The Lost Man is set in the Australian outback where the distances are so vast and the environment is so harsh that the golden rule is if you are in trouble, never leave your vehicle. So why was Cam Bright, outback born and bred and on his way to fix a radio mast, found dead from dehydration and sun exposure 9kms from his truck, which was fully stocked with food and water? Was it a weird form of suicide or did someone tempt, or force, him away from his vehicle?

Nathan, his older brother, is one of the first on the scene of Cam’s death and then dutifully heads back to his family home to console his devastated mother and Cam’s wife. As Nathan tries to piece together what might have happened to Cam, he is forced to look back on his own childhood and the choices he has made as an adult.

The Lost Man was the type of crime novel I absolutely love; extremely well written and paced but without the cheap tricks, the implausible plot and the ridiculous red-herrings. Instead Harper gives us believable characters and a believable plot, where the tension slowly builds and everyone seems to be hiding something. And we also get a satisfying, if disturbing, ending.

Loved it, highly recommend it and I can see why it’s been nominated for the Dublin Literary Award.