I haven't read The Dry but it received such good reviews I was pleased to receive a copy of The Force of Nature from Netgalley.

I enjoyed a lot of this book but there were parts I didn't. The relationships between the women were bitchy, which I know happens in work, spoilt it for me. Saying that though the story overall is quite gripping.

I enjoyed this book but not quite so much as The Dry.
Aaron Falk is drawn into a missing person investigation linked to some financial crime he’s investigating with his partner Carmen.
They head to the woods to ask questions and try and find the missing woman and spend time talking to those that were with her during the days before her disappearance.
Several people there have secrets and Falk tries to unravel them all.
This was a bit of a slow burner but had a good ending.
I really like Aaron Falk and look forward to the next book in this series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book group for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The synopsis for this book sounded great and I loved her other book The Dry a lot.
However this just didn’t do it for me, as I found myself getting really aggravated with the characters and thought there was too much bitchiness in it for my liking and it just took too long for things to happen.

Jane Harper has excelled with this book as the various twists and plots throughout really keep you enthralled plus you also want more on the underlying stories that go on in and around the main plot. Definitely a must read!

Was really looking forward to reading this book, thank you to netgalley for letting that happen. Took me a little longer to get into it but enjoyed when i did. Enjoyed the Dry more, was hooked from page 1. Look forward to future titles from this author 🤗

Another 5 star read from Jane Harper! Force of Nature definitely lives up to The Dry as an excellently-written police procedural. Even though I preferred the storyline of The Dry, this is another real page-turner and the character of Detective Aaron Falk is a pleasure to read. A definite recommended read!

Ever since reading the CWA Dagger Award winning novel “The Dry”, I am a big fan of Jane Harper. I was thrilled to be able to read her new novel “Force of Nature” before pub date February 1st and boy, does this woman know how to spin a yarn! “Force of Nature” is just as gripping as “The Dry” and Aaron Falk, the very sympatico detective featured in The Dry, is making his reappearance. I hope she continues the Aaron Falk series and hope she might chose a case with more illegal financial transactions, Aarons special investigation skills. Not that I do not like her current novels all set in the Australian bushland…..


Five women embark on a company sponsored team building trekking tour into the bushland not far outside Melbourne. When they all reappear a few days later, one of them has gone missing and their world is upside down.

Alice Russel, a manager and troublemaker at work and in the hiking team, has disappeared in the Giralang Ranges. Bree and Beth, the unlike twins, are battered and bruised, one of them suffering from a snake bike. Lauren, Alice’s old friend and Jill Bailey, co-owner of family owned Bailey Tennants, are unharmed but deeply shaken. Falk and his colleague Carmen Cooper are called into the investigation as Alice had been aiding their team as a whistle blower supplying information of supposed illegal financial irregularities within Bailey Tennants. Her last sign of life was an interupted call to Falk.

What unfolds is a nail biting page turner of a thriller. Harper unravels the story in two story lines. One follows the day by day events of the women’s hike and the other Falk’s and the search teams discoveries. Until the very end several outcomes seem possible as to why and how Alice disappeared and this suspense is kept up pretty much to the last pages. A fantastic crime novel set in Australia from start to finish, I loved it!

Force of Nature is about five women from the same company in Melbourne who go on a team-building hike and camp in a remote forest. At the end, only four return. Alice, the woman who is missing, is a witness in a separate investigation run by series protagonist Aaron Falk so he and his partner hotfoot it up to the site to join the investigation.

Of course the five women, all of different ranks within the organisation, have a complex network of conflicts and relationships, and they are placed in a highly stressful situation, and, just to crank up the tension, this is the stamping ground of a now-deceased serial killer whose last alleged victim was never found, so this should be an intriguing read, but it never really came alive for me.

Firstly, I don’t buy the premise. It’s a matter for debate how much realism matters in a work of fiction, but if you have to suspend disbelief before you’ve become involved into the story, that’s a big hurdle. We are expected to believe that a respected corporate events company sent a group of women off into the cold and rain with one map, which wasn’t even laminated (it ran in the rain), no mobile phones, no way of raising the alarm in the event of a medical emergency, and ran no checks on their progress over the four days of the expedition. I’m not saying this would never happen, but if it did, surely the police’s first thought would be to investigate them for at best criminal neglect and at worst complicity in a crime or its coverup? However, it’s taken as read that this is all perfectly fine.

Next, the disappearance of Alice is being investigated by the state police, which means Falk and his partner, as federal investigators of financial crimes, have only a tangential role in her investigation. They wander around with no clear sense of purpose, occasionally interviewing witnesses and suspects who have already been interviewed. In their downtime, Falk stares mournfully at his father’s old maps, which he happened to bring with him in his old rucksack (along with, implausibly, Alice’s bank statements) and thinks about their relationship.

The novel alternates between the points of view of Falk during the investigation, and the women during the hike. This kind of structure can work, but here it leads to quite a lot of repetition and the suspense is not that great. It’s neither a police procedural, where we can follow the clues, nor a psychological thriller where we have strong empathy with the women, wondering if and how they will all survive.

If Falk is the protagonist we might expect him to solve the mystery, however one vital clue comes when one of the women admits to something she’d earlier kept quiet, and at the denouement he makes a deduction based on a flimsy piece of forensic evidence for which there are any number of plausible explanations.

I haven’t read Jane Harper’s first novel, The Dry, but I’ve heard good things about it so I was looking forward to this one. Force of Nature feels like it was either written in a hurry or is a rehashed novel-in-a-drawer. It’s obviously tempting to get another book out quickly when you’ve had major success, but I wonder if publishers might do better to take the long view.

A corporate bonding exercise where crooked business tactics are the backstory. When Alice, one of the 5 women on the 5 day outback team-building trip, fails to return a rescue search gets combined with a police investigation led by Aaron Falk. Alice is Falk's "insider" gathering information to expose the corruption in the company she worked for. If she is dead his case shall fall apart. Tension is high as the women face up to revealing more and more of their respective histories which, in turn, raises the possibility Alice was murdered rather than succumbed to exposure. It all comes down to the last chapter so expect to keep turning the pages!

A very enjoyable follow up to The Dry featuring Agent Aaron Falk again. Two groups of people enter the Australian wilderness on a company excursion, however, one of the team of women - Alice, doesn't return. The story glides easily pointing the finger at several people along the way and concluded well. A solid second book by Jane Harper.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown Book Group for providing me an ARC copy of this book that I freely chose to review.
I had not read Harper’s first acclaimed novel The Dry when I read her second novel (although I had acquired it after reading many good reviews of it) and although it seems that most people who have reviewed it so far have read the first, I can confirm that it can be read independently and you will not feel that you are missing a fundamental part of the story. Yes, there are brief allusions to events that you suspect might refer to the first novel, but the case itself is self-contained. I must confess I felt curious about the first novel after reading this one, in part because of the main character, but also in part because of the comments by the reviewers.
If you have read the first novel, you will know that the setting is Australia. This time, rather than a draught and dry landscape, the case Aaron Falk gets involved in takes place in a wet and cold area at that time of the year, the Giralong Ranges. Two teams from the same legal firm (one male and one female) have gone for a weekend hiking, as part of a teambuilding exercise. The two teams take different routes and on Sunday, when they are all supposed to meet, one of the women does not turn up. Aaron Falk, who is a federal investigator dealing with financial crimes, and his partner, Carmen Cooper, knew the woman who had gone missing, Alice Russell, because she was helping them (not without a certain degree of pressure/coercion) investigate the firm. At first, they wonder if her disappearance might have something to do with her undercover activities, but there are many mysteries, lies, and intrigues at play, the red herrings abound, and emotions run high.
The story is told in the third person, but each chapter is divided into two time frames, one following the actual investigation of Alice’s disappearance, from Falk’s point of view, and the other following, in chronological order, the events during the hiking trip, from the alternate points of view of the women who accompanied Alice (and, very briefly, of Alice herself). It is an interesting technique, as it makes us compare the conjectures of the investigating team, with the reality, and it provides us an opportunity to learn more about the characters from their own perspective. The author excels at her descriptions of the landscape, the weather, and the psychological state of the women (and of the male investigator). Although the story develops slowly and I would not call it fast-paced, it has twists and turns, and enough clues to keep us hooked and intrigued. Also, although understated and not emotionally open, we are also intrigued by how personally challenging this case is for Falk, who carries his father’s rucksack and his legacy with him and learns a lot more than the expected about family relationships throughout the book.
None of the characters (except, perhaps Falk and Cooper, and maybe the girls) are particularly lovable or even likable but we get to understand their motivations and why they do what they do. I know there are readers who prefer books where there are characters we should clearly like or dislike, but life is a bit more complex than that, and this novel abounds in morally ambiguous characters that not intentionally all good or bad. (Personally, I have a soft spot for Beth, one of the twin sisters). Alice is perhaps one of the least likable of all the characters, although she, like the rest, has redeeming qualities. It is also true that she is a character we don’t get much of an insight into, as she does not get a voice, and we mostly reconstruct her personality and character based on other people’s judgements and takes on her. I noticed that the characters seem to be paired-up (there are two twin sisters, that at first seem to be complete opposites but we learn there are more similarities in their life-experiences than they realise; there are two childhood friends whose lives and even daughters seem to follow parallel paths; the CEO of the company has difficulties with his son, and there are other father-son relationships highlighted throughout the novel, including that of Falk with his father, and also that of a serial killer who was infamous for his murders in the area and his son) and family relations are at the heart of the story.
For some reason this novel made me think of the label “domestic noir”, because although most of the story develops outdoors, it is also about families, strange relationships, and twists and turns. It also reminded me of Liane Moriarty’s Truly, Madly, Guilty that I reviewed a long while back (you can check my review here), not only because the author is also Australian, but because the mystery at the heart of the book (that in that case, we don’t discover until quite late) shakes and transforms deeply the lives of people who seemed to be getting on perfectly well, undisturbed in their domestic lives until they realise it was all a very thin veneer of normality. (After writing the review I noticed that one of the editorial reviews pointed at that too. Great minds…) Although it is true that the women get into survival mode when things get difficult, the comparison to Lord of the Flies is too extreme, in my opinion, as the characters’ motivations go beyond pure survival and are more complex and nuanced even when things get extremely ugly.
I enjoyed the book. Harper writes very well and can truly flesh out situations and landscapes, making us feel as if we were there with the protagonists. I agree with the reviewers who query some of the details of the story (yes, the organisation of the adventure does not seem to be very well-planned, for example), and I felt that some of the red-herrings and clues suggested more interesting directions than those finally explored (the previous murders committed there keep being hinted at but are not fully explained), and some I feel are possibly left open. The ending… Well, let’s say the resolution of the case itself is not a huge surprise, but I enjoyed the overall ending.
And after reading some of the reviews and the comments about Harper’s first novel, I have started reading it, so I’ll let you know what I think.
An author who’s made a deserved great impression and a mystery for those who prefer a slower pace and great writing, rather than a thrill a minute. Definitely recommended.

I couldn't put this book down-crime fiction at its best.Not only a gripping plot, but believable characters. The strength is the interaction between a group of five women who go on a team building expedition to the Australian outback,and only four return.
The plot jumps between the events of the expedition and the investigation in to the disappearance.There is an atmosphere of suspense throughout, and the quality of the writing is superb.
I hadn't read The Dry,but I bought it after a few pages of this book and can't wait to get started.

I enjoyed this as much as The Dry. The characters were all interesting, and many of them had secrets. The tension built up nicely and there were a few surprises. The dual time frame worked well as you did not have to wait too long to find out what happened. The setting of the Australian outback was atmospheric (and crucial, it would not work if it was set in the Forest of Dean!). The women were a bit clueless and disregarded all the rules and advice. But would the organisers really just let them go off without any back- up except one phone with no signal available?

It's brilliant. Not that I ever expected it, but THE DRY was no fluke at all. Wherever Harper goes from here, I'll follow. From the first line you feel like you're in the most assured hands - even though those same hands are going to take you to some very dark places. Just excellent.

I loved Dry Season and really enjoyed Force of Nature as a follow on, though featuring an ensemble cast rather than focusing on Federal Agent Aaron Falk. The basic premise is a corporate team building expedition (shudder) in the Australian Bush...but everything goes wrong. From serial killer to difficult sibling relationships, Jane Harper deftly ties in a number of threads without losing the pace of her thriller. Whether you enjoy the unraveling of an Agatha Christie plot or the creepier modern horror I think you'll find something to like here.
Highly recommend Dry Season first if you haven't read it yet, it is an Australian mystery/thriller on a different level.

A pacy, page turner of a novel, but lacking the personal interest that the first Falk book in the series provided.

The book is written in two threads just days apart. One thread is following two teams of employees from boutique accountancy, BaileyTennants, on a teambuilding long weekend. Each team has five members, one all male, the other female, and are going to be hiking on different trails. Siblings, and members of the family firm, Daniel Bailey, Chief Executive, and Jill Bailey, Chairwoman, are in the two teams. We don’t get acquainted with the other individuals in the men’s team as the focus is on the women’s team who arrive back many hours after their deadline on the Sunday in a very dishevelled state missing one member, Alice Russell.

The other thread follows Federal Agent Aaron Falk and his colleague Carmen Cooper who immediately they drive several hours east of Melbourne, Australia to the rugged, remote area of Giralong Ranges to where the teams were hiking. I always like to picture the geography of a book but the places mentioned are fictional in name although I am sure bear a great resemblance to the countryside in their many wonderful descriptions by Jane Harper. She is a great writer who conjures up a vivid picture where you feel truly immersed and really in the location together with sounds and senses. This would make a great movie with fantastic scenery and a great plot.

The two threads continue to alternate between the four days of the hike and the subsequent search based in the lodge near the start of the hike. As the story goes on we learn a lot more about the 5 women and their family, also an ongoing mystery as to why Daniel Bailey was late for the start of the exercise and had to travel separately by car. Both narratives are in short, snappy segments and kept me gripped wanted to move on always.

I haven’t read Jane Harper’s first book The Dry but most certainly will now as this book was excellent. I was quite sorry when it ended but equally keen to know how it all turned out. I was very satisfied with the ending.

With thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Dry was probably my favourite crime thriller of 2017 so I was thrilled when netgalley sent me a review copy of the sequel. This time Falk is back in Melbourne but called to a crime scene where the whistleblower at a company he’s investigating for financial fraud has disappeared on a team building weekend in the outback. Told partly in flashbacks as the women go back through the events that led to tehir companion getting lost, Falk tries to get to the bottom of the mystery without compromising his investigation. Not as compelling as The Dry and I found the plot slightly convoluted but Falk is a worthy addition to the detective genre.

FANTASTIC read. I was hyped for this one and it didn't disappoint. Full review to come closer to date

Perhaps I was expecting more after all the hype, but I struggled to finish it. Set in the Australian outback we meet employees who are 'enjoying' a management team building exercise. This was an excellent concept, but I got tired of the flicking backwards and forwards in time and characters who seem to be shallow, without any excitement. Then there is the odd sub plot of media photograph misuse by teenagers. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if it was set in the New Forest, and the employees meet up in the pub afterwards.?