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Last One Out

The gripping and atmospheric Australian small-town mystery from the bestselling author of The Dry

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Last One Out

By: Jane Harper
Narrated by: Angeline Armstrong
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The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller

'A book to get lost in' Ann Cleeves
'Utterly brilliant. I could not put it down' Marian Keyes

Five years ago, Sam Crowley vanished on his twenty-first birthday. The only clues were his footprints in the dust of three abandoned houses.

One set in. One set out.

Now, his mother Ro returns to the dying town of Carralon Ridge. The community is a ghost of its former self, fractured by the encroaching mining operation and years of unspoken grief.

Ro is looking for answers. But in a town where everyone is leaving, the few who remain are guarding closely held secrets.

In this disappearing landscape, can Ro find the truth before the dust settles forever?

'I was glued to it for days' – Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things
'An exquisite lament for a lost son, a lost marriage and a lost town with a dark mystery at its heart' – Daily Mail
'The drama grows to a spectacular crescendo that will leave you gasping’ Daily Express

Crime Thrillers Genre Fiction Mystery Small Town & Rural Thriller & Suspense World Literature
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Critic reviews

This is a slow-burn of a novel, claustrophobic and compelling. It's a wonderful exploration of fractured families and communities, and the conclusion is both shocking and inevitable. A book to get lost in (Ann Cleeves, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Killing Stones)
Jane Harper is mistress of the threats and secrets that threaten life in the backwoods small towns of Australia. She delivers unbearable tension every time (Val McDermid, bestselling author of 1989)
An exceptional book. The sense of place is very powerful and her characterization is utterly brilliant . . . I could not put it down (Marian Keyes, Sunday Times bestselling author of My Favourite Mistake)
A tale of old sins casting long shadows. It is like a locked room mystery with narrow silos of suspects and motives, but it is much more than that. Harper excels at making the reader feel every emotion, every moment of doubt, the thrill of a possible breakthrough, the wrench of another dead end. She takes the reader on a memorable journey that will pull at the heart, stiffen the spine, and thrill the reader. No one can ask for more than that. (David Baldacci, Sunday Times bestselling author of Nash Falls)
This intricate story of a dying town and its residents is beautifully written and incredibly atmospheric. Heartbreaking and wonderful. (Andrea Mara, No. 1 bestselling author of No One Saw a Thing)
I am a huge Jane Harper fan, and absolutely loved Last One Out. The atmosphere of a dying town, combined with Jane's brilliant characterisation plus a confounding mystery meant I was glued to it for days (Jennie Godfrey, Sunday Times bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things)
An exquisite lament for a lost son, a lost marriage and a lost town with a dark mystery at its heart
Harper writes perceptively about intense relationships in isolated communities
Jane Harper delivers another intricate and compelling novel, this one exploring the myriad ways in which ‘home’ can hurt and heal us. An unforgettable book with a shocking and satisfying twist. (Sarah Hilary, author of Black Thorn)
I love Jane Harper's Australia-based mysteries (Stephen King)
As ever in a Harper book, the drama grows to a spectacular crescendo that will leave you gasping
Jane Harper’s The Dry inaugurated a series in which the parched atmosphere of the Australian outback was conjured with a richly atmospheric sense of place, locating Harper in the upper echelons of Antipodean crime fiction. Her position is consolidated with Last One Out, which is a forensic examination of both familial breakdown and the fracturing of a community . . . she remains incontrovertibly the reigning queen of Aussie crime fiction

Harper builds a slowburning, atmospheric mystery steeped in
grief and place

[An] absorbing novel of loss and guilt
All stars
Most relevant
This is another anazing book by Jane , one of my favourite authors and I loved the book.

Yet again, Jane Harper paints an evocative protrait of Australian small town life. One strand of the storyline centres on how the community deals with a mining company trying to buy out the ppl living there and its consequences.

But this book is, for me. essentially a love story of a couple trying to find a way back to each other through their grief.
A very lovely book, with sympathetic narration. Highly recommended.

A beautiful story

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Lacking the grit and thrill of earlier Harper books, this book is very thoughtful and personal. It is also very atmospheric and a little claustrophobic- characters are few and the environment closing in on the dwindling inhabitants. À good read, though

Characterisation of the women

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as always Jane Harper never fails to deliver the goods!! a slow burning story line, well worth listening to. can't wait for the next book!!

fabulous

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I have liked Jane Harper’s other books and they always unfold slowly but this was exceptionally glacial in pace so I found myself impatient with it. Well written of course and the encroaching mine works provided a sinister context.

Extremely slow!

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I’m sure that for those used to this genre this is a gem but having arrived at the half way point I had to push the exit button.
I just didn’t “feel” it and as the publicity around the book explains (no spoilers) the whole setting is one of decay, despondency and dereliction. I did try !

Had to abandon it after persisting

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