Jane Harper’s crime fiction draws readers into places where a death or disappearance unsettles an entire community. Fans can come to a festival through the Aaron Falk books, a standalone mystery or a screen adaptation. Her conversations offered a chance to hear about those stories and to listen alongside other crime-writing voices.
Harper writes both novels with a recurring investigator and standalone mysteries. Her bibliography includes The Survivors and Exiles, as well as the books suggested below. Australian settings connect this body of work, with relationships inside families and communities giving a mystery its human stakes.
Two of her Aaron Falk stories have been adapted for film, while the coastal mystery about a community facing its past has become a television series. If a screen version brought you to her writing, you can still arrive at an author conversation with a connection to the story. Reading a novel afterwards can make an enjoyable second encounter with the same world.
Last One Out is the sixth novel on Harper’s official bibliography. It appeared in Australia in 2025; the UK Macmillan edition followed on 23 April 2026. A missing person and a struggling town are at its centre. For readers drawn to the effect of a crime on those left behind, that premise is a clear reason to spend time with the new book.
Where to start with their books
The Dry
Aaron Falk returns to his home town for the funerals of a childhood friend and his family. The apparent explanation for their deaths does not satisfy him, and the investigation brings an old secret close again. Start here to meet Falk at the beginning of his fictional life.
Force of Nature
Five colleagues set out on a bushwalking retreat, but only four return. The missing woman is connected to Falk’s financial investigation, drawing him into a story of distrust inside the group. Choose this for a mystery where the landscape and a damaged working relationship make escape difficult.
The Lost Man
The Bright brothers’ remote Queensland cattle properties leave little room for an unexplained death to hide. When Cameron dies near an old grave, his family must consider what had been troubling him. This standalone is a good choice for readers who want a family mystery beyond the Falk series.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
Jane Harper’s 2026 programme included Denise Mina presents Jane Harper & Jane Casey at Bloody Scotland.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
If you have not finished a mystery, save detailed conversations about its ending until after you read it. A shared festival outing can work well when you and your companion know different speakers: each of you brings an introduction to another writer. Leave a little time for the festival bookshop if the conversation sends you towards a new novel.
Is a next profile for readers choosing a festival outing around suspense fiction.
Your questions about Jane Harper
Must I read the Aaron Falk novels in order?
Starting with the first investigation introduces Falk and his past before the later cases. Harper also writes standalones, so there is another way in if you prefer to begin with a self-contained mystery and discover her writing from there.
Can I go if I only know a screen adaptation?
Yes. An adaptation gives you a connection with the story, even if you have not read the book. An author conversation can send you back to the written version to notice what changed between the two forms.
How can I get tickets for Jane Harper?
Use the festival links on Jane Harper’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
Which Harper book suits a new reader?
Choose a premise that appeals: a return to a troubled home town, a vanished walker, or a death on remote cattle properties. The three suggestions below offer different settings and let you meet her writing without a long reading list.
