The Survivors: A Novel

“The Survivors, by one of my favourite crime writers, British/Australian crime novelist Jane Harper, is set in a small beach town on the island, where the wildness comes not from the forest but from the ocean, stretching thousands of miles down to Antarctica….The backdrop of the menacing ocean, where terrible tragedy struck more than a decade before, is what makes this such an unsettling read. You feel the aftereffects of that trauma, a father with dementia, the frustrations of small-town life. On top of all that, there’s a murder. As always with Jane Harper, the pace is slow and measured but the book is hard to put down.” Read more...

The Best Crime Fiction of 2021

Sophie Roell, Journalist

Nobody does unsettling murder mysteries in small, remote communities—where everyone knows each other and has lots of secrets—as well as Jane Harper. The setting for The Survivors, Harper’s fourth novel, is Evelyn Bay, a small (fictional) beach town on the island of Tasmania, where the ocean provides a menacing backdrop that pervades the story. Prepare to want to read this book in one sitting.

Best Mystery Books of 2021