Force of Nature: A Novel Kindle Edition

Sometimes I hear about authors in roundabout ways. This time, the guy from my college who was helping me with my resume saw that I reviewed genre novels and told me I should read Jane Harper’s thriller/mystery The Dry. I loved it so much that I almost immediately afterward went on to read Force of Nature: A Novel. It’s every bit as good.The company of BaileyTennants sent a bunch of its employees on a kind of corporate retreat in the woods. The women took one trail, and the men took another. When the women arrive–late and injured–they’re missing one of their number. Alice Russell has vanished. The group insists she left to move on in the middle of the night because she didn’t want to wait until morning, but there’s reason to believe that isn’t the case. Federal Agent Aaron Falk and his partner Carmen Cooper were using Alice to get files and contracts implicating her bosses in money laundering, and more. On the night she disappeared, she tried to leave a voice mail for Aaron. While rescuers search the woods looking for Alice, Aaron and Carmen question everyone involved, trying not to give any hint to the employees that they are in fact already investigating the bosses. So the question is, did one or more of the ladies do something to Alice? Did the son of a serial killer who’s rumored to live in the woods nearby kill her? Did someone else, like maybe the guy running the executive adventures company, do something? There’s a lot of ill-will between the various women, leaving Aaron and Carmen with quite a few suspects.Force of Nature follows after The Dry. Aaron is still facing some of the fallout from what happened in that novel. I don’t think you have to have read it first–this is primarily about the mystery–but it wouldn’t hurt to have that personal background for Aaron. Besides, The Dry is an excellent novel worth reading!The characters have a lot of depth to them. There’s Jill, who didn’t want to work for her father but when he insisted, she buckled down and got to work. Her brother is the CEO. We gradually discover that Alice isn’t exactly going to be missed by a lot of people, with the exception of her teenaged daughter. Beth and Bree–twins–are about as different as night and day. Bree is Alice’s assistant, and constantly trying to impress the woman. Beth is the troublemaker of the family, although not always in the ways you might expect. Lauren and Alice both went to the “Endeavor Ladies’ College” together, which put some focus on learning to handle the out-of-doors, and their daughters have followed in their footsteps.The women find a mysterious, run-down cabin out in the woods, and they start to wonder whether it has any connection to a serial killer who hunted the area some years ago. He was caught, but everyone wonders if his missing son has picked up the family torch. We watch the women make their way through the woods in parallel to the unfolding investigation, and it’s timed well. I never felt confused as to where or when I was.This is a really fascinating tale and I highly recommend it!Content note for death and injury of course.

I liked Jane Harper's first book, The Dry, a lot, and her second book didn't fail to meet my high expectations. It is refreshing that the protagonist is not your usual half-brilliant-half-loser outsider PI type, instead, he is very human, in good and bad. He reminds me a little bit of George Simenon's Maigret. I also liked how the book had this ominous atmosphere of very bad things that happened in the bush before, and how it was eventually resolved in an unusual way (unusual at least for modern crime mysteries that are full of serial killers.) I can't say more about it while avoiding spoilers.There were many other aspects of the story that didn't go down the usual path, such as romantic possibilities that were real yet not consummated (except for one kiss.) How refreshing to not have to witness yet another roll in the hay with a miserable outcome -- the characters are actually adults rather than teenagers that never grew up. Also, what actually happened in the bush as far as the crime was concerned felt very true to life -- I could definitely imagine something like that happening to a group of perfectly normal people when they are pushed too far by dire circumstances. There is no need to bring some whacko killer into the mix to improve the story.Jane Harper's fluid and confident writing allowed me to relax, sit back, and enjoy the ride. She is one of my favorite crime mystery writers today and I look forward to reading her next book, hopefully sooner than later!

This is a well written novel in the sense of descriptive prose and character development. Unfortunately the explanations for the various crimes make little sense. One is left with a "so what?" feeling at the end. Many dropped story lines. I'd pass on this novel.

Jane Harper is a fabulous storyteller. This is my second no by her.She takes her time, builds up her characters and the context, pulling you in. Tension mounts gracefully. I actually don’t like those really fast paced suspense novels that I skim in two hours… With Harper‘s books , the writing and depth of character development are so good that I want to take my time. Great read, highly recommend.

You don’t have to read The Dry to enjoy Forces Of Nature, but it would help. Similar to officer Aaron Falk’s introductory novel, Forces of Nature is an atmospheric thriller with a complex plot and strong characters. Yes there are some callbacks to The Dry, but they are almost entirely unimportant to the plot here. I enjoyed the premise of this book very much and it was perfectly used to provide a number of suspects in the disappearance of poor Alice, a character few will feel sorry for. I can usually figure out who did it about halfway through most mysteries, but both of Ms Harper’s novels that I’ve read kept me guessing until the end.****Spoilers from here*****Unfortunately, this book fails where The Dry succeeded mightily. The reveal felt very unsatisfactory to me. After all the hardships these character go through, Alice deserved a better end than she received. Maybe that was the intention. Like No Country for Old Men, there is tension built and then poor Josh Brolin is just dead, killed off-screen.All of the characters were developed nicely except for Carmen. She’s young and is about to be married to a man who is admittedly not like Aaron. There is some manufactured sexual tension that I thought was a little synthetic, and the payoff under the falls seemed a bit rushed. Other than that, I have no real idea who she is.I liked this book very much. The Dry was such an excellent read, Ms Harper had a tough job for the next one. She succeeded, but in the end, Forces of Nature fell just a little flat. I am very much looking forward to the next one though. I highly recommend this series, especially The Dry.

Discovered Jane Harper (The Dry) while visiting my son in Australia and in between time with our grandson and day trips it was an excellent read with really surprise ending!

Following on from the success of 'The Dry', Jane Harper once again impresses with her mastery of suspense, character and atmosphere. Beautifully written in confident, limpid prose, with once again the Australian bush as a genuine, sometimes sinister presence. Highly recommended

I loved Jane Harper’s debut novel, The Dry, when I read it a few years ago, so I’m really pleased that I’ve caught up on the second book in the series, Force of Nature. Aaron Falk is back, and this time, he is investigating the disappearance of a woman, Alice Russell, who has vanished while on a back packing trip with friends in the Australian outback. Aaron Falk has previously worked with Alice, who has worked with him on an investigation, so this adds a chilling note to Alice’s disappearance, particularly as the investigation was to do with the company she works for. This is especially the case when we learn that one of Alice’s last messages before she went missing was to Falk.I loved the tension Jane Harper creates surrounding Alice’s disappearance. There is an immediate threat of danger, and you know from the outset, that the chances of the police finding Alice alive are very slim, especially given the terrain she has vanished in. But what happened to Alice? I really wanted to know, and I liked how Jane Harper went back in time, showing us what happened in the days preceding Alice’s disappearance as the group of friends set off together.Jane Harper is a master at crafting landscapes in her novels, and she really captures the danger as the women set off. The way in which Jane describes the landscapes, making them feel so real in her writing, is what makes both of these two books unique. I’m kicking myself that it’s taken me this long to get round to reading Force of Nature. You get the sense that things can quickly change, away from the main towns and cities, and Jane Harper shows how experienced you need to be in exploring these routes. Falk and the police know how difficult their task is.Falk is a brilliant character, and his voice draws you into the story, keeping you captivated. He isn’t a police detective; he is part of the financial investigation unit. From the moment when he is contacted by Alice Russell, when she leaves him a mysterious voice message, in the beginning of the book, you can sense the dread he is feeling. You can see that he is determined to find out what has happened to her.I thoroughly enjoyed Force of Nature. It is another gripping read from Jane Harper and I will make sure that I catch up on her other books as soon as possible.

Jane Harper knows how to write and this second book after The Dry is a decent book. The stage is once more the Australian bush, the wilderness of this enormous continent. The writer uses the forces of nature to explore the depth of the human soul. She partially succeeds, but the story is long, elaborate and a bit oppressive: it could have been shorter. The usual trick of dedicating one chapter to the present and the following to the past is effective to a certain extent and soon becomes tedious. I agree with others that The Dry is better, but capturing the readers’ attention throughout several books on similar subjects is very difficult…

Het verhaal is onderhoudend maar niet zo boeiend als haar eerdere boek The Dry. Nadeel van deze smallere paperback versie (met deze kaft) is dat de bladspiegel ook erg smal is vergeleken met andere paperbacks/edities. Leest "anders". Maar, wel een stuk goedkoper!