Family Drama in Scorching Heat
To start, it’s helpful to know that Australia is scorching hot. It’s a wonder half the continent hasn’t caught fire. Oh, wait—it already has. Much like The Lost Man, Jane Harper’s first novel, The Dry, was set against this intense heat. However, The Dry turned out to be a fairly average crime novel (despite trying to present itself as more) and left me questioning whether I should bother reading anything else by her.
But of course, I couldn’t resist. (Damn curiosity!) And in the end, I didn’t regret it. The Lost Man is definitely an improvement over its predecessor, though for a long time, you might not even realize you’re reading a crime novel—it’s unclear if a crime has even taken place—or a leisurely paced family drama. In reality, it’s a bit of both. Regardless of what it turns out to be, I can imagine that the slow pacing might eventually deter some readers.
Australia’s Loneliest Man Investigates
The middle brother, who runs the family’s vast property far away from anything—except the desert—is found dead in the middle of nowhere. He left his car behind. Now, anyone who abandons their car in a place where 45°C (113°F) isn’t considered too hot is he is done for. Nathan, the LONELIEST PERSON in all of Australia and the estranged brother of the victim, doesn’t exactly conduct an investigation; like the rest of the family, he’s just trying to process the tragedy.
As the conversations unfold, family secrets and local ghost stories emerge, and snippets of information are revealed, keeping you curious enough to keep turning the pages of The Lost Man. These aren’t huge revelations, and as a seasoned crime reader, you might pick up on which ones are meant to mislead you. But Jane Harper is skilled at dropping these hints—a half-spoken sentence here, an old event seen in a new light, or a small contradiction—that keep pushing Nathan, or the reader, forward, eager to finally understand why the ENTIRE town despises this man.
Exotic Setting and a Dozen Mysteries
So, while The Lost Man might not appear as a crime novel on the surface, it really is one. The conversations with various family members and other characters don’t necessarily turn anyone into a clear suspect, but there’s always someone who starts to look more suspicious in Nathan’s or the reader’s eyes.
I figured out everything by page 187—who did it, how, and why. But damn it, I only got the “how” right. Still, I wasn’t too disappointed. Even if the book lacks truly thrilling twists—if a cow walking onto the road in front of your car counts as a major event—The Lost Man has a certain everyday, homely charm. The exotic (and simultaneously bleak) setting, the ever-present mystery, and perhaps a growing sympathy for the decent Nathan elevate this book slightly above the “just okay” category.
Rating: 7.5/10
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
340 pages, Hardcover
Published in 2019 by Flatiron Books