It is both admirable and infuriating that Jane Harper releases a novel once every few years. To me, it’s proof that she’s actually writing them and it’s also proof that she’s a damn good writer! So, the good news is, we have a new novel! Last One Out is one of her stand alone novels not featuring the brilliant character, Aaron Falk, but her other stand alone novels have been equally as excellent, so I was prepared for greatness.
And look, she delivered! The book starts with a young boy in his early twenties pulling up to three abandoned houses getting set to take a look around. Five years later and that boy, Sam, is still nowhere to be found. Turns out he was checking out these old houses he known his whole life because they belong to his small town of Carrolan. His parents are the ones who found his abandoned rental car and their son nowhere in sight. Even after searching endlessly. He was meant to be celebrating his birthday on a break from college. After not showing up on time and then some, his parents started to worry. Rightfully so.
But we don’t get more of the story from Sam’s point of view. Instead, we switch to his mother, Ro. She’s back in town for the fifth anniversary of his disappearance, and there is not much left of Carrolan. After three years, she decided she couldn’t take it anymore. Living in this small place where everybody knew everybody, yet no one knew what had happened to her son. Leaving was how she finally channeled her grief. Her husband, Griffin, channeled his differently, which is why he didn’t follow her when she left.
The biggest change in the town is the fact that it’s mainly overrun by a large mine. It’s set to take over the rest of the town at some point, but there are still a stubborn handful still holding on. It’s all of these residents that start to seem suspicious all of a sudden. Once Ro and their daughter Della learn that Griffin’s sold their home to the mine, they realize they can never really come back here once his contract is up. It leaves a lot of questions lingering. And even though Ro has spent more time than she can count pouring over the details of that day, including her son’s notebook and a drone video his friend’s had taken, she can’t help but think she’s actually missing something.
As in all of Jane’s novels, there are plenty of wonderfully fleshed out red herring’s to keep you guessing. I will admit that my impatience and desire to know did have me cheat the ending a little early, but the details are always the juiciest part, anyway. I won’t spoil anything further, but this was a delight to read. I will say, compared to her other novels, it was maybe the least exciting. In my opinion, yes, this was a mystery, but one that was shrouded in internal drama rather than much externally. But, she’s showing she’s got range, and I can’t fault her for that. Here’s hoping she cranks another novel out sooner rather than later!