The land of THE LOST
THE AUTHOR OF THE DRY RETURNS WITH AN ATMOSPHERIC OUTBACK MYSTERY
This novel takes you to the harsh, dry, dusty landscapes of outback Australia. It really, really takes you there. The suffocatingly small towns, the vast empty spaces, the isolation – all of it is brought vividly alive.
A mystery-thriller, it is a slow-burn of a book that builds characters and a sense of place powerfully with careful descriptive writing.
The story begins with a death. The body of Cameron Bright has been found huddled beside an old stockman’s grave in the searing heat of the middle of nowhere. Cameron, a local cattle rancher, knew how to handle himself in Queensland’s brutal, unforgiving climate.
To his brothers, Nathan and Bub, it makes no sense that he would have walked so far from his car, leaving his water bottles and survival kit behind. Besides, there was no reason for him to be at the grave in the first place – he was meant to be miles away.
As the story teases out, we learn more about the three Bright brothers, their secret shames and resentments, and the things in their pasts that have shaped who they are.
This is a fractured and unhappy family for so many reasons, yet almost to the last we are still wondering who killed Cameron Bright and why.
Although a crime has been committed, the police take a back seat in this novel. In such a remote place, there are few suspects and they don’t know what to make of the case.
Instead, the job of figuring out what might have happened is left largely to Nathan, a troubled loner with a broken heart. The complexities of his relationships and emotions are just as convincing as the descriptions of rural life and outback society.
This is a story with a dark heart – it has themes of abuse and depression, simmering suspense and an unhurried reveal.
Masterfully crafted and intensely atmospheric, The
Lost Man had me more and more gripped the further into it I read.