Exiles
Beneath the sun-drenched vineyards of Southern Australia, a year-long shadow stretches across a close-knit wine country town. Federal Investigator Aaron Falk arrives for a friend's christening, only to be pulled into a haunting mystery that refuses to die.
One year ago, during a bustling town festival, young mother Kim Gillespie tucked her sleeping baby into a stroller and vanished into the crowd. Her absence has poisoned the quiet community, and as the anniversary arrives, Kim's older daughter issues a public plea for answers. Falk and his old buddy Raco find themselves unable to ignore the chilling echoes of the past.
As Falk navigates the seemingly welcoming circle of Kim's friends and family, he uncovers fractures and long-buried truths. Everyone has a secret, and the line between friendship and betrayal is dangerously thin. What made Kim Gillespie disappear? And what dark sacrifice lies at the heart of this beautiful, haunted valley?
- Aaron Falk - Federal agent, 36
- Greg Raco - Police sergeant in Kiewarra, Aaron’s friend
- Rita - Greg’s wife
- Eva - Greg and Rita’s daughter, 5
- Henry - Greg and Rita’s son, 1
- Charlie - Greg’s brother, Kim’s ex-partner
- Zara - Charlie and Kim’s daughter, 17
- Joel - Zara’s friend
- Kim - Missing woman, Rohan’s wife, Zoe and Zara’s mother
- Zoe - Kim’s daughter
- Rohan - Kim’s husband, Zoe’s father
- Ben - Greg and Charlie’s brother
- Rob Dwyer - Police sergeant in Marralee
- Cathy - Rob’s wife
- Caitlin - Rob and Cathy’s daughter, deceased at 22
- Gemma - Festival director, Joel’s step-mother
- Naomi - Henry’s godmother
- Dean - Joel’s father, Gemma’s husband, deceased
- Shane - Friend of the Raco family
- Kim went missing last year at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival.
- Sergeant Dwyer’s daughter choked on her own vomit and died after drinking too much a few months before Kim disappeared.
- Dean was killed in a hit and run six years ago near the reservoir during festival opening weekend.
- Twenty five years ago during the festival, the teenagers went to drink by the reservoir and Naomi found Kim passed out drunk. She suspected Kim had been assaulted, but Kim begged her not to tell anyone. Neither girl said anything until last year when Kim went missing and Naomi told the police.
- Present: Raco and Aaron watch a video Joel took of Dean’s hit and run scene, and Raco notices there is no glass on the ground as you would expect from broken headlights.
- Joel shows Aaron paint samples he scraped off the barrier at the accident site.
- Aaron determines that Kim was never at the festival to begin with. Lots of people saw a woman matching her description, but no one who actually knew Kim saw her that night.
- Before: Kim: After Rohan and Kim got married, he became controlling, isolated Kim from her friends and family and convinced her to quit her job.
- Before: Rohan: Rohan was the one who followed Kim that night at the reservoir when she was blackout drunk but before anything could happen he heard Naomi approaching and ran away.
- Rohan pulled over at a viewpoint on their way to Marralee and he strangled Kim and pushed her body off the cliff.
- Present: Kim’s body is recovered from the bushland below the lookout.
- Six months later: Zoe is living with a foster family while Charlie tries to gain custody of her.
- Aaron takes a year’s sabbatical from the police, moves to Marralee and works for Charlie at his vineyard.
- Aaron starts dating Gemma and moves in with her.
- Aaron realizes that the paint from Dean’s crime scene matches the color of the police station walls.
- Aaron confronts Dwyer, who admits Caitlin hit Dean. She called Dwyer, who covered it up by brushing the headlight glass into the reservoir and splashing blue paint onto the barrier to hide the black paint from her car.
- Dwyer turns himself in.
The characters in Exiles pulled me in right away. I was really happy to see Raco return after The Dry, and I loved getting to know more of his family and friends. It felt like I was getting an inside look at this close-knit group of people, which made it easy to become invested in both the characters and the mystery.
This is a slow-burn mystery, with medium-length chapters that kept me engaged as the investigation gradually unfolded. I also liked that there were two mysteries at the heart of the story: Kim’s disappearance and an older case that continued to cast a shadow over the present. I never guessed where either mystery was heading, and I really liked the twist around what happened to Kim.
I was a little disappointed with the resolution to Kim’s disappearance though. Once the pieces fell into place, I understood what had happened, but I was left wanting a little more explanation of how the characters reached that conclusion. It wrapped up quickly after such a carefully paced investigation, which made that part of the story feel slightly less satisfying than the journey to get there.
Even with that, I really enjoyed spending time with these characters and following Aaron through another thoughtful, character-driven mystery. If you like small-town mysteries, dual mysteries, and slow-burn investigations, then you will enjoy this book.
- Dean - Dead - Killed in a hit and run by Caitlin
- Kim - Dead - Strangled by Rohan
- Rohan - Alive - Arrested for killing Kim
- Aaron - Alive - Living in Marralee with Gemma
- Gemma - Alive - In a relationship with Aaron
- Joel - Alive - Attending college
- Zara - Alive - Taking a gap year before college
- Car accident
- Postpartum depression
- Suggested sexual assault
- Domestic abuse
- Murder
ISBN: 9781250235350
Publication Date: January 31, 2023
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
