim had taken her own life. But her body was never found and her daughter is convinced that Kim would never commit suicide. Aaron finds himself involved in the search for Kim as well as trying to get to the truth behind a hit-and-run case from years ago that caused the death of a local man. As the narrative progresses, we follow the investigation into the lives and secrets of the local community.

The premise of Exiles by Jane Harper is interesting and I really like Aaron Falk’s characterization as well as the setting. I also liked the depiction of the community and the dynamics between the different characters. Had I picked up this book only to enjoy the story of a community with family drama and a surprise romance, I could have rated it higher. But, I picked up the book for a suspenseful mystery and while I did like how the story is built up, the final reveal was more than disappointing and very predictable. This is a slow-burn mystery and it did take a while to feel invested in the story. The pace did drag for the first half of the novel, picking up as the narrative progressed. I was hoping to be proved wrong but I was a tad disappointed with how the mystery plays out. I did, however, like how Aaron Falk’s story progressed in the course of this installment.

Though this novel is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. However, I would suggest reading the books to follow Aaron’s story.

Overall, while I did like Jane Harper’s Exiles, I wasn’t completely bowled over by it as other readers have been.

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