Reading: THE LOST MAN - Jane Harper

The Lost Man, a standalone outside Harper's two bestselling Aaron Falk series of novels, was my introduction to the writer. Set in the Australian Outback that comes across so clearly and real, it's almost it's own character in the book, the story starts with two brothers, Nathan and Bub Bright, who find the body of third brother Cameron lying dead outdoors under the brutal sun. Cameron was the middle son, a rancher like his brothers who was pretty much the golden boy of the area and ran the family ranch, so the question that immediately arises, with Cameron's vehicle nowhere nearby and with no water or provisions on the body, is: accident, or murder? Or, somehow, had Cameron gone mad in the oppressive heat, abandoned his vehicle (found about nine kilometers away) - which had been stocked with bottled water, food, and other supplies, even the car keys left on the front seat - and walked until he'd lost his way and became stranded? Easy enough to happen, roads out there (such as they are) can go days or weeks without a car passing over them. Both vehicle and body show no signs of foul play at all, and Nathan, with his own, smaller farm a good few hours' ride away, hadn't even seen Cameron in some time so feels disconnected period. But when he ends up back at his younger brother's ranch with the rest of the family, and starts trying to piece together Cameron's state of mind in the days leading up to his death, something seems ... off. Cameron seemed ... off. And the deeper he pokes leads eldest brother Nathan to turn over all kinds of rocks, not knowing just what may crawl out. The Lost Man is my favorite read of 2019 so far; it's been ages since a book sucked me in so quickly and just held me there, irritated whenever I was away from it and couldn't read on. All the characters - Nathan, his son Xander, mother Liz and brother Bub, Cameron's widow Ilsa and her two girls - all are as vivid to me as anyone I know in real life. Nathan's anger, shame, joys, fears, hopes, are all so palpable throughout the book, all you can do is hang on for the ride to see if he gets the answers he badly needs ... bu isn't sure he wants. A brilliant piece of mystery fiction, never boring, sometimes as clingy and claustrophobic as the sweltering Outback itself, getting just as under your skin.  5/5 stars