Jane Harper is the queen of character-driven mysteries, and The Lost Man adds yet another feather to her cap.
Three brothers meet under the unrelenting sun of the outback. Older brother Nathan and younger brother Bub stare down at the dead figure of their middle brother Cameron, who died of dehydration and exposure to the elements after leaving his fully stocked car and wandering nine miles away. The family gathers at the homestead to mourn Cameron's passing, and what follows is the slow surfacing of emotions and secrets that have entangled them for years.
While the mystery of how Cameron died helps to propel the plot along, that isn't the heart of this book. Instead, this is really a shrewd family drama with complex characters. Each person comes with their own expectations and experiences, bringing with them sadness and fear, but also hope for the future. Harper is able to sketch each of them into sharp relief, and I found the quiet and insightful study of the different characters to be a real highlight.
The mystery itself is interesting, starting off immediately with the kind of conundrum I love in a murder mystery: why did Cameron leave his fully stocked car to venture out into the unforgiving elements to begin with? As the mystery unfolds, there were plenty of twists and turns, making you question everyone and everything. And the ending is satisfying and thorough.
I admit this isn't the sort of book I would have normally picked up, being set in the outback with lots of dirt and sun and dreary, monochromatic landscapes. Just thinking about reading those sorts of passages makes me feel tired. And I did find the initial pages like that, slow and dull. But as I kept on reading, the story grabbed ahold of me and before I realized it, I couldn't put it down anymore.
I can't think of another author who so deftly marries character studies and mysteries the way Jane Harper does. Her books are something to be savored, which is a must while I wait impatiently for her to write more.
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