The first blog tour of the year is always an exciting one, and its made even better when its a book that you found yourself absolutely adoring. The Lost Man by Jane Harper was exactly like that. I have had the pleasure of being a part of the blog tours for both of Jane Harper’s other books, and I must admit, this one was even better than the ones previous to this.

They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects…

In many ways this book was a family saga, the coming together of a family in their joint grief. I couldn’t help but make heart felt connections with the majority of these characters, my heart went out to them in their time of grief. I have lost people and I know it can tear a family apart before it can also bring the family together. Jane Harper portrayed this perfectly in this novel through the eyes of oldest brother, Nathan, but in such a way that you felt the pain of each and every one of the family members.

The twist at the end of the novel was one that I never in a million years saw coming, but actually when it was explained and I came away from the finished book it all pieced itself together nicely. Nothing in her novels ever leave me thinking ‘Well that doesn’t work’; yet they also always manage to change things up and surprise me in the final few chapters.

Set in Australia these books have such a vast, out landish setting, that (for a British girl like myself) seems so bizarre and unique. I can not imagine a life where if you leave your house, you have to take days of supplies with you in the car in case you cant get back; where you can go weeks without seeing another human being. The Lost Man leaves you puzzled right till the very end, with so many questions of the past and about the death of Cameron, yet as always Jane Harper works her magic to wrap up the whole thing and leave you satisfied yet longing for her to release more work.

I gave this four out five stars, and you really should get your hands on a copy at the soonest possible moment; and if you hadn’t already then you really should read her previous books, ‘The Dry’ and ‘Force of Nature’.