Cameron was even known for his painting ability - his painting of the stockman's grave won an award and hung in the living room like a trophy. His farm was profitable year after year, and he was loved by everyone in town. Cameron, on the surface, seemed to have it all together.

The uneasiness continues to spread throughout the family, as no answers or significant hints seem to appear. At first the family claims it was nothing major, and few people are willing to supply any substantial evidence to suggest that he might take his own life. Upon reflection, the family realizes that Cameron was acting suspicious the weeks leading up to his death. As the characters are introduced it reads like an interrogation - Nathan considers everyone a suspect without explicitly stating so.

There is also Nathan and Bub's mother Liz, Uncle Harry - who is not actually an uncle, but has been around working for longer than Nathan has been alive, and lastly two backpackers Simon and Katy, who were hired by Cameron to work on the farm. At the house is Ilse, Cameron's wife, and their two daughters Lo and Sophie. The two brothers and Xander make their way to Cameron's property where the remainder of the novel takes place. There are no answers - only questions, and this leads the group to believe maybe it was a suicide induced by the wretched heat. Cam has lived there his entire life, and would have known that leaving his car without supplies would be a death sentence. Nathan, Xander, Bub, and the police officer who was on relief duty that day cannot find any plausible reason as for why he would leave his car. Everything other than the fact that Cameron's car was found a ways away from his body - almost too far to walk in the heat. They arrive at the scene and are surprised to find that Cam's body shows no signs of struggle, no wounds or bruising, and his car is fully functioning with more than enough food and gas to last days stranded in the outback. Xander usually lives in Brisbane with Nathan's ex-wife, Jacqui, and the two of them set out to meet Nathan's youngest brother Bub at the gravesite. He drives out with his son Xander who is visiting for Christmas. His middle brother Cameron has been found dead, his head resting against the grave trying to savor the only shred of shade that can be found for miles. Narrated in the third person, the story is told primarily through the eyes of the eldest brother, Nathan Bright, who lives in isolation from the rest of his family on land that was gifted to him from his ex-father-in-law.Ī few days before Christmas, Nathan is called to the stockman's grave - a small stone that is hours away by car from the nearest town. This mystery novel from Jane Harper is based on a supposedly normal family who lives in the Queensland outback in north-eastern Australia. The following version of this book was used to crate this guide: Harper Jane.

The lost man review