I have read all of Jane Harper’s novels and this one might be my favourite one yet. I have a paper copy, but in the end I listened to the audio book from Borrowbox.
Here’s the blurb …
At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.
A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.
Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.
Between Falk’s closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.
This was similar to The Dry in that it is set in a small town, and some people are returning home for a visit. All though this town seemed much nicer than the one in The Dry. Because it’s a crime novel, we can assume Kim didn’t kill herself, so where is she? Is she alive? What happened on the first night party all of those year’s ago? And who killed Josh’s dad in the hit and run accident? Are the two incidents linked?
At various points in the story, I thought different characters were the murderer. It all comes together very nicely in the end.
I was beginning to think Aaron Falk is a bit like Miss Marple, you don’t want him turning up in your town because someone is going to die, but, actually, he turns up after the murder takes place.