Review: The Survivors

The Survivors by Jane Harper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maybe it's me.

Maybe I'm just not feeling crime novels like I used to.
Maybe I've been too spoiled lately with unique stories.
Maybe too much reading has left me jaded.

Whatever the reason, I found this frustrating and slow and ultimately disappointing.

Setup: A whole bunch of secrets in a small Tasmanian coastal town, and Kieran digging through the past while we all try to work out who's responsible for the recent death of a girl.

The Good Bits

The Setting
I can't argue about Jane Harper's ability to set the scene. She does it well, and anyone who has ever visited an Australian coastal town will recognise it here. She has a way of transporting you to the locations she writes about, and it's definitely the best part of her writing.

The Tangle of Information
There is a lot of information to absorb - some of it relevant to solving the mystery, some of it just to throw you off. It's all jumbled together so there is the fun element of trying to untangle everything and come to your own conclusions.

The Cast of Characters
Look, I didn't really like any of them, but they were an interesting bunch and different enough that it kept the story interesting. Plus having so many of them meant there were lots of guesses as to who was behind all the drama.

The Frustrating Bits

The Pace
The first half of this novel really dragged, because it put so much time into talking about the lives of so many characters and setting out the misdirects for the mystery to come. So there are a lot of info dumps and not really a lot of action. The second half picks up a bit, and finally it does get to be an addictive read but, for me, the lack of interest at the start meant I wasn't as invested in the conclusion as I could have been.

The Allusions to the Past
This was hands down the most frustrating part for me. It works so hard to be mysterious that it ends up just seeming obnoxious. It drops all these hints about a mystery we clearly know nothing about, then there's a quick info-dump to scratch the itch, followed almost immediately with another hint about something else. The formula was so repetitive that I found myself not wanting to pick the book back up because it was so frustrating.

The Pushed Agenda
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.

Final Thoughts
It wasn't terrible, and it definitely had me hooked towards the end, but on finishing the story I was left scratching my head a little, wondering what the heck just happened. It's one of those endings that kind of leaves you disappointed, thinking maybe you missed something. It just kind of - I think the technical term I want to go with here is 'fizzled'.

I never really liked any of the characters, and it all felt complicated for the sake of complication. There were so many secrets that didn't need to be secrets. Because of this, it also feels like there was a lot that was never properly explained.

Certainly not her best work, and a little disappointing when I enjoyed her last one so much. But, as mentioned, maybe I've just become a little jaded with the crime novel formula.

It's intriguing and full of secrets, and it takes some twisty turns for you to explore. If you don't overthink it you're bound to enjoy it well enough, but those looking to be blown away might be a little disappointed.

With thanks to Macmillan for my uncorrected proof ARC

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