Last one out by Jane Harper

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dry and The lost man comes a thought-provoking novel set in Carralon Ridge a country town that is slowly dying as the coal mine operators take over more of the land. Ro Crowley has suffered the trauma of her son Sam never returning home for his 21st birthday dinner. He has disappeared; the only reminder of his presence were footprints left in the dust of three abandoned houses. Extensive searches revealed no more clues and his distraught family is left to mourn. Ro thought she would stay in the town, but with her marriage broken, returns only for the annual memorial of Sam’s disappearance. Can she finally get an answer about the events leading up to her son’s disappearance from the few people who are left in the ghost town?

Harper is a talented author who deftly portrays the characters of the people who are left behind in the town and the grim reality of encroachment and privilege that the coal mine brings. The pub is open only occasionally by Sylvie, Anne Marie haunts the abandoned home she once lived in, Ro’s husband is grimly holding on to his job as fire warden and the young men and boys who are left with their families long to leave. It is easy to relate to Ro an intelligent woman who desperately wants answers.

In Last one out, Harper reveals the trauma that a family goes through when someone goes missing, and the repercussions that it has on the small community. It is not a detective story like The dry but focuses on characters driven by grief and the effects of a dying town on its community. I became so engaged with the relationships and fate of the townspeople squeezed by the mine that it was a surprise for me when Ro began to join the dots and solve the mystery of her son’s disappearance.

An engrossing, well written story, Last one out will appeal to readers who enjoy character driven novels. Those who like mysteries about missing people may enjoy Melaleuca by Angie Faye Martin, Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French and What happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan.

Themes: Missing persons, Ghost towns, Mining.

Pat Pledger