Review: Force of Nature

Force of Nature by Jane Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Note: This is a sequel to The Dry. This can also be read as a standalone. But be aware, this novel will mention some snippets of the events of The Dry, so just to be up to date, it would be best if you tried the first novel first.

Anyway here we go.

This was actually a great novel. Better than The Dry in some aspects.

Let me tell you all about it.

The cover - Pretty thick as the grass surrounding, thick with mystery and scare jumps all around. It got me, hook, line, sinker. It was just great. Hence the stars.

The summary - "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 Giralang Ranges is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned 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 - in just a matter of days she was to provide the documents that will bring down the company she works for.

Falk discovers that far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. But does it include murder?"

Interesting enough for me honestly. A hike gone wrong, an important person missing and suspicion lingers everywhere around you. I think it's pretty close to being a horror movie but more with mystery than horror, so good this one was. Hence the stars.

The characters - Aaron, his partner (can't remember her name, it's been a while..), the four women, the staff themselves (the head staff), are all so well done, each having some little backstory or another to the case itself. It's definitely not overwhelming and leaves you wanting more from all of them. They all give their own viewpoint in regards to their case, so it's definitely interesting each time, we get closer to the solving of the case. Giving the stars here.

The mystery itself- First nothing more than a missing person's case, but then to something far more sinister at play. It will definitely keep you turning pages and keeping your interest peaked, honest. Each new clue, witness, suspicion, backstory leads you round and round but eventually helps you to the finishing line in the end. So it's definitely something that will be worth reading. The stars are distributed.

The ending - It is a little predictable but then it's only like that if the author really doesn't know how to keep the reader guessing (she did keep me guessing..), or if you've read a lot of mystery novels (I have...) but it's not really bad. It's still a pleasant end, and makes you relieved that you finished this after all, without struggling. Hence the stars.

SO overall, it's a high recommend. Don't miss out.

Until the next read,

TMR

View all my reviews