I am in shock.
How is this a debut???
As you can see from it being firmly on my top reads list, this book FAR exceeded expectations I normally have from authors dipping their feet into the publishing world for the first time.
This author is definitely one to watch closely and one I'll be reading more from.
If you can't tell already, I was transfixed from cover to cover, unable to put it down.
This was more suspense with a tiny romantic element, and for that I loved it even more, but it also makes it hard to comment on either the characters or plot as multiple lives were in peril for 95% of this amazing book.
So do yourself a favour and one click immediately to find out what has me stunned speechless in the very best way.

A great debut novel. It is a definitely a page-turner and has lots of action. The narration is quite vivid and I feel like I am watching a movie instead of reading a book. The MC is an admirable character but the ML annoyed me at times, but he endeared himself near the end.

Heart-thumpingly, stressfully brilliant!!

UN doctor and specialist surgeon Rachel Forester was working at a remote clinic in jungle, in the middle of the Democratic Republic of Congo with a capable and compassionate nurse, Michael, by her side. She was caring for a young girl who'd been shot and Ketia was not well enough for the evacuation. So Rachel and Michael stayed with her until the next helicopter would lift them out. But in the meantime, three UN soldiers, carrying a badly injured comrade, arrived for Rachel's help. She had no idea if her surgery would help as he was in a bad way, but when the chopper arrived, the unconscious soldier and Ketia, accompanied by Michael, were evacuated. There was no room for Rachel.

The three soldiers were determined to get Rachel to safety but as they had a long way to go, and walking was the only option, it was a tough outlook. What they discovered along the way was horrifying - the kidnapping of young children, the murdering of villagers, and the mining of diamonds, among other things. The connection to the UN was frightening - the corruption rife. Would they make it out alive? Who could they trust?

Gone to Ground is the debut novel by Aussie author Bronwyn Hall and it was outstanding - phenomenal in fact! Fast paced, action packed adventure; this is the best heartstopping thriller I've read in a long while! I really hope this is the beginning of a series as I'd love to read more about Rachel and the UN soldiers who were such a big part of the book. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Volunteering with the UN in the DRC, Australian doctor Rachel Forester is waiting for the helicopter which is coming to take her out of the jungle, where she has been running a vaccination clinic, when a critically injured Canadian soldier is brought in by three soldiers from his unit. She does what she can for him and sends him off in the helicopter in her place, leaving herself no option but to walk out of the jungle to Kananga, a journey of around 70 km, with the three other soldiers, Anton, Jax and Lucas.

Anton, the leader of the group is amazed that Rachel had been sent into such a dangerous area of the DRC with little preparation or protection. His unit has been collecting data on illegal activities in the area to send back to Canada and know how much danger is all around them.

What follows is an action packed adventure as the group encounters dangerous people involved in the illegal activity both in the jungle and outside it. Rachel shows that she might be naive but she’s certainly not helpless and will do whatever it takes to save lives. There is plenty of tension and even time for a little romance. An excellent debut novel.

Another fabulous Australian author to add to the list. Hard to believe that Gone to Ground is a debut novel.. Wow 😯. What an adventure we go in this book. I read it in an afternoon, stuck in bed with the flu, feeling sorry for myself. I felt like I was in the African jungle fighting the bad guys. For a short book (under 300 pages) it certainly packed a punch. Never a dull moment.

The premise of this book hooked me right in. Australia now doctor Rachel Forester is in the DRC, working with the UN to provide vaccines for people in remote areas. Her and her nurse, Michael, are
the only ones to stay behind to help Ava egg life of a little girl who comes in as they are evacuating. As they are packing away their final possessions, a group of Canadian soldiers bring in a man who need their urgent attention. A storm hits and there is gunfire all around them. When the helicopter to get them out finally arrives, it is too small to fit them all so Michael takes the patients and Rachel decides to travel on foot with the special forces soldiers.

There is danger all around them, from the creatures in the trees to the guns going off everywhere. It is a super fast paced book that will have you holding your breath at times, wondering how they are going to get out the jungle. Full of adventure, tension and a splash of romance, Gone for Ground has something for everyone.

Highly recommend. Thanks to Harlequin Australia and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published August 3rd.

Gone to Ground by Bronwyn Hall is a superb debut novel. Fast moving action and lots of tension as well as romance! Excellent characters and exciting plot.

Australian Dr Rachel Forester takes a post with the United Nations to work briefly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While Rachel and her nurse Michael await to evacuate with an injured child, Canadian unit turns up with an injured soldier. Violence is erupting around them and then heavy rain delays the rescue helicopter coming to evacuate them and when it finally arrives they all can’t go. This is just the start and the plot has lots of fast moving twists and turns with abundance of action in the African jungles full of dangers. Surviving and finding a way to safety becomes a constant battle!

Loved the characters and the plot was intense and exciting.

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Harlequin Australia via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A fabulous debut novel from this author.

Rachel is a doctor and surgeon working for the UN in Africa. While awaiting a helicopter ride out of the base, she’s approached by a group of soldiers, one terribly wounded.
With little space in the chopper, she does what she can for the soldier and leaves him in the hands of her comrade and heads into the jungle with the remaining soldiers.

Lots of action and drama told with real heart. The characters are relatable and you can’t help but fall in love with them and the way they risk everything for what they believe in.

I loved watching Rachel come out of her shell and step up when she needed to. I loved her strength and resilience throughout and the way she took charge of the situation in the hospital.

A fantastic story full of surprises.

Fabulous!! Loved loved loved this and would recommend to everyone who loves a thrilling novel, with great characters.

There are novels, the sole motivation of which is to push the pedal to the metal and go hell for leather towards the narrative finish line, characters sacrificed on the altar of a thrilling story; then are those books that promise a riveting journey through terrors unknown but stop a little too often to give the characters room to breathe, sapping the momentum of the story until it almost grinds to a shuddering stop.

Then there is Gone to Ground, a fast-paced novel from Bronwyn Hall which keeps things moving at a rigorously adrenalised pace, while taking care to invest a human dimension in events which enrich the story without feeling like a drag on the pell-mell race to safety and justice.

That’s quite the balancing act, especially when you consider that in amongst all the compelling characterisation and geopolitical intrigue and violence, there are some fairly powerfully confronting issues raised, the sort that don’t always make the headlines but which materially affect people’s lives, and which don’t always receive the just outcome they deserve.

Interestingly, while Gone to Ground is presented almost singularly on the publisher’s website as a bracing piece of political theatre set against the backdrop of civil war and UN peacekeeping in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it also has a fairly hefty serving of romance into the bargain, an unexpected inclusion that actually works nicely, adding rather than subtracting to the grittiness of the rest of the story.

As Gone to Ground gets underway, we meet UN surgeon Rachel Forester, an Australian who finds herself out in remote warlord-infested jungle tending to patients who have been brutally wounded by near-constant fighting, much of it driven not by politics but by turf fighting by criminal gangs who are using child labour to mine diamonds which are then spirited out of the country, benefiting only the criminals and leaving the populace, already traumatised by war and loss, in grindingly abject poverty.

What’s meant to be a routine trip to a few villages to inoculate people soon becomes a thousand kinds of complicated as Rachel and a nurse called Michael have to stay behind to tend to a grievously wounded woman and girl, acts of desperate medical mercy which mean that Rachel is in camp when four Canadian peacekeepers enter, one of them so badly wounded there’s a good chance he won’t make it.

As Rachel and the three healthy troops are forced to remain on the ground when everyone else including the wounded are evacuated by a too-small helicopter, a race through the jungle to the relative safety of a nearby town begins, one which fills Gone to Ground with pounding tension and all kinds of searingly ethical questions that beg you to consider what it is you might walk past, and whether in the end, you value the welfare of others over your own.

It’s a huge dilemma especially when you’re fleeing for your life from the very people who should be protecting you.

It turns out that some members of the UN operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are in with the criminals but quite who isn’t clear, which muddies the water so much that apart from the troops she’s with, Rachel can’t really trust anyone.

It’s a classic case of the good guys turning out to be the bad guys, well, some of them anyway, which adds a Three Days of the Condor element to the storyline which is seething with enough dangerous intent as it is.

Somehow in the middle of this pulse-pounding race through the jungle in which survival is far from guaranteed, Hall manages to place the innate humanity of the situation front and centre, a deft interweaving of political thriller, geopolitical ethical dilemmas and interpersonal connections that adds to a compelling, page-turningly readable story.

Gone to Ground is the kind of story that barely pauses for breath but still somehow feels as if it is serving up a deep dive into the human soul, whether it’s Rachel and the lead soldier Anton getting closer than either expect or the sudden team of four having to battle for the lives of civilians caught in the crossfire and for their own souls when they’re confronted time and again by a choice between saving themselves or risking their lives to save others.

As thrillers go, Gone to Ground is a compellingly well done.

It has characters who leap off the page, part-trope, part-grounded real people, dialogue that snaps and crackles in way that will have you laughing as much as gasping, and an infusion of the sinister and the dark that will leave you wondering how sick and twisted the human soul really is.

Granted, there are times when perhaps the romance begins to feel just a little too thickly laid on, but then Hall nimbly steps sideways, grounding it all again in the sheer, raw immediacy of the story and we’re away once more, hoping desperately that all four will make it to safety and that they’ll be able to save enough innocent souls along the way.

Filled with tension aplenty, horns of dilemma so sharp they could well impale you – although Rachel, Anton, and the others really have no choice but to act in the defense of others if they want to look themselves in the face afterwards (assuming they survive) – and a buoyant sense of humanity that somehow survives everything that assails it, Gone to Ground is a thrillingly intense piece of storytelling that deliver edge-of-the-seat fast-paced narrative momentum but with an eye always firmly focused on the fact that even the very worst acts of people can find a counterbalance by those willing to stand up and be counted.

There’s a lot on the line, and a lot of ways the story could go off the rails, juggling a number of key narrative components as it is, but it sails seamlessly and assuredly on, delivering up a story rich in intrigue, mystery, danger and violence, but also strong connection and unexpected belonging, the kind that is so rich and motivating that it might just manage to overcome the very worst of everything.

Maybe …

I must say first up I whizzed thorough this book as it was the perfect length with the perfect mix of adventure, mystery and thrills.

A debut book for this author and one that is a good start to a future in writing. Bronwyn has a talent and I am glad I had the opportunity to read her first book. From page one she had me and I just couldn't put this book down. this is a story that is real but is so unreal that it makes you think and it is so emotional, scary and exciting all at once.

I loved this book and look forward to seeing what Bronwyn Hall writes next.

Loved the writing! Just enough description to feel and smell the African bush, One of few military thrillers I enjoyed, it's not too technical for a civilian.

Better Run Through the Jungle, Run through the jungle, Whoa don’t look back to see… 🎶
Gone to Ground is a fantastic action thriller about a brave if naive Australian surgeon, who finds herself stuck deep in the rainforest of the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) when a UN medical mission goes awry. I was invited to read this by the publisher, and while I’m trying to limit new ARCs this year, especially by unknown authors, the premise, medical aspects and rave reviews already posted convinced me to give it a go - and I quickly realised this would get another 5 star rating from me!

Rachel Forrester is working as the only doctor in a remote clinic administering vaccines and basic healthcare to jungle communities when a seriously wounded Canadian soldier is brought in by his team mates. Attacks by hostile militia forces mean they have to evacuate, but the helicopter only has room for three, and Rachel opts to send her injured patients, and escape on foot with the special forces unit. As they trudge warily towards the nearest town, they discover a sinister mining operation is being conducted out of sight of the authorities, using stolen children as slave labour, a secret the operators will kill to protect.

It’s hard to believe this was written by a debut author - it’s a wonderfully immersive story with just enough descriptive detail to feel like you’re in deepest Africa with scary creepy-crawlies behind every tree and gun-toting rebels round every corner. It’s all told from Rachel’s first person past POV and you’re taken straight into the action with minimal exposition, which I liked. There is a romance sub-plot, which would normally have me rolling my eyes, but it doesn’t detract from the story, and the main characters are appealing enough to get away with it. Rachel is a skilled doctor, not a fighter, but it turns out growing up on an Aussie farm has given her some useful skills, and I loved the evolving dynamics as she bonds with the team. The medical aspects were also completely convincing.

The plot denouement wasn’t a surprise - I don’t think it’s meant to be, and I actually appreciated not being stung by an unexpected twist for once. There’s no graphic violence and while child exploitation is mentioned, and brutality towards women implied, we don’t witness it, so I don’t think this needs any content warnings unless you’re very scared of spiders or fond of pigs. The only thing I didn’t like was the tag-line on the cover “Hunted. Alone. Afraid.” which is misleading, as Rachel is not any of these things (unless you count her arachnophobia) - but I expect that’s the publisher not the author’s input. Regardless, this was a highly enjoyable fast-paced read from a new author to watch.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia for the ARC. I am posting this honest review voluntarily. Gone to Ground is published on August 3rd.

And there it is, finally, a book I can happily give 5 stars! This is a debut from another amazing Australian author. She is not a doctor, has never lived or worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and has not been in the military. Despite that she brought such an amazing amount of realism to this story, I was transfixed from the very first page. This was a dynamite story!

Dr Rachel Forester is in the DRC on a UN mission, she has been sent to a remote outpost with her nurse, Michael, to administer vaccines mainly. Then a critically injured child arrives soon to be followed by a critically injured Canadian special forces soldier, Otis, also in the region on a UN reconnaissance mission. When the evac helicopter arrives it is too small to take everybody so the child and the injured soldier, along with Michel who has a prosthetic leg, are sent in the helicopter to the provincial capital, Kananga for much needed acute care. Rachel and the three soldiers who brought Otis in must leave on foot. It is about 70 km as the crow flies but is hard going when you have to hack your way through the jungle.

The journey is a harrowing and arduous one as they must steer clear of people and vehicles. Otis was shot while filming illegal activities at a village which they must avoid along with those who may be looking for them. The situation is not helped when Rachel insists they must go back and rescue three children they saw being taken to the village. It seems the children are being used as slaves in an illegal diamond mine.

Their food is dwindling and their nerves are tightly strung as they press forward, finally reaching Kananga and the promise of safety. But unfortunately safety is an illusion as Rachel learns that Otis, who should be on the mend by now is still gravely ill and the dangerous men who are running the diamond mine are too close for comfort.

Amidst the danger, the dirt, the hunger and exhaustion Rachel and the commander of the group of soldiers, Anton, find a spark that blossoms into a potential romance that cannot be. Normally I don’t like romance in my books but this was so well done with a very light touch and so right, I loved it! The soldiers were such a tight knit group, any one of them would give their life for a brother in arms. And over the long trek to Kananga Rachel also proved her worth.

I applaud the author for the level of realism that she achieved, it felt I was there slogging through the jungle with them and it was not a pleasant experience. I can’t wait to see what Ms Hall comes up with next, she is very talented for sure. Many thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

‘When are they coming to pick us up?’

Deep in the jungle of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Nations (UN) surgeon Rachel Forester has been working with a team at a medical clinic. As violence escalates within the region, the medical team is evacuated. But tending an injured child keeps Dr Forester and her nurse Michael in situ. Then, while expecting a helicopter to evacuate them, a critically wounded soldier is carried into the camp by three members of his Canadian unit, also attached to the UN.

When the helicopter arrives, it is too small to take all personnel. The critically ill patient and Michael are evacuated, leaving Rachel and the other three soldiers to flee on foot through the jungle. The group plans to head to the UN headquarters at Kananga, a journey of about seventy kilometres.

To reach Kananga, the team needs to evade militia groups while rationing limited food. Along the way, they
discover a secretive mining operation, which seems to rely on children for its workforce. And it looks like there might be a UN connection to what is surely an illegal operation.

This is Ms Hall’s first novel, and it is a terrific read. The danger is not confined to the jungle: Rachel’s history with another UN Doctor has ramifications both for her and the group she is travelling with. So, there you have it: corruption, danger, illegal mining, kidnapped children, and violence with a touch of romance.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Firstly, a massive thank you to Bronwyn Hall, HarperCollins Australia and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel.

Whilst this is not my usual genre I would read, the storyline sounded intriguing and I love reading debut work from new authors. I can honestly say I was incredibly impressed with Hall’s writing - I’ll most certainly be looking for more work from this author in the future.

This story kept me guessing every step of the way, wondering what would happen next and whether the dr and soldiers would make it out alive. In the end, the storyline was wrapped up nicely and I felt content with how it ended.

Please write more Bronwyn Hall!

Thanks to Net Galley and author Bronwyn Hall, I was sent an Advanced Reader Copy of Gone to Ground.

Although Rachel and her nurse Michael were meant to be evacuated, doctor Rachel Forester decided to stay behind to care for a wounded kid in a remote community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Little did she know, however, that there was political instability at the time. When one of Anton's team members is hurt while on a mission with his squad, he goes to Rachel, the only doctor nearby, and that's when the fantastic narrative begins. Anton is a member of the special forces.

Oh, how I cherished this book.

The narrative is strong, and there were times when I felt uneasy. The narrative was developing quickly. the ideal ratio of each. The primary female character wasn't a damsel in distress, and the romance was anything from clichéd. This book was excellent.

In particular, I like how skillfully our major leads and all the supporting characters were created. Between Rachel and Anton, there was such a seamless balance of all the factors. Both are without a doubt my favorites.

I liked this book since it had a quick pace and was fun to read in one sitting.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers.

This is a fabulous read, however, it brings to light abduction and child slavery in the search of diamonds in the Congo.

Dr Rachel Forester is attached to the United Nations medical team, she has just finished up at an outpost clinic and waiting for a helicopter airlift to evacuate but from the jungle four soldiers emerge, one badly hurt with a bullet wound. Suspicion is on both sides but as a doctor, Rachel has to look to the wounded man. The soldiers as it turns out are also from the United Nations, however they are a Canadian specialist force, three men and one woman and do not form part of the normal UN peacekeeping operations. The evacuation is delayed due to weather and when the helicopter does arrive with gunfire close by a hasty departure takes place. It's only a small chopper and not able to carry everyone, the result is that the wounded soldier, Otis, takes Dr Rachel Forrester's place as he needs hospitalisation, leaving nurse Michael and a young patient the only ones able to travel. Rachel now with the other three soldiers will travel by foot back to Kananga, a seventy kilometre trek. When Rachel queries the method suggested by Anton, the leader, he wonders why she hasn't been warned about the dangerous rebel militia and other criminals involved in the illegal diamond trade. Dr Forester gives the impression that apart from her medical training, her idyllic country life in Australia has not equipped her for life in the Congo and her naivety is extraordinary.

As they can't risk travelling on roads or even well used tracks the only method is through dense jungle for which causes a lot of angst for Rachel, fear of spiders, which bemuses these hardened soldiers. Danger is constantly present, for Rachel this is a quick lesson in survival skills, sleeping rough and eating army rations. In all that is occurring Rachel discovers that Anton has been hiding a wound received when trying to save Otis, she attends to his wound and it's here that some sexual tension developes.

After reaching Kananga at the hospital Rachel becomes aware that Otis's health has gone backwards and he is critically ill. It's finally revealed that her boss and ex lover Doctor Lt Colonel Janssen has been slowly poisoning Otis because of him being able to identify one of the criminals and who he, himself, is involved with the criminal activity. A gunman becomes involved in the malaise and it's at this point that all the dots start to line up.

Gone to Ground is a fantastic debut adventure thriller by Bronwyn Hall. When United Nations Surgeon Rachel Forester received her new posting to a remote medical clinic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo jungle, she would be involved in escalated violence. The staff of the remote medical clinic decided to evacuate; however, Surgeon Rachel Forester chose to stay and look after an injured child. Rachel Forester, though she has a chance with the wounded child to have an airlift out of the dangers. For Rachel Forester, this would not happen due to the arrival of a badly injured soldier. The readers of Gone to Ground will continue to follow Rachel Forester to find out what happens.

I enjoyed reading Gone to Ground, and if Bronwyn Hall continues to write books in the same way, she will have an excellent career in writing. I engaged with the plot of this book from the turning of the first page. I love Bronwyn Hall's portrayal of her characters and their interaction with each other throughout this book. Gone to Ground was well written and researched by Bronwyn Hall. I like Bronwyn Hall's description of the settings of Gone to Ground which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.

The readers of Gone to Ground will learn about running a small remote medical centre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also, the readers of Gone to Ground will understand United Nations' role in providing medical aid to disadvantaged communities.

I really enjoyed this book. I like how we're straight into the action, and the action is really well written - tense and fast paced. A story line that is easy to follow, but is well researched.
A great mix of action and adventure with a nice sprinkling of romance.

Many thanks to Net Galley for this advanced reader copy. I loved this story. I just kept reading. Then I slept, woke up and continued to read until the final page.
The story is set in the Democratic Republic of Congo with surgeon Rachel in a small village with one nurse and a recovering patient with minimal equipment in a high-stress environment waiting for aerial evacuation. From the first page, it’s clear Rachel is a skilled, efficient surgeon, and the situation is dangerous. The arrival of a UN peacekeeping force of three soldiers led by Anton and an injured fourth soldier in dire need of surgery sets off a series of events. Rachel operates on the soldier when the helicopter arrives to evacuate only the two patients, and the RN will be the only people leaving due to limited space.
Rachel and the three Canadian soldiers begin a trek through the jungle to safety. And so the adventure begins. I will say no more about the story except that it’s a fabulous engrossing read.
I enjoyed the pacing of this story and the building drama as trouble seemed to find them each and every day. There isn’t a wasted word or unnecessary scene in this book. The sexual tension developing between Rachel and Anton was sensational. If you enjoy a slow burn romance, this is the book for you. One scene is so vivid I felt I was right there. I’ll tease you with a critical word in this scene; “kaleidoscope”, so you can agree or disagree when you read the scene. This type of writing takes skill. The final 20% of the book is brilliant. I also enjoyed the story told entirely from Rachel’s point of view. Gone to Ground really is Rachel’s story. It was wise to write in a single POV.