Where did Alice Russell go?
Is Alice here? Did she make it? Is she safe? In the chaos, in the night, it was impossible to say which
of the four had asked after Alice's welfare. Later, when everything got worse, each would insist it had
been them.
Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four
come out the other side.
The hike through the rugged landscape is meant to take the office colleagues out of their airconditioned
comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At least that is what the corporate
retreat website advertises.
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 Alice knew secrets. About the
company she worked for and the people she worked with.
My Thoughts:
Force of Nature is the second novel by the author Jane Harper and the second to feature Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk. The first The Dry was a runaway success last year and you can read my review here. Although it could be read well as a standalone I would recommend reading The Dry first to get a feel for Aaron Falk.
I welcomed the return to the Australian landscape that featured so heavily in The Dry and whilst I didn't find Force of Nature quite as claustrophobic I enjoyed it. The predominant setting this time is the Giralang Range, where five women set off on a team building exercise. Unfortunately only four return. Alice disappears and it falls to Aaron Falk to attend and unravel her disappearance.
The author excels at scene setting and the descriptions of the scenery are evocative and puts the reader right in the heart of the story in amongst the action. The prose contained within this book is beautiful.
The author expertly manages the time lines, as we learn about the other members of the outback trip and the lead up to the events that happened. Force of Nature seemed much more of a classic crime novel than The Dry and I liked this fact.
Force of Nature has pace and tension aplenty and the multi faceted plot is more than sufficient to keep the reader entertained.
Aaron Falk and his partner Carmen are likeable and are the perfect duo to investigate what happened to Alice. Although I would say that I enjoyed The Dry slightly more, there is much to like between the pages of Force of Nature.
Palpable tension and perfect pacing make this book an engrossing read with a satisfying end that I would recommend.
About the Author:
Force of Nature is the second novel by the author Jane Harper and the second to feature Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk. The first The Dry was a runaway success last year and you can read my review here. Although it could be read well as a standalone I would recommend reading The Dry first to get a feel for Aaron Falk.
The author excels at scene setting and the descriptions of the scenery are evocative and puts the reader right in the heart of the story in amongst the action. The prose contained within this book is beautiful.
The author expertly manages the time lines, as we learn about the other members of the outback trip and the lead up to the events that happened. Force of Nature seemed much more of a classic crime novel than The Dry and I liked this fact.
Force of Nature has pace and tension aplenty and the multi faceted plot is more than sufficient to keep the reader entertained.
Aaron Falk and his partner Carmen are likeable and are the perfect duo to investigate what happened to Alice. Although I would say that I enjoyed The Dry slightly more, there is much to like between the pages of Force of Nature.
Palpable tension and perfect pacing make this book an engrossing read with a satisfying end that I would recommend.
About the Author:
Jane Harper is the author of The Dry, winner of various awards including the
2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, the
2017 Indie Award Book of the Year and the 2017 Australian Book Industry
Awards Book of the Year Award. Rights have been sold in 27 territories
worldwide, and film rights optioned to Reese Witherspoon and Bruna
Papandrea. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in
Australia and the UK and lives in Melbourne. Force of Nature is Jane’s
second novel. Janeharper.com.au
Please do have a look at the other blog tour stops.
http://janeharper.com.au/
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