Exiles
A Novel
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4.1 • 477 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"I love Jane Harper's Australia-based mysteries." —Stephen King
“Once again Harper proves that she is peerless in creating an avalanche of suspense with intimate, character-driven set pieces...Harper’s legions of fans will exult in reading Exiles.”
—David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author
FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AND AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR JANE HARPER COMES EXILES, A CAPTIVATING MYSTERY ABOUT A MISSING MOTHER
Federal Investigator Aaron Falk is on his way to a small town deep in Southern Australian wine country for the christening of an old friend's baby. But mystery follows him, even on vacation.
This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Kim Gillespie's disappearance. One year ago, at a busy town festival on a warm spring night, Kim safely tucked her sleeping baby into her stroller, then vanished into the crowd. No one has seen her since. When Kim's older daughter makes a plea for anyone with information about her missing mom to come forward, Falk and his old buddy Raco can't leave the case alone.
As Falk soaks up life in the lush valley, he is welcomed into the tight-knit circle of Kim’s friends and loved ones. But the group may be more fractured than it seems. Between Falk’s closest friend, the missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge. What would make a mother abandon her child? What happened to Kim Gillespie?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
An investigator can’t let go of a puzzling cold case in this mystery set in Australia’s wine country. One year after Kim Gillespie disappeared, Australian federal investigator Aaron Falk revisits the sleepy vineyard town where she was last seen. He’s supposed to be there celebrating a friend’s new baby, but the dogged Falk can’t stop questioning why the missing woman would have abandoned her own child at the annual wine festival—and whether the residents of the bucolic Marralee Valley are hiding more than some fine vintage bottles. With vivid detail and a great ear for dialogue, rising crime fiction superstar Jane Harper invites us along as her resolute investigator catches up with the missing woman’s family and friends. Her sharp storytelling brings every possible motive into clear focus. This is a smart, fast, and exceptionally well-plotted mystery to unwind with (wine pairing optional).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Harper's stellar third outing for Aaron Falk (after 2018's Force of Nature) takes Falk, of the Australian Federal Police's financial division, back to the town of Marralee, the site of a popular food and wine festival. A year earlier, Falk was in Marralee when a tragedy occurred. During that year's festival, 39-year-old Kim Gillespie left the stroller containing her five-week-old daughter in the stroller storage area—and disappeared. Despite frantic searches, Kim never turned up, though her shoe was found in a nearby reservoir, leading to the belief that she drowned there. Falk agrees to revisit the mystery at the behest of Zara, Kim's teenage daughter, and Greg Raco, a friend of Falk. The inquiry suggests a possible link to another unresolved case—the hit-and-run death of accountant Dean Tozer six years earlier, also coinciding with the Marralee festival. Writing at the top of her game, Harper effectively uses whodunit tropes to explore her characters' hidden lives. Readers interested in literate and nuanced mysteries will be eager to see more of Falk. 5-city author tour.
Customer Reviews
Lovely rich mystery
Filled with interesting characters, and a compelling main character. Story reels you in one clue at a time
Slow but satisfying
There are a lot of long drawn out scenes that have no resolution and don’t seem to lead anywhere. But overall it’s a good story with a satisfying ending.
Another great Harper read
I can’t say this one was my favorite but I really enjoyed it, as I’ve enjoyed all of her books. The mystery was intriguing and cleverly crafted.