Last One Out

If you're expecting this to be another suspenseful Jane Harper mystery, you’re going to be disappointed like I was. Last One Out is a missing person case that's set in a dying town in the Australian boonies. The build‑up is glacially slow and it seems as if every character in the book is in mourning. Some are mourning their lost son and brother; others the loss of their homes and community. The dying community theme is as prominent in the story as is the question of what became of the missing son, but I was expecting a solid mystery so for me this only half delivered.

Jane Harper has introduced readers to rural parts of Australia, where the landscape and climate play as profound a role in her mysteries as the secrets and conflicts among her cast of characters. In her sixth novel, she focuses on the dying town of Carralon Ridge, a once-idyllic village being gradually consumed by a neighboring mine. Many of the houses are vacant and decaying, the shops and medical clinic are mostly gone, and the remaining inhabitants eye each other suspiciously: who will stick it out, and who is likely to leave next? It’s a simmering conflict among once-close neighbors and between family members, but despite their differences, they gather once a year at a memorial for Sam, who returned home from university to work on show more research about the town five years ago and vanished.

Ro, Sam’s mother, returns each year for the memorial and to reconnect with her husband, who stayed in their home, though it now belongs to the mining company. She can’t help trying to find out what happened to Sam, studying the notes he left behind from interviews with locals. Things are getting more dire in the village, with the few remaining teenagers growing angry and feral, being trapped without company or schooling in a place they hate while their parents cling to the past. There’s no escaping the noise and the dust from the mine, but many residents resent those who left, getting better buy-outs than the mine will offer the holdouts. It’s a quietly combustible situation, fueled by fierce love for a place that is vanishing before their eyes.

Harper excels at developing deep character studies, gradually exposing layers of their personalities as the subtly increasing pressure on their relationships grinds on. This is far from being a standard thriller and requires some patience as the story unfolds, but it’s an effective and affecting story that, once again, makes the Australian landscape a vivid character of its own. Last One Out is a fine addition to Harper’s literary atlas of a fascinating and varied country. show less

A poignant story of change and loss and resilience. Secrets and lies, shattered lives around a dying town.

A mine has taken over Carralon Ridge. Many people have left, but some have stayed because they can't see past their loyalty to the people they've grown up with and the town as it was.

Sam Crowley, Ro and Griff's son, disappeared 5 years ago on his 21st birthday and has never been found. Each year, Ro comes back on the anniversary of his disappearance. The loss of a child and the unrelenting search for answers rings true.

Grief expressed differently is so well illustrated - grief at individual loss, and at the impacts on the once tight-knit community which has fractured under the pressure of the coal mine which is relentlessly taking show more over their beloved town.

Harper trusts the reader to recognise that kind of emotional bruising without explanation. Because of that, you find yourself wanting to step inside the story, stand with them in that lonely landscape and hug them, even for a moment, to soothe something that never quite heals. show less

Like the other books I've read by Jane Harper, this mystery has a somber tone and the plot moves deliberately, with the author spending a lot of time building the scene. In this case, the scene is a town coping (or not) with the effects of a mine that has been taking over their lives in the last several years. Many have moved out. Some are determined to stay. Ro Crowley left the town and her husband after the disappearance of their 21-year-old son five years ago. But she returns every year for a memorial, which is where the story begins. Flashbacks gradually fill in the blanks of the devastating events impacting the town and the Crowley family.

The mystery is plotted well but the focus of the book is on the closely knit Australian town show more as it struggles with "progress" that it cannot stop. From environmental hazards like noise, dust, and odor to the mental strain that pits neighbor against neighbor as they face the decision to go or stay.

The pace may be too slow for many mystery readers but I enjoy Harper's style. There are no flashy twists or unreliable narrators. Just a good, though sobering, mystery. show less

I'm a big fan of Jane Harper and have loved all of her books. This one is no exception for me. She has a huge talent for making the settings of her books one of the main characters. In this book, Ro, her estranged husband, Griff and their daughter, Della are together in Carralon for the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of their son and brother, Sam. The few neighbors left in this dying town will join them as well. Too many secrets in this town, and Ro wants answers about the loss of her son.

When the main came to Carralon Ridge, the townsfolk hoped it would revive their economy but it didn't and people began to leave. Ro left five years ago but not because of the mine, her son disappeared on his 21st birthday and her marriage imploded shortly afterwards. Now back for the five year anniversary Ro starts to look more deeply into Sam's vanishing and starts to uncover dark secrets in the town.
I really like Harper's Australian outback books as they manage to convey a real sense of claustrophobia in the wide open spaces. Here a grieving family starts to put together a picture of what happened to their son and it shows how divided the town is as it struggles to survive. There are lots of themes around isolation, family and loyalty show more which makes the plot and it's solution almost Shakespearean in nature. A great read. show less

It's been 5 years since Sam disappeared off the face of the earth...on his 21st birthday, no less. His mother, Rowena, is back in Carralon from Sydney for his annual memorial. The declining city of Carralon and Sam's disappearance both destroyed her marriage to Griff and forced her move. As the local mining operation bought up houses, people sold and moved away, leaving a few stalwarts behind. Ro, Griff and their daughter, Della, live in hope that at some point they will know what happened to Sam.

This is less a mystery of a missing person and more a story of the impact of a declining town and the disappearance of a young man had on the town's population. Harper is a great writer and keeps your interest throughout. If there was a show more category called 'Australian noir', her books would define it--somewhat bleak. And, Last One Out is no exception. An absorbing read. show less