Jane Harper knows how to write intensely atmospheric stories. She builds foreboding tension and suspense from the very start that keeps you captivated and hanging on until the very end. This book was no exception in that regard and it finished with a twisty, intense and unexpected ending which left me a satisfied reader. Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. Immediately all of the town has their own opinion on what happened, if a crime was committed and who the culprit could be.There is an online forum and it has people divulging secrets about everyone. Well, forget that one (I really wish that was possible), because this one is a different kettle of fish. A 747 crashes in Eton killing everyone on board, except the co-pilot, who inexplicably survives quite unharmed, memories of the (short) flight and crash completely gone though. His struggle to understand and remember is soon fueled by the fact that strange and horrible things are happening in Eton and they soon seem to be connected to the crash.

For me the best thing about this book is how realistic the characters are. Their actions and dialog are genuine and relatable. I enjoyed learning about all the townsfolk, both 12 years ago and at present time. It provided a lot of murder suspects and a lot of red herrings. Tons of fun! Jane Harper creates an impressive landscape that serves to illustrate how the experience of place inevitably shapes the lives of those who live there." Sydney Morning Herald This is a story of grief, guilt and blame which weighs heavily on people and this is depicted really well and at times, very movingly. As you would expect from Jane Harper this is extremely well written and is an excellent portrait of a small community with suspicion hanging over it and the devastation that can cause. There are tantalising hints about the past and events in the present in this slow burner of a novel. In places I find the pace is a bit too slow in the first 50% but the pace increases in the second half as the mystery deepens and mistrust strengthens. This half makes for gripping reading as you really don’t know who to trust, who to believe and you cast your eye over everyone. I think the outcome is a good surprise and fits well with those tantalising hints! I love the atmosphere that the author creates using the weather to great effect and especially the past storm, she uses the ebb and flow of the cold ocean to symbolise the attitudes of the inhabitants of Evelyn Bay. This really resonates with me and it is as if you are actually present on the shore. I love the use of the dangerous caves which hide as much as the people do and are an excellent metaphor for submerged secrets. The character development is really good especially in Kieran’s family and you feel so much is weighing on his mother Verity's shoulders. The local policeman, Chris Renn investigates and murder along with DI Sue Pendlebury from Hobart. Renn is an interesting character because twelve years ago he was a rookie cop and was besotted with Olivia, now he is much more assured but there are misgivings that he harbours that may shed some light on the disappearance of Gabby years ago and the latest murder of Bronte. Kieran does as much investigating as the police and through his perspective, the story is told. Still, I found this to be an absorbing read that I purposely read when I was in the right mood for it.The premise for the story is a promising one, but it's poorly executed and somewhat muddled and confusing. Deceased aircraft passengers become killers for reasons that are not entirely convincing or properly explained, and the same applies to much of the story.

However what follows threatens to destroy Nate’s life and everything he holds dear – his family. He is targeted by the big boss behind the bank raid, a psychopathic Ukranian mobster who thinks nothing of killing innocent people. Nat has to do his bidding or risk losing his family. This was my favorite Jane Harper book. I loved the setting, the atmospheric seaside town, *Evelyn Bay*, ( a popular beach shoreline during the height of summer holidays—but off season most people had left), in Tasmania, ( the story takes place during the off season with the locals), the character development, and the unfolding of the entire story. I have 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 seen a kitchen with a door leading to it! Is it an Australian thing? I'm so curious lol Weak, cardboard characters and dialogue, and a very bizarre climax to the story that left me hugely disappointed. Wie mijn boek ‘Broere’ kent of mijn geschiedenis weet, kijkt er niet van op dat ik ‘De overlevenden’ absoluut wilde lezen. De broers, de herinneringen. Schulman moest het nog waarmaken ook, maar dat doet hij, en het zal je niet verbazen dat dit boek — juist door het inzoomen op een kindertijd en door de manier waarop de ouders worden neergezet — dicht op mijn huid zat.

After 12 years fighting with his guilt feelings, depression, Kieran evolved into more caring, understanding, mature man with the help of Mia and his daughter’s support but seeing his broken parents who are still grieving his brother bring out the resentment, sadness he has been bottling up for years. The clues are all there but it’s very subtle - furtive glances, half heard conversations, fleeting memories etc and we gradually join the dots, along with the main characters. It’s all small signs and ciphers that if you’re clever enough you’ll spot (I of course came nowhere close!) Viene da pensare che i veri sopravvissuti sono gli abitanti di Evelyn Bay: in particolare quelli legati più o meno direttamente a dei tragici fatti successi dodici anni prima: Finn e Toby, due giovani soci e amici con un’impresa nautica e di escursioni subacquee morti affogati durante una tempesta micidiale, tutti dicono per cercare di salvare il diciottenne fratello rimasto intrappolato dentro una grotta a causa dell’alta marea (situazione descritta come estremamente pericolosa). Lo stesso giorno sparì una quattordicenne di cui si ritrovò solo lo zaino emerso qualche giorno dopo. A Boeing 747 crashes outside the village of Eton. Miraculously one person, the co-pilot, Keller, walks out of the crashed unscathed. He remembers nothing of the events and begins to try and find out. It also turns out that something 'evil' has been released in the crash and Keller may be impacted by it. A powerful psychic also is involved and communicates with the dead. Trei frați revin la casa de vacanță a copilăriei lor, în căutarea unor răspunsuri. Totul are legătură cu un accident petrecut într-o vară, în urmă cu 20 de ani.

This isn’t a fast paced book, but it totally engaged me with its character studies and numerous possibilities as to who committed the crime. And I will say the ending took me totally by surprise. Survivor is emotional and gut-wrenching and much more than just another suspenseful thriller. If it is ever made into a movie I won’t bitch and moan like I usually do if my husband wants to drag me to it. I would love to see this on the big screen.I’ve read and loved every one of this authors books. While this was a good read that I would recommend, it’s my least favourite of hers. Nate does do the right thing and foil the bank robbery. But the ringleader escapes after warning Nate that "he" will make him pay in ways he can't possibly imagine. For Nate, the threat holds little weight. He was just about to kill himself after all. And if suicide doesn't get him, then his recently diagnosed Lou Gehrig's disease will. It is that diagnosis on top of the PTSD he can't shake and the finalization of his divorce that has brought Nate to this point and he is finding it surprisingly freeing to not care. Even when the "he" of the threat (Ukrainian mobster Pavlo) kidnaps him and makes clear that very bad things are going to happen, Nate is ready. What he isn't ready for is the threat to his daughter Cielle and that changes everything. Now he's got only a few days to complete the task set for him by Pavlo. If he fails it is Ciele who will pay. Nate was on the verge of jumping because his life has fallen apart. He suffers from PTSD from his time with the military in Iraq, is estranged from the love-of-his-life who he met and married in college, has a teenage daughter who hates him and has now been diagnosed with ALS. If that wasn’t enough to bring him to suicide, he has now become the target of a Ukrainian mob boss, Pavlo Shevchenko, the man who hired the bank crew. Shevchenko threatens to kill Nate’s daughter if he doesn’t get the item that is kept in the safe deposit box at the bank and bring it to him by the end of the week. For a book told from a male's POV, this sure wants to make a point about how hard it is to be a woman. It reminds us that women can't walk in the dark without feeling safe and that beautiful women will always be harassed and blamed for being beautiful. As a woman I totally get these issues, but it just felt so out of place the way it was discussed in this story. She worked too hard to make a point of it, and it grated for me because it never felt organic. Especially when she spent so much time talking about how attractive the females in this book were. Overall, it was pretty jarring and made me feel awkward. Heartbreaking and inspiring. Josef Lewkowicz's journey to freedom did not end with his liberation from the Nazi death camps. He witnessed the inhumanity of men who, when given the power, can be so evil as to choose who shall live and who shall die. With captivating realism, Lewkowicz recounts reuniting hundreds of displaced and abandoned Jewish children with their families, an enormous task. If that wasn't enough, he became a Nazi hunter and helped bring some of the worst men in Jewish history to justice. This is a profound and courageous book. Maxwell Smart, author of The Boy in the Woods Maxwell Smart, author of The Boy in the Woods

A 747 crashes in Eton, killing everyone on board, excluding the Co-Pilot, Keller, who now wants to know what unseen forces are keeping him alive.Overall, despite my thoughts on the first part this is a really good, exceptionally well written and atmospheric slow burner with a fantastic setting in Tasmania, which I recommend. Her books are published in more than 36 territories worldwide, with The Dry in production as a major motion picture starring Eric Bana. On the very next day, poor Bronte’s dead body is found on the shore feeds the town’s people with more questions and gossips because Liam was the last person saw her alive.