This book is set six months after The Dry, and could well be called The Wet because it is set in winter and the weather is very cold and wet.
A group of women have gone on a team building exercise in the Giralong ranges, where, many years before, some girls had been murdered, and get lost. When they finally return, one of their number is missing.
The missing woman, Alice, just happens to be helping the Melbourne police, and so Nathan Falk, and his partner Carmen become involved.

There is obviously more to the story that the returning women tell, and the narrative unfolds in alternate chapters detailing the investigation, and the story of the womens’ misadventures.

As the conflicts between the women become clear, the question is posed “what would you do to protect your child”, and the relationships between parents and children, and siblings are examined. The discovery of what happened to Alice, when it finally comes, is not straightforward, and causes more questions.

Nathan’s relationship with his father, and his colleagues becomes clearer, and he becomes a more rounded character.

I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more about Nathan Falk.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read this book.

It was one of those 'team building' exercises. A mixed group of people from a finance company- none of them wanting to be there- set off on a trek through the Giralang Ranges . Split into two groups, five men & five women set off. The men reached their destination. Much later a battered straggling group of women emerge, but there are only four of them.

Adam Falk & his partner have been investigating this finance company and Alice,the missing woman, is the one who had agreed to uncover dodgy dealings. Did her disappearance have anything to do with that or is it just a coincidence? What really happened out there in an area already haunted by memories of a serial killer twenty years ago?

As the story followed the women on their disastrous trek I was totally swept along. The author really transports you to that dark eucalyptus forest. None of the women were particularly likeable but Alice was one you could really dislike very quickly!

The search continues and Adam & Carmen continue to try and solve the mystery of these characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing throughout. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for a great read!

I absolutely loved Harper’s first outing, The Dry, with intrepid financial fraud investigator Aaron Falk, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her next title Force of Nature from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Let’s start with a little personal anecdote. Back in my younger days, I went on an outdoor adventure camping trip which involved a three day hiking expedition into remote back country. Somehow I ended up being in charge of the map reading one day and we got lost. Finding our way out again wasn’t quite as dramatic as the turn of events described in Jane Harper’s novel Force of Nature but I can say from experience that I know from how a simple plan can go so horribly wrong quite quickly when you’re in the outdoors.

Like the Dry, Harper utilises the features of the harsh and unforgiving Australian landscape as a foil for her story telling. I did find certain aspects just slightly contrived though. A team building exercise takes place over the weekend with a group of work colleagues, many of whom don’t exactly get on. They just so happen to be conducting this expedition in the territory once frequented by a notorious, now deceased, serial killer? I felt this added an unnecessary measure of drama. This was fast paced read- I looked up to find I was already 20% of the way in- but if it bogs down at all, it’s around the point where the serial killer stuff is most fully introduced. The other issue I had is that the narrative jumps about from person to person and some of the characters felt more believable than others to me- but there was also a huge element of unreliability to their tales. At times this made things a little hard to follow, particularly as two of the characters are sisters with similar names.

Despite these minor flaws, I really enjoyed the story. Falk is an engaging character and Harper manages to make him relatable without becoming a cliché. I actually found him more compelling in this book than in the Dry. There are some fun twists and turns in the tale and you don’t know for a big chunk of it if it’s a missing person case or if it will turn into a murder mystery. For the most part I was hooked right the way through. There are some interesting clues but I didn’t quite guess the ending so it was exciting right up until the end. All in all, a great read which I will definitely be recommending.

I was so pleased to be able to review this book after buying her first novel The Dry and loving that book a lot ... and this book did not disappoint ... was a page turner from start to finish and i could not put it down looking forward to the next book found myself a new author I love

I really enjoyed this book. Five women go hiking on a team building weekend and only four return. Where is Alice? This story is really well written. I could imagine the scenery and the characters in the story. The plot was believable and so were the characters. I found myself reading this book in one season. I would definitely recommend this book and I would definitely read more books by this author.

Another great novel from Jane Harper. I liked the way the novel switched from the investigation back to the events leading up to Alice's disappearance. Plenty of twists along the way. Good to see the return of Aaron Falk. Hopefully will see this character develop in future novels.

Enjoyed the book and found I needed to finish it to see the mystery solved. Not as brilliant as the hype suggested tho.

I'm afraid that I was unable to finish this book. It does not compare with the quality of writing of The Dry. The characterisation was weak, in my opinion, and it did not grip me from the start. I cannot recommend it.

Set in the rugged Australian outback, FORCE OF NATURE tells the story of five female work colleagues who reluctantly set out on a hike as part of a team building weekend. The trip is meant to teach resilience, bonding and teamwork but when only four of the women come out the other side, a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust begins to surface.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing bushwalker. Alice Russell is the whistleblower in his latest case and knew secrets about the company she worked for and the people she worked with. Was Mother Nature really responsible for Alice’s disappearance or does the danger run far deeper?

Intelligent, engaging and packed full of suspense, FORCE OF NATURE is an atmospheric, absorbing and disturbing tale of a hike gone horribly wrong. Told in alternating timelines, one in which the reader is taken back in time to follow the women on their hike, and the other in present day as Aaron and Carmen assist with the search, Harper keeps the intrigue and suspense high by slowly revealing the pieces of the puzzle, layer by layer.

Written more like a traditional “whodunnit” than a modern day crime thriller, the focus is on the characters and their motives rather than the crime itself, with Harper slowly revealing little details about the five women to make everyone a suspect.

Following his introduction in THE DRY, Agent Aaron Falk once again takes centre stage in FORCE OF NATURE. Harper easy and intelligent writing style also makes a welcome return. In FORCE OF NATURE, the hot setting of THE DRY turns into the wet and cold Australian outback, with Harper once again showing a nature flair for describing her settings in great detail, with the harsh terrain, howling winds and torrential rain in the Australian outback vividly brought to life.

Yet, while there are enough red herrings to keep you guessing until the end, when the finale is finally revealed, it falls a little flat and isn’t hugely surprising. Those who haven’t read THE DRY may also feel the two main detectives aren’t fleshed out hugely, with Falk in particular less rounded than in the first book.

That said, this is a worthy follow-up to THE DRY and another sinister and intriguing thriller from Harper.

4.5*
Force of Nature has a measured pace, similar to that of The Dry, except the conditions are the total opposite. Instead of a life threatening, damaging drought, it’s the depths of winter, freezing cold, wet and windy. Set mostly in the rugged wilderness that is the Giralang Ranges, with the unforgettable association to the serial killer, Martin Kovac, the story follows a group of five women on a team building exercise, a corporate retreat, hiking the bush trail over the course of a weekend. Only four came back.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk and his partner, Carmen Cooper, arrive at the Giralang lodge to find out what happened to the missing woman, Alice Russell. Their whistleblower. The Financial Investigations Unit are looking into BaileyTennants, the company who organised the weekend, with a little help on the inside. The AFP are investigating serious allegations centred around money laundering.

The narrative flows well and unfolds with a dual timeline. Short chapters move the story along, peeling back layers and leading up to an unexpected reveal. In the present Aaron, Carmen, the rescue services and the state police are coordinating the search and trying to piece together events. This alternates with flashbacks to the women’s journey, as they become lost in the Australian wilderness. The focal point is the characters and, as the story progresses, the tension and desperation builds as we start to get an idea of the history and dynamics between the women as the survival instinct kicks in. One of the underlying themes here shows how far a mother would go to protect her child. All is not as it seems and I had no idea of the eventual outcome until it was revealed. There were several ways it could have played out.

Atmospheric and vivid, the detailed writing gives a strong sense of the setting and the mindsets of the women….the cold, wet and miserable weather, the hunger and thirst, the menacing feel of being surrounded and overwhelmed by the shadows cast from the encroaching forest, how it all can affect a person’s perception and behaviour. I was quite surprised, though, that an established company, specialising in this sort of outdoor activity, would send their parties out without any sort of back up, or way of communication in case of emergency.

It was good to learn a little more about Aaron Falk, the relationship between himself and his father, and how Carmen helps him to put his feelings and regrets in perspective. There’s a lot more mileage in this character, he’s likeable, portrayed very realistically and I’ll be interested to see where Jane Harper takes him. I’ve enjoyed the writing style and story telling in both The Dry and Force of Nature very much.

I chose to read and review Force of Nature courtesy of an advance reader copy supplied by NetGalley and the author/publisher.

Wow! What a book! Following on from Jane’s success with The Dry comes the highly anticipated Force of Nature, and what a show-stopper it is. I am grateful to be one of today’s stops on the Blog Tour, so thanks to both Jane Harper and Little Brown for having me on board!

‘Five went out. Four came back…’

Alice Russell is missing, and no-one knows ‘who, what, where, when and why’ – or do they?!

Five women reluctantly go on a team-building hike through the Australian bush, but only four come out on the other side. Where is Alice, and what has happened to her?! Jane Harper is wonderful at keeping you on your toes, and she writes in such a way that makes this is a fast-paced read but with all of the necessary details that an excellent story requires.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk is back, and what a memorable character he is. Falk has a keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing Alice as she is the whistleblower in his latest case. Alice holds the key (and secrets!) into helping him making an arrest of the people Alice currently works for… so could this be the reason she is missing?!

Jane Harper is superb at teasing us; she flips the story back and forth from the past to the present. Especially later on when we are finally about to discover what happened to Alice, the chapters are short and left on cliff hangers, building up to the tense final moment of ‘I did not see that coming’!

This is climatic writing at its finest, each scene is described with a pinch of mystery and Jane Harper sure knows how to keep a reader wanting more.

The last few pages are actually quite peaceful and happy. It is always good to end on a high note, instead of death and destruction – if you know what I mean?!

Thank you so much to Grace Vincent at Little Brown for sending me a review copy in return for my opinion – this was definitely one of my highly anticipated 2018 reads, and I am ever so grateful to have received an early copy!

Jane Harper's The Dry introduced crime readers around the world to financial crimes investigator Aaron Falk, he returns for a second outing in Force of Nature. An accountancy firm arranges a corporate retreat, in the mountainous region of Giralang, an area with a dark past. Falk and his partner are working with Alice a whistleblower from within the company, however when the group return from the bush she has gone missing.

As with the The Dry, Harper looks at the psychological make up of the group and the Australian outback features hugely, as it quite rightly should. The narrative takes the form of past and present in alternate chapters and Harper keeps her reader guessing right up until the end as to what has actually happened.

Surely there will be further outings for Falk, he is set to join the ranks of other great fictional detectives.

I so enjoyed this fabulous book. I thought the premise was very intriguing and I found myself gripped from the beginning with the fascinating mystery of what happened to Alice and why.

The thing that most stands out about this book is the brilliant use of the dual storyline. One follows Federal Agent Fauk and his partner Carmen as they help investigate Alice’s disappearance, the other describes what happened on the woman’s team building hike. This makes for truly fascinating reading as it helps the reader get a better understanding of all the characters involved, what makes them tick and about their past experiences that still impact them today. This is especially true in the parts describing the women’s experiences as things start to go wrong and the cracks in their fragile relationships begin to show. This was expertly done with the author gradually revealing things about each character that really keeps the reader on their toes and guessing who was responsible for Alice’s disappearance. I must have changed my mind at least a dozen times as each new chapter threw up new information that twisted the story in another direction. This was hugely enjoyable for me as I love the to be kept guessing and the anticipation of discovering the truth.

I didn’t particularly like any of the women characters as they all seemed fairly unlikable. They were all quite selfish and no one seemed particularly bothered about anyone other than themselves. They are all well very different to each other which becomes more apparent as the story and the hike) go on. I did like Fauk though and developed a bit of a soft spot for him throughout the book, especially when bits of his past are revealed. He seemed to really care about his partner and his work which was lovely to read about. I loved how real he seemed and found myself willing him to succeed and discover what happened.

The setting of the book, The Giralang Ranges, help create a very tense, eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere due to the vivid descriptions on the dense trees which grow close together. The history of what had happened there a few years previously also helps to create an almost menacing atmosphere and the sensation that the trees could be hiding anything and anyone. I certainly found myself holding my breath at times as the women ventured further into the trees, wondering what they would discover.

This book is brilliantly plotted and the gradual revelations makes the book very difficult to out down. The story is very addictive and I started carrying my book around with me and hiding in the toilet from the kids just so I could read a couple more pages. It’s been a while since a book has made me do this.

This is the authors’s second book, but the first one I have read. It is the second in a series but I thought it could easily be read as a standalone as anything you need to know is explained to you. I will definitely be going back and reading her first book, The Dry, soon.

Huge thanks to the lovely Kimberly from Little Brown for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour. Just read this book you won’t be disappointed!

A good start but I never felt gripped by the tension which the situation held. The sub texts should have added more than they did and it’s hard to say what exactly why. Perhaps it was the nature of the crime that Falk and Carmen were investigating was rather dry and I never quite felt I understood where Alice fitted into either this investigation or Bailey Tennants.

How do you follow up a debut that was arguably the best crime novel, debut or otherwise, of its year? That's the question facing Australian Jane Harper, who burst onto the scene with the searing Outback-set murder mystery THE DRY, which scooped numerous awards and 'best of the year' accolades, including the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger for the best crime novel in the world last year.

In FORCE OF NATURE, Federal agent Aaron Falk is squelching through mud and battling the wintry chill in the Giralang Ranges outside of Melbourne, rather than battling the heat in the parched and drought-striken farmland landscapes of his childhood hometown in THE DRY. His vision is obscured by rain instead of sweat, but he's battling the elements as well as criminals, just the same.

Falk and his AFP colleague Carmen Cooper are in the Giralangs, a place with a morbid history, because the hiker missing from a 'team building exercise' was in fact their inside woman for a fraud case their financial crimes unit is building against Bailey Tennants, the company doing the retreat.

As they investigate what happened on the multi-day hike, Falk and Cooper uncover a tale of brittle group dynamics, suspicion, and eroding trust. It was an arduous hike for the office workers, and among the mud and strain something went horribly wrong. The four women who walked out say Alice was causing problems then left of her own accord, striking out on her own to get help against the wishes of the rest of the group. But are they telling the truth? Was Alice waylaid by Mother Nature, one of the women themselves, or someone else who is stalking the Giralangs?

Harper does another fantastic job creating a brooding, atmospheric tale where nature itself casts a character-like shadow over the storyline. There's an eeriness to the majestic Giralangs, a sense of timelessness mixed with a simmering sense of danger. Falk's own father used to walk these trails, as did a vicious serial killer who hunted his prey nearby. What sort of dangers lurk now?

With its isolated and malevolent setting, FORCE OF NATURE is like a modern version of a classic ‘country house’ murder mystery: a dislikeable victim, limited suspects, and plenty of secrets.

Overall, Harper's sophomore novel is an absolute cracker, further developing the character of Falk while showcasing the author's great touch for intertwining fascinating plot-lines and powerful landscapes. For me personally I'm not sure if FORCE OF NATURE quite reaches the heights of the superlative THE DRY, but it makes a bloody good attempt. It certainly cements Harper as a terrific new voice in global crime writing who won't ever have to worry about being a one-hit wonder.

A top crime novel from a top author. More please.

The Giralong Ranges in Australia, savage and inhospitable; a wilderness best left to the experienced bushman but Bailey Bennets choose the venue for an executive team building weekend.

At once mysterious and atmospheric the novel follows the course of the weekend and its aftermath alternating between past and present in chapters that draw the reader through the narrative.

Aaron Falk and his partner come to investigate why five women set off on the exercise but only four returned but for them it is more than a missing persons case. Alice Russel, the missing woman has been collecting documents for them, evidence that will prove malpractice in the organisation.

Harper cleverly exposes not only what has happened on the weekend but the betrayals and resentments that the players have stored up for some time. We are led down paths as twisting and dark as those of the bush.

A superb follow up to The Dry.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were strong as was the storyline. I enjoyed 6he twists and turns and would definitely recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Well, this was a very pleasant surprise! Force Of Nature is the second book in Jane Harper's Aaron Falk series, the first one being The Dry which I also had the privilege of being involved in the blog tour for so thank you once again to Kimberley Nyamhondera and Little Brown publishers for inviting me once more for the second book in the series. I have to admit, I approached this book with the same trepidation I always do for any follow up novel. I had enjoyed The Dry but had seen a few early reviewers saying that they had preferred it to this second offering. However, this just proves that everyone is their own person with their own individual tastes because I can say, hand on heart that I personally loved Force Of Nature even more! It's a thrilling, white-knuckle ride of a book and one of those crime novels that you can really savour every moment whilst feeling quite bereft when it all ends.

Our main protagonist, Aaron Falk is back with a partner, Carmen and is investigating a financial crime of money laundering in a company managed solely by members of the same family. However, he becomes embroiled in quite a different sort of case when the woman assisting him (who works for the company), Alice mysteriously goes missing on a team building exercise with other work colleagues while hiking some notorious trails that have a rather murky history themselves. It is crucial for Aaron's enquiries that Alice is found as she has some key information that will bring down the money launderers but of course, above all, Aaron is concerned for the woman's safety. When the rescue teams struggle to find Alice, foul plays starts to be suspected. Especially when Aaron and Carmen dig a little deeper into the relationships between the work colleagues and find many dark secrets just waiting to be unearthed.

First of all, I adored the structure of this novel. In the present time, we see Aaron and Carmen struggling to discover what might have happened to their perfect informer Alice, and then in alternate chapters we go right back to the beginning of the expedition where there are five women about to set of on their adventure: Jill, Lauren, twins Beth and Breanna and of course, Alice. All women work together and from the very beginning, you can cut the tension in the air with a knife as there is already evidence of personal problems between many of the women. The reader knows at the very beginning that only four out of the five women return and two of them are injured so this is a tantalising little mystery that had me reading faster and faster to discover what exactly happened out there in the wilderness.

The characters are beyond perfect, all fleshed out completely with their own distinct personalities, agendas and perhaps strong reasons for feeling a little aggrieved? I loved all the unpicking of the many intricate relationships between the women which unfolded quite slowly as the narrative continues but with just enough bite to keep you guessing and keep you intrigued as you can almost taste the building of tensions within the group. With Force Of Nature, I am now an eager supporter of Jane Harper's work and this is definitely a series I can see myself being invested in and reading instantly as each new novel is released.

I really liked Jane Harper's new book: Force of Nature that I flew through it. It's definitely my kind of thriller without making your stomach cringe because of heavy to digest visual descriptions or violent elements. So, if you worry about these things like me, this book is perfect. 
The book opens with a tensed scene taking us into the Australian wilderness, when we realize Alice is missing. Detective Aaron Falk, whom we got to know in her previous novel, The Dry,  returns once again to investigate what happened to her. He's somehow related to her through another investigation, and suspects if her disappearance is related to that. A group of 5 women get lost in wild nature during a corporate team building event, and eventually 4 of them show up except Alice. The story goes back and forth between the past and present as we dig deeper into the lives and relationships of these 5 women. There are many relations, grudges, secrets to uncover from the past. And, it's only at the very end we learn what happened to Alice.   
The book is written in a very interesting way, as we start from the point when these women started their hike, and on the other side when Falk starts his investigation to find Alice. We alternate between these two stories slowly peeling off the layers of the past and dynamics among these women. As we move, the pace increases a lot and it becomes impossible to put it away. Jane Harper managed to create a very creepy atmosphere with the way she vividly described the environment. I really felt scared with this intense experience, and I loved it. I also really liked how Harper connected the mystery to the tension built among these women related to their part experiences. It made me think really hard to guess what happened to Alice, and it wasn't that easy!
This book certainly made me a Jane Harper fan. I will definitely look forward to her next book!

BaileyTennants is a business currently under investigation by the Federal Police, but the direction of the investigation is about to take a strange turn. Five women head out into the wilderness on a bonding exercise, one of whom, Alice, is the whistleblower that Agent Aaron Falk is liaising with to bring down the company. But when he receives a voice message from Alice, quiet, indistinct, but with the words “hurt her” clearly audible, he realises something is wrong, something confirmed when the other four women on the trip stumble out of the wilderness with a simple question – “Is Alice here?”

Determined to find Alice, Falk and his team start to interview the other four – are they the survivors, or is Alice out there somewhere, lost and alone? Did an accident befall her – or something more sinister? Someone knows something about what happened out there – but can Aaron Falk find the truth in time?


The Dry was one of the hit thrillers of last year and the follow up – also featuring Falk, but completely standalone – has been highly anticipated, certainly by me. It’s had a slightly odd publishing schedule, being out for a few months as an ebook, but is out this week in hardback. I’ve been asked, along with quite a few other bloggers, to take part in the blog tour for the book launch – check out the graphic below for the other bloggers for today.
There are many more spread throughout the week, so do look around for other opinions.

Back to the book itself, and it alternates between two narratives. One is the present day investigation into Alice’s whereabouts, focusing on Falk, looking at his progress and delving into his personal life, notably his relationship with his late father. The other steps a few days back in time, telling the story of the five women, each chapter focussing on one of the five and slowly developing the tensions between them. Each chapter balances up with the present day investigation, the two stories dovetailing together as the book progresses. The characters, both Falk and the five women are very well constructed, each distinct, with clear characteristics and motivations.

The problem that I had with the book is that The Dry set a very high standard for the writer and (and this clear if you look at the other reviews) I’m in a distinct minority here, I think that The Dry is the better book. Just. It’s a personal taste thing, as I prefer a clearly defined problem in my mysteries – a body in the library with a murder weapon in the back – rather than a “something undefined has or might have happened to someone” tale. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very strong, well-crafted tale, I just prefer the former structure.

So, fans of The Dry, why not check this one out? With a vibrant setting and intriguing characters, plus a tension-building plot, this will appeal to the mystery and thriller market alike. Highly Recommended.