Skip to main content

Features

Jane Harper, author of Last One Out

Carralon Ridge, a once vibrant village in rural New South Wales, has become a shell of itself, its houses and buildings bought up and left to rot by the mining company operating at its borders. A decade into its slow death, the skeletal town is all but abandoned. After years of scorning those who left the Ridge behind as it fell into ruin, Ro never imagined she'd become one of them. But everything changed when she lost her son. Five years ago, Sam vanished while visiting during a break from college. He had loved Carralon Ridge and had been working on an oral history of the town to preserve its legacy before it vanished altogether. But when Ro returns to Carralon Ridge to be with her husband and daughter on the anniversary of Sam's disappearance, she begins to suspect that something important was overlooked in his case.

Last One Out by Jane Harper

May 2026

Jane Harper’s LAST ONE OUT is set in Carralon Ridge in rural New South Wales. More than a decade ago, a mining company discovers what they want on the border of the town. Slowly they have encroached on the property around it, and much of the town has been bought up by them as they expand. It’s not just the riches below the ground that the company is looking for, but rather the ability to build roads and easily facilitate their business. 

The hum of the mining mission is behind the entire story like a character. The noise is relentless and the dust ever present, as are memories of the places that are both fresh and buried.