Jane Harper

Jane Harper was born and raised in Manchester, England before finally moving to Australia at the age of eight years. She has spent more than 6 years in Boronia, Victoria and during this period, she was awarded an Australia citizenship. She resided in Hampshire before studying History and English at Kent University in Canterbury. Upon graduating, she worked, on a journalism entry qualification. She got her very first reporting job as an apprentice, in County Durhan. Jane Harper worked for several years as Hull Daily Mail’s senior news journalist before later on moving to Australia in the year 2008. Previously, she worked for the Geelong Advertiser before taking up a role in the year 2011 in Melbourne with the Herald Sun.

Best Jane Harper Books

The Dry is the first book in the Aron Faulk book series by Jane Harper. This is one of those books that has everything; an equivocal setting, great writing, interesting character development and numerous twists and turns. It is exceedingly hard to belief that this is Jane Harper’s first book because the writing feels like the work of a virtuoso. Harper begins first by introducing Aaron Faulk, a federal agent. Agent Faulk makes a return to Kiewarra, an exceedingly small and rural town in Australia, where he was raised. The main reason why Jane Harper returned to Kiewarra, is because he heard that his childhood friend has passed away, together with his son and wife. As a matter of fact, his return is not by choice. The father of the deceased, who threatens him that he was going to release a secret if he was not going to attend the burial proceedings, summons him.

Several years ago, their good friend Ellie Deacon had drowned, and it turned out later on that she was murdered. Aaron and Luke were each other’s alibi, and neither of them really asked where the other person was. The small town had been engulfed by a seemingly endless drought, and the people of the town were on edge. Because Ellie and his father had been accused of having something to do with the killing, they both had to flee from the town, thus, upon returning not everyone was happy to see them. Despite the fact that he was more than eager to get out of the town, Aaron still manages to hold his promise of assisting Ellie’s parents. By collaborating with the local police force, Aaron tries to understand who could have been involved. They soon discover a string of series and lies, and also Aaron is forced to deal with the unending childhood memories, both good and bad.

The more Aaron and the local police force dig into the issue, the more they can uncover. Could the crime that has been committed be related to the lie that Aaron and Luke told many years ago? Are the same people trying to cause the local people to suspect Aaron’s involvement in his best friend’s death? Did the drought that the town has been experiencing compelled someone in the town to go and murder a man and his entire family? These are some of the questions that Aaron Faulk together with the local police should be able to find answers for. With that said, the pace of the novel is not only slow but also steady. The book’s plot is full of unexpected twists and turns. What is great about this novel is the atmosphere that the author has created. The mood that Jane Harper has ignited with her choice of words is amazing. The setting of the book is perfect, while the conditions and the desperation that the small town was facing is disastrous considering the fact that they have been facing drought for quite some time now. Jenifer Harper has managed to deliver an exceedingly clever, impressive, suspenseful and a very descriptive read. This book has been well written and has been told in a tandem from a mystery that happened in the past and linking the events of family killing in the present.

What is going to grab your attention with this story is the author’s exceedingly vivid portrayal of time and place. The novel will also keep you the reader guessing, though there was really nothing with the disclosed, however, the manner in which the author delivers the story is what really made this an excellent read. You are also going to enjoy the character of the protagonist; thus you are going to wait patiently for the next book in the series. The author manages to throw so many possibilities thus making it exceedingly hard for the reader to believe this is the author’s very first novel. Furthermore, it is exceedingly hard to believe that Ms. Harper learned to write through an online writing agency course. However, she had worked as a print journalist for more than one year. One of the basic skill that Ms. Harper clearly gained from the writing course was one of the basics of the crime category. Despite the fact that the people have been trying to solve the murder case, and to also in the process deal with the troubles which erupt in the town, the people are quick to jump to, the wrong conclusion. The Dry is a page turner that is driven by so many revelations.

Before coming back to the town, Falk had always hoped that he was going to get out of the town as soon as he could. As the book progresses, Falk is forced to extend his leave of absence and partners with one of the local police officer, Raco. Raco is one of the few characters in the book, who have been given an in-depth personality. The other characters either violate or conform to Falk’s expectation. Falk regains his memory immediately he gets into the town and eventually learns to come to terms with the fact that a high number of the locals blame him for the death, which happened so many years ago. There is more than the domestic violence and the good weather. However, the weather has driven everyone in the town half mad; thus we wait patiently for sanity to kick in.

With that said, due to the immense popularity of this novel, Reese Witherspoon has shown interest in this novel. Reese Witherspoon has the ability to spot novels, which have a great potential to become a movie.

Books in order of publication:

Standalone Novels

The Dry	(2016)
Force of Nature	(2018)
The Lost Man	(2019