The Survivors

Harper’s (The Lost Man) taut suspense novel set in Tasmania creates a vivid sense of place and time. Keiran Elliott, along with his wife and baby, has returned to his hometown of Evelyn Bay for the first time since the storm that took his brother’s life 12 years ago and devastated many of the town’s residents. Now he’s here to help his aging parents to resettle. The day after he arrives, a young woman in town for the summer is found washed up on the beach—her death a “mysterious circumstance.” This triggers the start of new controversies about both the current death and the deaths from the storm 12 years before. Harper (The Dry) puts in lots of twists and turns and leaves listeners guessing until the final pages. Stephen Shanahan narrates with a lovely Australian accent. It can be a little challenging to keep track of the different characters, but the story picks up momentum as it goes along and is a great beach listen for those who love a good suspense novel.