February 2023

EXILES wraps up Jane Harper’s trilogy featuring Aaron Falk. I had read her last stand-alone novel, THE SURVIVORS, and none of the Falk books, but I picked up this one and slid right into his world. Jane did a terrific job of creating enough backstory for me to appreciate his character and understand what makes him tick. He is a federal forensic accountant who has solved many a case.

Falk has come to a town in Southern Australia for a christening, not on an assignment. It’s an event that was postponed last summer after a young woman, a friend of the family named Kim Gillespie, went missing at the annual wine festival. Her baby daughter, Zoe, was found tucked up in her pram. Since then, her husband, Rohan, has been raising his daughter on his own back in Adelaide. People have been looking for Kim for a year, but nothing has been found except her sneakers near a drop-off to the water on some grounds beyond the festival area --- a place where teens regularly gather to hang out and drink.

But Falk quickly becomes immersed in the case as Kim’s older daughter, Zara, is intent on finding her mom. She feels that the flyers she is going to have people hand out at this summer’s wine festival will bring a resolution to the case. Her winemaker dad, Charlie, was in a long-term relationship with Kim, and he knows that they all need answers to move on.

At the same time, Falk has a love interest in Gemma, a widow who lives in the town. They had met over a year ago in Melbourne where he works. Her husband was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and she has not wanted to commit to Falk as their lives are in such different worlds. She runs the festival and is rooted in living in the Marralee Valley, posing a big question for Falk. If he wants Gemma to be part of his life, is he ready to give up his Melbourne life --- and his career?

While I only got to know Falk in this one book, I rather like him, and I was happy with how Jane wrapped his story. Now I want to go back and read THE DRY and FORCE OF NATURE.