What a phenomenal book by another talented Aussie author. I was gripped from the beginning and it never let go right up until the last word.
The story is excellent, the characters are amazing and I really liked the setting.
I can't wait to read what Bronwyn Hall writes next.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

This book was incredibly simple to read, fast-paced, and compulsive. Since this is the author's first book, I'm not sure how they can get any better. Recently, I've been blown away by Australian first novels, and this one is no different. I'll be watching with interest to see what Bronwyn Hall does next.

Thank you #netgalley and #harlequinaustralia for the chance to review this arc.

UN surgeon Rachel Forester has been posted at a remote medical clinic deep in the Congolese jungle. When the violence reaches breaking point, the medical team must evacuate, leaving Rachel and one other to take care of an injured child and wait for the next helicopter. On the eve of their evacuation four soldiers enter the clinic carrying a seriously injured team member. Patching him up, Rachel gives up her seat on the plane and decided to risk it with the soldiers.
Now Rachel and the soldiers must find their way to safety through warring militias, harsh jungle conditions, dwindling food and spider's, which Rachel is deathly afraid of!
Along the way they discover a shady mining operation that are using stolen children as slave labour. What's even more worrying is it appears there are ties to the UN. Will Rachel and the team make it out alive to solve the mystery?

This is a debut novel by Australian author Bronwyn Hall. Full of intrigue, mystery and danger with a very descriptive prose that places you in the story. There is plenty of tension and even a bit of romance!

I enjoyed this book quite a lot and I look forward to this author's next novel.

What an incredible debut! I'm loving our Aussie authors at the moment, completely taking over the world.

This book was so fast paced and really had me stressed out! I couldn't get through it fast enough and am happy to say Brownwyn Hall has a new fan.

I look forward to what she writes next!

A fast-paced, compelling read with a fantastic setting and a cast of unique characters. Gone to Ground follows UN doctor Rachel Forrester and a small group of Canadian soldiers as they flee her clinic in the Democratic Republic of Congo on a tense journey through the jungle to safety in Kananga, several days' journey away. Of course there are a number of challenges along the way and the tension only ramps up further upon arrival in Kananga where the threats to safety continue.
Gone to Ground is a great ride from start to finish, with never a dull moment and plenty of action to keep the pages turning. Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

UN surgeon Rachel Forester is posted at a remote medical clinic deep in the jungle of the Democratic Republic of Congo. With violence escalating in the region, Forester risks her life by remaining behind to tend to an injured child while the rest of her team evacuates. On her last chance to leave, a soldier is carried into the camp by three members of his unit, and with his condition being critical, he is prioritised over her to be airlifted to safety.

With no help coming and in the path of militias, the remaining group must flee into the jungle to reach the safety of the province's capital. But the deeper they get, they discover a web of crime and corruption, leading them to a sinister mining operation and stolen children, where the evidence leads them back to the UN, the very people that Forester works for.

I really enjoyed this a lot more than I expected as this story kept me guessing, and wondering what would happen next, in particular, to see who makes it out alive.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a good pace and I was easily drawn in. I loved the characters and I found the story interesting. It had twists I didn't expect but a very satisfying ending. I look forward to reading more books by Bronwyn Hall. If you like an intriguing page turner, then this is a great read.

What a phenomenal debut by an Australian author!! I found this compelling and was hooked from start to finish. It is action packed and also has romance. The characters are all intriguing and I really hope this author writes another book because I will definitely be reading it. Highly recommend. Thank you netgalley and Harlequin Australia for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
My rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

UN surgeon Rachel Forester is posted at a remote medical clinic deep in the jungle of Democratic Republic of the Congo. With violence escalating in the region, Dr Forester risks her life by remaining to tend an injured child while the rest of her team evacuates. On the cusp of her final desperate chance to leave, a soldier is carried into the camp by three other members of his unit, his condition so critical, his airlift must take priority over hers.

With no help coming, and in the path of warring militias, this small unit must flee through the heart of the jungle to reach the safety of the province capital. But in the dark wilderness lies a strangling web of crime and corruption. As they get deeper, they discover a sinister mining operation and stolen children with evidence indicating shadowy ties to the UN. But aren't those the people Dr Forester works for? The only people who know she's still lost out there? And now, the people who want her dead?

The further they delve, the more the web closes around them. Will they make it out alive?

Wow, wow, what a fabulous novel and it’s a debut! Another wonderful Australian author to add to my auto buy list.

UN surgeon Rachel Forester is posted at a remote medical clinic deep in the jungle of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With violence escalating in the region, Dr Forester risks her life by remaining to tend an injured child while the rest of her team evacuates.

This fast, action packed novel has it all. Medical drama, a wonderful cast of characters, villains, hair raising tension, with a touch of romance. I was totally captivated by the pace of this book and invested in the characters. There was a small narrative that touched on a phobia I have, I literally squealed with fear and closed my kindle to take a few deep breaths before going back in. This fear that our protagonist Rachel has, just made her more endearing to me.

A truly fantastic debut, with a refreshingly unique premise. A solid 4.5 stars, highly recommended.
I look forward to what Bronwyn Hall has in store for the future.

A fast paced roller coaster of a ride. Set in Africa and combining a thrilling chase with illegal diamond mines and the fight to save those forced to work in them. A wonderful escape read.

This book is absolutely brilliant, a must read! I’m so impressed by the talent of this debut author!
I was hooked from the beginning. The storyline is truly compelling, full of action, danger and suspense.
The characters oozed emotion, the fear and reality of the situations as they were revealed, will keep you turning the pages!
As we travel with an Australian doctor, we learn about the UN, the mystery of the Congo and secrets of the jungle! The danger and fear had me on edge, the pace keeps the heart rate up, definite appreciation for the selfless acts of war time heroes.
I highly recommend this inspirational thriller!

Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and huge congratulations to the very talented author, I can’t wait for the next book!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book had me in from the get go. Set in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rachel is an Australian surgeon working for the UN deep in a rural area. As Rachel and her assistant Micheal are packing up their outpost clinic ready to be airlifted out, three soldiers emerge from the jungle with a badly wounded colleague. The soldiers are Canadian and appear friendly, but in a hostile nation where diamonds are mined, there are a lot of people with incentives to work for the other side. Rachel soon finds herself on the run and trying to work out who she can trust and who she cannot.
I can highly recommend this book, thank you Harlequin Australia and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this digital ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

What a debut!!! Such a great read. Highly recommend.

Rachel is an Australia doctor working for the UN in an isolated region. On the day before she is to be evacuated with her team, four armed soldiers appear; one seriously wounded. The helicopter is only able to accomodate two adults. So Rachel will need to be evacuated by foot. What follows is a treacherous and heart stopping journey out of the jungle to safety. Along the way, the crew of three Special Forces soldiers and the doctor contend with illegal activities, natural elements and wildlife, all the while running low on food.

What a wild read! I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The one aspect that made this adventure thriller lose a bit of credibility was the romantic elements of the book. It felt ridiculous to be having lustful moments when one is in survival mode in an African jungle. Plus I felt there were times when Rachel’s made some questionable decisions for a person who is portrayed as composed and intelligent.

But all that plus the corny / horny doctor bits, the book was fast paced, tense and thrilling. It raised some rather interesting topics and I honestly couldn’t put it down!

I did not want to put this story down! I was surprised to find it was a debut novel. The writing was excellent and just kept you gripped to the page. The plot was intriguing, no part of this story felt dull or unnecessary. The ending made me smile.
Thoroughly enjoyed this read - action-packed, with a sweet, slow-burn romance.

WOW! Just wow! What a journey! Gone to Ground was unexpected and totally thrilling - this debut novel by Aussie author Bronwyn Hall was brilliant! Fast paced action, packed full of a thrilling adventure with a steaming romance that is not to be missed. I loved it!

‘There’s no room. You can’t all fit.’ ‘He’s coming instead of me,’ I said. ‘What?’ ‘It’s okay, I’ll … hide or something. They’ll think I’ve gone with you, so they won’t look for me.’ Both of us knew I was talking crap.’

Set in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this is about a UN doctor risking her life to save others and a secret op Canadian military team on a mission. When things go horribly wrong they are forced to set off on foot to safety through the jungle.This book truly had it all - UN military scenario, diamond mining, child abduction, medical dramas, scary jungle with things blowing up all round. The slow burn romance between a down to earth Aussie doctor and a French Canadian soldier makes it worth the read alone - if there is a follow up book with these two I’m queuing up to buy it! All these aspects perfectly combined to produce a rollicking good tale that had me furiously turning pages with a climactic end that had me on the edge of my seat!

‘I spoke of the Congo. Of the instability, the poverty, the health needs and what I’d been doing since I’d left. There was enough colour and detail that they got insight into the difficulties and tragedy’

For a first time author who was not a doctor or had not been ‘lost’ in the jungle this was amazingly well done! I walked every painstaking step and will think of Rachel with every spider I now see 😉 The drama, the mystery and the romance all come together to form the perfectly told story. The plot builds with perfect pacing with the descriptions of the jungle terrifyingly real, the drama in the operating theatre horrifying true.

‘Being a doctor means I look after the health and wellbeing of others, and that territory comes with a lot of abstaining from judgement. But in this part of the real world, staying neutral feels like a stupid, blind luxury.’

Rachel’s writing was on point, richly detailed and immersive particularly when it comes to romance. The connection and sexual tension between Rachel and Anton was palpable. I would read it for this alone. The writing, particularly the ‘kaleidoscope’ scene is off the charts. The secondary characters enabled this to become an incredibly exciting plot - the ones you loved (Lucas and Jax) and the ones you despised (Christopher).

‘His words pierced straight through the lustful ache dominating my bloodstream and sank into my soul like water into sand.’

If you are looking for an exciting combination of a fast moving, tension filled drama that is overflowing with action this is your book. The steam of the romance smokes off the page with super writing that you can easily lose yourself in. Gone to Ground is a superb debut novel that truly excited me and I highly recommend it as I found it so engaging and fulfilling.

‘The jungle seemed impenetrable, yet I knew it was filled with creatures in their comfort zone, creatures adapted to their environment in a way I wasn’t.’







This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Gone to Ground – Bronwyn Hall

I was given a copy of this story but the publisher in order provide an honest review of it.



Bronwyn Hall is an Australian author hailing from Melbourne. She never set out to become writer focusing her career mainly in the field of community services.



Rachel is a young Australian doctor who has embarked on her first mission with the UN services. She is sent out in the middle of remote African jungle – the only doctor stationed at the little mission hospital with Michael as a nurse to assist.

Very ill equipped and supplied they do their best to help the poor people cruelly and inhumanely treated by the local war lords terrorising the area – and children are certainly not immune from their terrors.

That’s when things begin to take an interesting turn – as most people stationed at the mission are evacuated out some men in uniforms with guns stumbling into the mission. Disheveled and bringing a wounded man with them Rachel was a little alarmed and hoping they were not rebels coming to inflict some violence on them if their man could not be saved. But Rachel did not have to fear these were not rebels but a team of special forces out here on a secret mission and one of their unit was in desperate need of medical attention.

She tried to do the best she could to patch him up but their helicopter evacuation was coming and the rebels were closing in – the sound of guns and shouting. Yet there was not enough room for them all to escape. So, Rachel stays behind with the special forces unit while their injured man takes their place. Now they must high tail it into the jungle and trek back to civilization if they hope to escape with their lives.

For that special forces unit stumbled upon something that they should not have and now that Rachel is dependent on them for finding a way to safety – her life is endanger now more so than it was before. But now they must find a way to work together to uncover the true horrors happening deep in the African jungle.



“Gone to Ground” was a thrilling and eventful tale that showed the darkness some humans can possess. It is sad to think that some of the atrocities touched on this book are actually inflicted on human beings in any part of the world. I quite enjoyed the chemistry the author hand between Rachel and one of the special force's members. I do hope the author hasn’t finished writing about the two - I feel there is more to tell.

WOW what an awesome debut, this one will keep your heart rate up and turning the pages, fast paced, action packed and a compelling read, truly don’t miss this one come alone for a hair raising journey to Democratic Republic of the Congo and meet some real heroes and heroines.

Dr Rachel Forester is a doctor from Melbourne and has taken up a role as UN doctor and is sent to the DRC to help were she can, she and a nurse Michael and a medical team are sent out into the jungle to run a clinic for vaccinations, this area is terribly dangerous with militia everywhere but when a badly hurt child is bought in Rachel and Michael decide to stay and wait for the next ride out, just as they are hoping the next helicopter will arrive a team of UN soldiers brings a badly injured soldier in and Rachel does everything she can to save him and when the chopper arrives there is not enough room for them all so Rachel stays with the other three soldiers.

Rachel and the UN soldiers start to make their way out of the jungle and this is not an easy task with dangerous militia around not to mention the jungle and what lives in there these four people become close they need to in this situation, but what they discover is crime and the exploitation of stolen children, not only that but it appears that there are links to the UN the people who are supposed to care for these children, but greed and corrupt leaders are finding a way to rule.

Will they make it out alive, with people now chasing them, who can they trust and what will happen if they make it back to the hospital, this is an edge of your seat thriller suspense story that pulled me in from page one, an awesome story so well written these people are bought to life on the pages, I loved getting to know them and I would love to see more stories about them.

This is a story that I highly recommend you will not want to put it down once you pick it up so clear the calendar and make yourself comfortable, a must read.

My thanks to the Harlequin AU for my copy to read and review.

Oh my goodness! What a story this is! I couldn’t put it down and pretty much read it through the night. Gone to Ground is gripping and filled with danger and tension from the first page, although there are odd moments of humour, which lighten up the story.
Author Bronwyn Hall has created two fabulous lead characters in Rachel and Anton, though these two are very ably supported by Anton’s team members Jax and Lucas.
I loved the African jungle setting, where danger cropped up unexpectedly in the form of snakes, spiders and unfriendly foliage when militants were not actively pursuing the foursome.
This story was so, so good!

This book was great! When a UN doctor is sent into the jungle to administer vaccinations she gets a little more than she bargained for! After preforming emergency surgery on a soldier who then takes her seat in the evacuation helicopter, she finds herself fighting for her life in the jungle with the rest of his team.

I loved the fast paced, adrenaline filled plot of this book and devoured it in 24 hours! It’s only fault is that it’s too short, I would have liked to see more attacks on the enemy as I just love the rush you get from those scenes!

Overall I’d recommend and would love a sequel!