This was my fourth read by Jane Harper - though I wouldn’t say it was my favourite, think my fave is still The Lost Man.

Nate was on the verge of jumping because his life has fallen apart. He suffers from PTSD from his time with the military in Iraq, is estranged from the love-of-his-life who he met and married in college, has a teenage daughter who hates him and has now been diagnosed with ALS. If that wasn’t enough to bring him to suicide, he has now become the target of a Ukrainian mob boss, Pavlo Shevchenko, the man who hired the bank crew. Shevchenko threatens to kill Nate’s daughter if he doesn’t get the item that is kept in the safe deposit box at the bank and bring it to him by the end of the week. Tre morti tragiche e violente nello stesso giorno. In molti nel paese anche dodici anni dopo portano il lutto. Nessuno riesce a dimenticare. Jane Harper is a scrupulous writer.... meticulously attentive to the nuances of her characters and topography. Although Jane Harper juggles a large cast of characters, there’s a clarity to her writing that keeps all personalities and strands of the plot in focus. Everything feels naturalistic and believable.

Also by Jane

Kieran’s parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. With his freedom, Josef returned home to find that he was the only one left alive in an extended family of 150. Compelled by the need to do something to avenge that loss, he joined the Jewish police while still in a displaced persons' camp, and was recruited as an intelligence officer for the US Army who gave him a team to search for Nazis in hiding. Okay pondering about air disasters as a horror vehicle (no pun intended) aside the story rips along at a reasonable pace and you can see why it was itself optioned for a film (which I only got to see some years later and which does not really reflect the book at all, more stole the good points and ran off before the rest of the story could catch up).

This is the next book I decided to go for my "vintage James Herbert re-read, ironically it is also his next book of his to be published. So as you would expect this a very visceral and if I may say blunt book not like his later publications. However do not get me wrong this is still a great book and to be honest this approach helps depict the brutal and horrific matter at hand. The townspeople, his parents, and Kieran, will never forget the role he played during that horrible storm so many years ago. Visiting his hometown is a kind of torture for Kieran but one he thinks he deserves. No one can blame Kieran more than he blames himself for the deadly events of that day. Now, twelve years later, with the dead woman found on the beach, many of the same people of long ago become suspects and/or accusers, as the town rumors run rampant, in person and on Evelyn Bay's social media. People will say things, behind a screen, that they would never say to a person's face. Liam was talking with Bronte (at the local pub hangout), who wasn’t privy to the local news of years before. The others, ( Kieran, Mia, Liam, Sean, Ash, Olivia, etc.), went to High School together. They and theirEven 2020 can't dampen Jane Harper's fire! Yet another atmospheric thriller from a recently-acquired fave of mine. The character development was quite detailed, even the bad guys, but not overly so. My favorite was Nate's friend killed in the war. The embodiment of guilt and trauma. Ik keek lang uit naar het lezen van dit boek. Door de hele hype hierrond waren de verwachtingen dan ook hoog gespannen. En jawel, ook ik ben fan. I like Hurwitz, to be honest. His "Orphan X" series is good (although the latest one, "Dark Horse" was disappointing), and he's a great storyteller who knows how to weave a great tale filled with likable characters and nonstop action. The community will be thrown into morning again with the discovery of a murdered young woman found on the beach. The murder evokes the death of another young woman who disappeared the day of the storm.

I have read a few Herbert's now, and I definitely preferred the others - (The Fog, The Rats and Portent) - but this is not going to put me off reading any more of his books. Jane Harper knows how to write intensely atmospheric stories. She builds foreboding tension and suspense from the very start that keeps you captivated and hanging on until the very end. This book was no exception in that regard and it finished with a twisty, intense and unexpected ending which left me a satisfied reader. For me the best thing about this book is how realistic the characters are. Their actions and dialog are genuine and relatable. I enjoyed learning about all the townsfolk, both 12 years ago and at present time. It provided a lot of murder suspects and a lot of red herrings. Tons of fun! I should have known better - but I thought this would be a memoir, not this hybrid. As it is, I am left wondering why on earth this has gotten so much attention. Then again, if you are of voyeuristic nature and like to look at other people’s misery, then this may be something for you. The star of the show was definitely the setting...the island, the town, and just the atmosphere as a whole. The book's namesake "Survivors" were such a haunting image that the author used as a veritable touchstone throughout the story. And to great effect.The Survivors is an intelligent and gripping novel, my third so far by Jane Harper. Much recommended! E si tiene alla larga da scene di violenza, da armi, spari, coltelli, tagli, sangue. Racconta quello che sembra potrebbe accadere nella vita quotidiana di tanti di noi. Few authors can write atmospheric, compelling, and literary mysteries as well as this author but this was a total miss. I'm still a fan and I'll be in line for her next book.