The Survivors

by Jane Harper, Stephen Shanahan (Read by)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The Lost Man by Jane Harper was Our Monthly Mystery & Thriller Pick in January 2020 — and for very good reason. Harper writes characters with depth and dimension. Her plots match that standard as well. Family plays as big a role in The Survivors as it did in The Lost Man. Which stands to reason, because isn’t the biggest and toughest mystery always family? Harper knows how to engage us in the dilemma from first chapter to end.

Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets in The Survivors, a thrilling mystery by New York Times bestselling author Jane Harper

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.

The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home.

Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.

When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away...

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

“[Harper is] a master at creating atmospheric settings, and it’s easy to fall under her spell…A layered and nuanced mystery.”—Kirkus

“As always, Harper skillfully evokes the landscape as she weaves a complicated, elegant web, full of long-buried secrets ready to come to light.”—New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250790897
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	02/02/2021
Product dimensions:	5.01(w) x 7.27(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jane Harper is the New York Times bestselling author of #1 international bestseller The Dry, Force of Nature, and The Lost Man. The Survivors is her fourth novel. Jane previously worked as a print journalist in Australia and the UK and lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter, and son.

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2021

Harper's (The Lost Man) taut suspense novel set in Tasmania creates a vivid sense of place and time. Keiran Elliott, along with his wife and baby, has returned to his hometown of Evelyn Bay for the first time since the storm that took his brother's life 12 years ago and devastated many of the town's residents. Now he's here to help his aging parents to resettle. The day after he arrives, a young woman in town for the summer is found washed up on the beach—her death a "mysterious circumstance." This triggers the start of new controversies about both the current death and the deaths from the storm 12 years before. Harper (The Dry) puts in lots of twists and turns and leaves listeners guessing until the final pages. Stephen Shanahan narrates with a lovely Australian accent. It can be a little challenging to keep track of the different characters, but the story picks up momentum as it goes along and is a great beach listen for those who love a good suspense novel. VERDICT Recommended for public libraries where Harper's books are popular.—Gretchen Pruett, New Braunfels P.L., TX

Library Journal - Audio

Narrator Stephen Shanahan once again transports listeners down under—this time to Tasmania. Kieran Elliot returns to his hometown to assist his parents’ move from Evelyn Bay, due to his father’s dementia. When the body of a young woman is found on the beach, Kieran is drawn back into memories of the terrible storm 12 years earlier that resulted in the drowning of his brother and his friend, which was followed by the disappearance of a young girl. Shanahan keeps listeners engaged throughout the slow pace of the story, which moves between the two time periods. Listeners will appreciate his delivery of complex family relationships and roller-coaster emotions as Harper’s story depicts the varying ways survivors manage the pain and guilt of loss. E.Q. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Instant New York Times bestseller, #1 International Bestseller

"I love Jane Harper's Australia-based mysteries....and The Survivors is the best yet. There are cave scenes that will freeze your blood." —Stephen King

“As always, Harper skillfully evokes the landscape as she weaves a complicated, elegant web, full of long-buried secrets ready to come to light.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Harper is to Australia what Tana French is to Ireland, a writer whose psychologically rich plots are matched by a deep understanding of place.”
—Washington Post

“Another suspenseful thriller...And in Harper's proven style, the story is not only atmospheric, it delves deep into the psyche of main character Kieran Elliott and the townsfolk, unearthing dark secrets, hidden guilt and simmering social tensions.”
—Herald Sun

“The latest stunner from Jane Harper…[She] expertly raises the reader's pulse throughout the narrative, insinuating what happened that day but only revealing the truth slowly as Kieran comes to see past and present in a new light.”
—Booklist, starred review

“[Harper is] a master at creating atmospheric settings, and it’s easy to fall under her spell…A layered and nuanced mystery.”
—Kirkus

“Jane Harper has created a tightly told, beautifully written, and suspenseful novel… It is a novel of guilt, remorse, injustice, and regret, all skillfully woven together seamlessly into a realistic work of literary power I cannot recommend highly enough.”
—Deadly Pleasures

“Harper expertly weaves past guilts with present grief. She remains a writer to watch.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Jane Harper creates an impressive landscape that serves to illustrate how the experience of place inevitably shapes the lives of those who live there.”
—Sydney Morning Herald

“It's now clear Harper has a gift...every book has a distinct landscape that plays a central part in the plot made possible by her uncanny knack of bringing scenery to life.”
—Daily Telegraph

Praise for Jane Harper:
“Ms. Harper is not one to drop a fact [...] without using it later. If you enjoy being hoodwinked…you’ll love Ms. Harper’s sleight of hand. Ms. Harper has made her own major mark.” —The New York Times

“Such a good storyteller… Harper has again raised the bar for emerging crime writers.” —Chicago Tribune
“Intense, deeply intelligent psychological thrillers that explore how our pasts – especially our childhoods – mold and disrupt our lives in the present.” —Christian Science Monitor

“Harper writes with precision and creates a tense atmosphere on the brink of combustion.” —Real Simple

“Book by book, [Harper is] creating her own vivid and complex account of the outback.” —New York Times Book Review
“Place is paramount, a multifaceted character that’s in turns brutal and breathtaking.” —Washington Post

“An author at the top of her game.” —Kirkus, starred review

“I think of Jane Harper as the Australian Louise Penny. Like Penny's Inspector Gamache series, Harper's books evoke a vivid sense of place, and are as much about her nuanced characters and the moral dilemmas they face as the mystery itself.” —BookRiot

“Harper works miracles. We’re lucky to witness them.” —A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Harper evokes the complexities of love, hate, rage, emotional baggage, and a spot of redemption with a spare language that suits her story’s geographical surroundings – and her characters’ deeply interwoven and even more deeply imprinted relationships – down to a T.” —Seattle Review of Books

“Harper adroitly blends the tension and brisk pace of a thriller with the psychological acuity and stylish prose of literary fiction.” —Irish Independent

“In just a couple of years, Jane Harper has soared into the first rank of contemporary crime writers.” —Sunday Times (UK)

“Ms. Harper is not one to drop a fact [...] without using it later. If you enjoy being hoodwinked…you’ll love Ms. Harper’s sleight of hand. Ms. Harper has made her own major mark.” —The New York Times

“Such a good storyteller… Harper has again raised the bar for emerging crime writers.” —Chicago Tribune

“Harper writes with precision and creates a tense atmosphere on the brink of combustion.” —Real Simple

“Book by book, [Harper is] creating her own vivid and complex account of the outback.” —New York Times Book Review

“Harper works miracles. We’re lucky to witness them.” —A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author

From the Publisher

02/01/2021

Kieran and his girlfriend, Mia, return to their childhood hometown in Tasmania with their infant daughter to help Kieran's parents move to mainland Australia. Twelve years earlier a terrible storm left two men dead, including Kieran's brother, Finn, who died trying to rescue Kieran. A young girl also went missing in the storm's aftermath. Burdened by guilt, Kieran moved to Sydney and has not been home since. When a woman is found murdered on the beach, the police begin to question whether the previous deaths are in some way connected. Rumors begin spreading in the small town, and Kieran must face the possibility that the events of the past may not be as he remembers them. Further complicating the matter is that Kieran's father, suffering from dementia, was the last person to be seen with both the missing girl years ago and the current victim. VERDICT Harper (The Lost Man) again excels at creating atmosphere and depicting tense interpersonal relationships. But unlike her previous stand-alone, this story's suspense doesn't escalate satisfactorily. Instead, the author delivers a nuanced rumination on guilt, community, and family that's best for readers of domestic fiction or light mysteries.—Anitra Gates, Erie Cty. P.L., PA

Library Journal