The Lost Man

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Published by Little, Brown

February 2019

He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron's mind when he was alive, he didn't look peaceful in death.

Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of the outback. In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other's nearest neighbour, their homes hours apart.

They are at the stockman's grave, a landmark so old that 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 choose to walk to his death? Because if he didn't, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects...

This is the third of Jane Harper's novels and I think it might just be my favourite so far.  Set in the Austrailian Outback, this is a book where the setting plays a primary role in the novel.  Cameron Bright's body is found after he never showed up to complete some repair work on a mast on the edges of his property.  What made this man, who was knowledgeable about the area, abandon his car and therefore his supply of food and water to wander across the remote outback to end up dying on top of the notorious grave of The Stockman?

It is Christmas in Australia and the sun is relentless.  Cameron's body has been found and brothers Nathan and Bub are having to deal with this discovery as well as keeping their own heads above water.  Each has his own problems - Nathan has become more reclusive than ever, following on from his ban to enter the city a decade previously. His son Xander is visiting from Brisbane and even he can see the changes in his father's behaviour.  Younger brother Bub is getting fed up with not being listened to, and seems to have more problems than alcohol can deal with.  Also at the property are Cameron's wife and daughters, Harry who has helped out on the farm since anyone can remember, Liz, the boys mother and two British backpackers who were after summer jobs.

Each character has their own secret or two and Jane Harper draws them out one by one.  What did Nathan do that resulted in him being shunned by his own community?  Who are these British backpackers - isn't it strange for them to be out here with no experience?  Why was Cameron out at the Stockman's grave?  When Nathan discovers the car abandoned by his brother, something is niggling him but he can't figure it out - what was going through Cam's mind and was he really walking to his own death that day?

Jane Harper certainly brings the hardships of living and surviving in the outback to the forefront of the readers mind in The Lost Man.  It certainly doesn't make me want to live that way, and you come away with a new found respect for anyone who has to deal with such a harsh climate on a daily basis.  This  book is full of the trials and tribulations one family can experience, especially when they are your closest and only neighbours.

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x