Wrote in the FT: ‘Jane Harper’s position is consolidated with Last One Out (Pan Macmillan, £22), which is a forensic examination of both familial breakdown and the fracturing of a community.’ – and asked Jane to talk to Crime Time…
Going it Standalone
How many dead bodies can a financial investigator realistically stumble across before we find ourselves in Murder She Wrote territory?
Exactly three novels’ worth in my opinion, and I stand by that. Any more and the bloke would simply have to change jobs.
It was something I carefully considered: was a career change on the cards for my recurring protagonist, Aaron Falk, an agent in the financial division of the Australian Federal Police? Or, possibly, had he simply done his duty and reached the end of his story?
It was a bittersweet decision to step away from Falk at the end of my fifth book, Exiles, but not one I’ve ever regretted. Of my five books at the time, he had featured in three, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the man changed my life.
Falk was with me from page one, chapter one, of my debut novel, The Dry. His character helped build the book that launched my career and opened up a whole world of opportunity, so it’s fair to say I have a soft spot for him. But in fiction, a strong ending is just as important as a strong start. I wanted to put aside any commercial pressures or incentives to continue past the point that I felt was right for the character, and instead give Falk the ending he deserved.
And as hard as it was to say goodbye, there is also an underlying thread of excitement. Moving away from a recurring character to write a standalone novel throws opens doors that can remain tightly shut in the midst of a series. Everything is on the table once again — characters, setting, backstories — and that’s an exhilarating prospect.
I’ve now written three Falk series books, and three standalone novels, including my new book, Last One Out, and each has required a different approach. When I’m writing a standalone story, my starting point is the plot, then the setting, and I build the characters I need around that.
In Last One Out, that allowed me to develop a mystery set in a decimated community in rural Australia, which has become all but abandoned after an industrial mining operation opened on its outskirts. The story follows a grieving mother who returns to the town each year on the anniversary of the disappearance of her 21-year-old son. It’s not a story I could have told with a recurring character at its heart, and I loved having that clean slate.
I often get asked what makes a good crime novel and I believe you need two things equally: a strong mystery and compelling characters. The mystery and its whodunnit payoff are the most important things at the start and the end of the book, but it’s the characters who will keep the reader turning those pages in the middle. And for me that’s the joy of a standalone novel, because sometimes the best person to tell a brand new story is a completely fresh face.
Last One Out by Jane Harper (Macmillan)
