Welcome to Litsy!

Can I say that I both liked this and found it a slog? All the agonising and calculation and covering the same ground over and over went on for what felt like forever. I had just reread a Kate Atkinson and the pacing was just exquisite, the hidden details tantalising without making you feel that you don't even care anymore what happened. I nearly reached the don't care mark with Exiles. I also had a lot of trouble visualising the terrain ⬇️

Overexplaining what happened in previous books can irritate me, but these veiled references to stuff that happened in the past are completely over my head - it's so long ago that I read the other books!

Nothing extra special to say here - just a good, well-paced mystery!

Although I now realize that this is number three in a series and I skipped two! 😂 Reading in order isn't really required, however. #readyourbookshelf

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don't think revealing that a woman winds up dead merits a spoiler alert: don't they always, in these things?
Nevertheless, I found this wholly engrossing. I like Aaron Falk, and Steve Shanahan is an excellent narrator.

The third book in the Aaron Falk series and it was great!

Jane Harper does it again. Great mystery and atmosphere that kept me guessing until the end.

Overall I enjoyed this novel. I especially like the way Harper writes relationships and manipulation. Two things reduced my enjoyment, though: One is that sometimes characters' reactions are written as though they're obvious when they aren't to me (possibly a cultural thing?). The other is that solving the mysteries hangs on happenstance and intuition a little more than I'd prefer. I won't say more about that, but it's something I found annoying.

I was reminded that I hadn‘t read the last book in the Aaron Faulk series after all the #AuthorAMonth posts from March. Though the hardback is pictured here, I mainly listened to the audiobook which is my favorite way to consume Harper‘s books. That narrator is perfect! This one was a nice wrap up for Faulk‘s storyline and the mysteries of what happened to not just one small town resident, but two, were both convincing if drawn out.

I'm still on vacation in my heart. Death Valley National Park isn't my favorite desert park (and I wouldn't want to visit May through October), but it's certainly unique. I feel like the landscape goes with the title of the tagged book, which I started today.

Aaron Falk has gone to Marralee to undertake his being named godfather for a close friend‘s baby. The event was postponed after a woman disappeared a year beforehand at the annual wine festival. Everyone in this close community wanted to find the woman, and Falk, a Melbourne investigator, inadvertently started following the clues to find her. Third and last in this series, I have come to realize that Harper always has an unexpected twist and ⬇️

I‘ve been at these ricotta meatballs for almost 1-1/2 hours! Thank heavens for audiocooking. #authoramonth #Australia #readingOceania #serieslove2024 (book 3) and #letterE #litsyatoz

@Soubhiville @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB @TheSpineView @Andrew65

I‘m squeezing one more book in for #authoramonth

It also works for a few challenges: #Australia #readingOceania #serieslove2024 (book 3) and #letterE #litsyatoz

@Soubhiville @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB @TheSpineView @Andrew65

What I love most about Jane Harper‘s writing is her ability to so masterfully craft the landscape that it becomes its own character, serving as an antagonist that weaves itself around every aspect, moving the story forward. This one just didn‘t quite get there for me.

Still, very well done, excellent narration.

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

I loved this latest Aaron Falk book. The setting was fantastic, the mystery solid, and the characters interesting. I loved the ending too for Falk, but that‘s all I say so I don‘t give anything away. Great on #audio . #AuthoraMonth #AMM #BookspinBingo @Soubhiville @TheAromaofBooks

Starting today for March‘s #AuthorAMonth 🤗

One of my favorite authors with another book featuring one of my favorite literary detectives.

@Soubhiville

The twists were okish-good but the lovey dovey we‘re all friends and happy family in a beautiful place drinking wine, eating lasagne, cheese from the farmers market and tahini, etc, plus, the endless romance blah blah were just tedious and annoying. Oh dear! What a disappointment after The Dry which I loved.

Book 6/7 finished #FabulousFebruary and #20in4. @Andrew65

So, this is probably my least favorite Harper, but it's still a pick. Enjoyable and atmospheric, if a bit slow at times.

I love Jane Harper, and this book is her third with character Aaron Falk. A mysterious disappearance of a new mother is unsettling the small town where Falk is visiting friends and slowly, slowly he gets drawn in. This was veeeery slow, yet when I stopped being impatient I quite liked that; the fact the story slowly plays out over only a few days. And guess what? It got me. I did not guess the mystery/ending which I am VERY pleased about.

Enjoyed it.

And that‘s a wrap! #52Books52Weeks #SetinAustralia

I wasn‘t aware until I finished that this was the last book in this series. It is a slow burn of a book with a couple of mysteries to figure out one a hit and run and one a disappearance. It felt a little flat to me after loving the first two.

So happy to have finished this challenge!

@Librarybelle @rmaclean4 @Read4life @BarbaraBB @jenniferw88 @squirrelbrain @LeeRHarry @Bluebird @azulaco

#12Booksof2023 Month: June @Andrew65

I didn‘t read much and the reading was okay.

The tagged book was my favorite. Last book in the Aaron Falk trilogy. It was a good trilogy. Fantastic. But, it was the last book☹️

There was a book that I liked also but the ending was a little disappointing to me: These Ghosts are Family

#March #12booksof2023

I read book 3 in the Aaron Falk series in January, and it was wonderful to return to Australia and see Aaron figure out another grisly crime. A story laced with secrets and misdirection, Harper has a brilliant way of taking the reader down one path, only to twist the story in a way that leaves the reader completely baffled and groping to find the clues to the crime.

#12BooksOf2023 #January

I felt this book heading in 5 different directions. But Harper fooled me again. Incredible twists. Wonderfully written characters. I loved this community and all the beauty and peace. What a terrific end to the Falk trilogy. I will miss visiting Australia with him. PS the weather was a lot more pleasant this time after the drought in The dry and the freezing rain in Force of nature. Suited me better 😀

Enjoying this on this long weekend. I scored it in a book swap Sunday morning. Spring lamb roast fresh from my sister‘s farm in the oven for tonight‘s dinner but right now I am in the bath with a glass of red. Some Ted Lasso later. Hot day predicted tomorrow so I envisage more beach reading and leftover lamb pie for dinner as I am on school holidays!

Just another Saturday night.

#dogsoflitsy #catsoflitsy

The final installment in the Aaron Falk series. A woman abandons her infant and disappears from a busy festival. Her shoe is found near a treacherous drop. A year later family and friends gather for a christening and to mourn. Aaron and Raco search for answers to the disappearance and another older mystery. Aaron‘s story comes full circle, but not until he helps two families heal. Harper‘s works are always a great listen. It‘s a pick at 4+ ⭐️s.

Read in June
I am so sad that this is the last book in the Aaron Falk trilogy. Maybe a little slow but I liked how it ended. This is a character driven novel with a good twist at the end. 4⭐️Maybe I was too attached to this character☺️

#Foodandlit (June-Australia) @Catsandbooks @Texreader
#ISpyBibgo June (A Novel) @Clwojick @TheAromaOfBooks
#BookSpinBingo ((#5) @TheAromaOfBooks

Another winner from Jane Harper! I loved the setting of the South Australian wine country, and I loved the return of Raco and Rita from The Dry. I'm sad to hear this is the last of the Aaron Falk books, apparently slated to be a trilogy. This was another #readmyshelves selection.

#SeriesLove2023
Harper is back with another excellent mystery. I've read all of her books, and I've not been disappointed. Falk is asked to be godfather for his friend Raco. The book opens a year on from when the christening was to take place, interrupted because of the disappearance of a Kim, once married to Raco's brother. Lots of descriptive paragraphs, so well written, one feels they are there. Highly recommend!

I thought I had figured out the mystery halfway through and I was annoyed that Falk was taking so long to catch up. Then it turned out it was someone I hadn‘t suspected at all and I loved the ending. #FoodAndLit

TGIF

This is my first time reading this author and I found this to be full of twits and turns. I managed to read this one in one sitting. I will definitely be reading this author again!

Nothing says relaxation like an extra day off work before a holiday weekend.

I‘ve read and loved all of Jane Harper‘s books. Each is better than the last, and Exiles is no exception. Set in the South Australian town of Marralee a year after Kim, a young mother vanishes leaving her baby behind. The principal characters have gathered for an appeal for any new information. The working assumption is that she committed suicide but those closest to her don‘t believe that scenario. “We see what we expect to see.” Great twists!

The solutions to the two mysteries was believable and I thought we‘ll done. But the changes in Falk‘s life, not so much. I wonder where she‘ll take that in the next installment, should there be one.

Today's reading place. The Guest House at Graceland.

The latest book from Jane Harper and sadly the last with Aaron Faulk. This time, a mother goes missing at a festival leaving her baby in her pram. It's now a year later on secrets are coming out in this close-knit community. I enjoyed this book and for me it was all wrapped up well.

I heard mixed reviews about the third and final installment in the Aaron Falk series, but it was a clear Pick for me.

The first two were audiobook experiences so engrossing that I can remember exactly where I was when I listened -- I devoured them. Although this was my third favorite, there's something about an Aussie mystery in which you're often reminded that the sharp smell of eucalyptus emanates through the scene that really does it for me.

I‘ve been excited to read this one. ❤️❤️❤️ Exiles by Jane Harper.

To me, the narration was too monotone, which made it hard to get into the story. I did like that Shanahan didn‘t try to use different voices for the female characters in an attempt to make them sound like women; I‘ve never been a fan of overly female voices done by male narrators. I also enjoyed his accent, especially since the story is set in Australia. It added an authenticity to the presentation of the story and the events.

I have loved each of Harper‘s novels, but I struggled w/this one. It was so slow at the start, but a friend recommended I stick with it & I‘m so glad I did! The repetition & lack of momentum was worth it in the end! Around the halfway point I was hooked & her incredible character development made a missing woman story fascinating. I love the way Falk‘s brain works & how his story unfolded. Now I want to go back and reread the first book: The Dry.

This is the 3rd Aaron Falk book, and I think my least favorite. It is a very quiet book and it took me a while to finish it as it didn‘t hold my attention until the last quarter of the book. This is supposedly the last Aaron Falk novel, and my curiosity is satisfied. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jane Harper is an autobuy for me; this did not disappoint. Aaron Falk is visiting for the christening of his friend's baby which is overshadowed by the disappearance the year before of a family friend. Kim left her newborn at the town festival & has not been seen since. This mystery draws Falk's attention & he can't help trying to figure it out even while feeling that he's devoted too much of himself to work at the expense of a personal life.

Background photo is the Irish Brigade monument at Gettysburg. Tagged book was my favorite of the month.

#wrapup #marchmadness #dailychallenge

Small town mystery about a mother who disappeared a year ago. I liked the telling of this story and many of the characters. Some parts were a little forced, but in the end, I enjoyed reading Harper‘s writing and following the main character through his analysis of the missing woman‘s case and the direction of his life.(I didn‘t read any of the other books in this series. It can stand alone.)

OH EM G! I absolutely loved this book! I couldn‘t put this down and completely absorbed it all. I love Aaron and his character. Just everything about this book worked for me.

This will probably be my top read for the month! Jane Harper is one of my favorite authors (though I have yet to read The Lost Man).

#SeriesLove2023 - 3rd book in the Aaron Falk series.

In this character-driven mystery, a woman's disappearance at a local food and wine festival remains unsolved a year later. Her teenage daughter refuses to believe the leading theory, that she committed suicide, and visiting AFB agent Aaron Falk finds himself drawn into the search for answers. Away from the hectic pace of Melbourne, Falk sees his own choices in a new light. A thoughtful, atmospheric story by an author in my must-read category.