From the international bestselling author of The Dry and new novel The Survivors.

Lost, Cold, Desperate ... Danger Runs Deep

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 - and Alice knew secrets. About the company she worked for and the people she worked with.

Far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell Falk a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. And as he delves into the disappearance, it seems some dangers may run far deeper than anyone knew.

WINNER OF THE READERS' CHOICE DAVITT AWARD 2018
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 SPECSAVERS (UK) NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

PRAISE FOR FORCE OF NATURE

"Force of Nature bristles with wit; it crackles with suspense; it radiates atmosphere. An astonishing book from an astonishing writer" A.J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window

"I loved The Dry. Force of Nature is even better. Brilliantly paced, it wrong-foots the reader like a rocky trail through the bush" Susie Steiner, author of Missing, Presumed and Persons Unknown

"Lord of the Flies in the Australian outback, with grown women in place of school boys. I loved every chilling moment of it. A blistering follow-up to The Dry from one of the best new voices in crime fiction" Sarah Hilary, author the DI Marnie Rome series

"...once again Harper manages to touch on something mythic in the Australian experience of the land" The Age

"The narrative is finely constructed, with perfectly measured pace and suspense. So much so that it reminded me of another master of form, Liane Moriarty. As with Moriarty, Harper has that rare touch that manages to cross the genre divide and appeal more widely to general readers" The Saturday Paper

"Harper's mastery of pace makes Force Of Nature one of 2017's best thrillers" Elle Magazine

"Gripping thriller will have readers hooked" The Sunday Telegraph

"Force of Nature proves Jane Harper, author of The Dry, is no one-hit wonder. Its premise is instantly gripping" The Herald Sun

Length: 354 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $4.99 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English

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Review

Jane Harper, the new Queen of Crime...Even more impressive than The Dry...Harper makes it look easy but she has to pace two narratives without giving too much away, creating an almost unbearable level of suspense...Nature is a hostile, unpredictable force in both of Harper's novels, but her brilliance lies in making it into a test of horribly fallible human nature, The Sunday Times

Once again Harper leaves you gagging to know who did what. Once again there are plenty of suspects, Evening Standard

With consummate skill, Harper alternates between Falk's investigation and an account of what happened to the five women on their hike, as they rapidly find that the natural world is out to get them and their relations with each other deteriorate . . . Harper has a fine gift for making her readers comfortable in inhospitable territory - psychological as well as physical -- Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph

'The most exciting emerging novelist of the last 12 months...As gripping, atmospheric and ingeniously plotted as The Dry, it places Harper in the elevated company of the authors she most admires: Val McDermid, Gillian Flynn and Lee Child, Mail on Sunday

Powerful, intriguing and recommended...Harper is wonderful at evoking fear and unease, and she draws a mesmeric picture of the terrifying Australian terrain, The Times

Jane Harper brings a potent outsider's eye once again to the uncanniness of the Australian bush . . . Like The Dry, this is a deftly assembled and cleverly paced novel, the characters skillfully and nimbly drawn . . . It's stirring to see a writer racing out of the traps with such confidence and storytelling flair. -- Alasdair Lees, Independent

Jane Harper is more from the Patricia Highsmith and Donna Tartt school of mystery: elegant, intelligent and not for the faint-hearted...As chapters swap between the tense outward-bound weekend (where self-hatred, fear and resentment jostle for position) and its subsequent investigation, Harper creates a claustrophobic page-turner that conjures up that other great Australian mystery, Joan Lindsay's Picnic At Hanging Rock, Emerald St

Five women head out on a camping trip, but only four emerge, bruised and traumatised. What follows is a clever twist on a locked-room mystery, set in a forest as alien and hostile as anything in a fairy tale, Sunday Times

This irresistible thriller is a perfect summer read - and a warning against bonding weekends with colleagues you don't like . . ., Mail on Sunday

Jane Harper has high literary credentials - her debut novel, The Dry, one of the big hits of last year, matched critical acclaim with bestselling sales figures. This second novel is just as good...Landscape is a sinister presence in Harper's novels and here it takes on a powerfully disruptive, psychological force...Harper creates an atmosphere of stifling claustrophobia as the novel inexorably telescopes in...This is that rare thing, a whodunnit where the writing is as satisfying as the thrills, Metro --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

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 air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team-building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises.

Police officer Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing walker. 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.

Far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell Falk a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. And as he delves into the disappearance, it seems some dangers may run far deeper than anyone knew.

--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Jane Harper is the author of the international bestsellers The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man. Her books are published in more than 40 territories worldwide, and The Dry is being made into a major film starring Eric Bana. Jane has won numerous top awards including the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year and the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK and now lives in Melbourne. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author

Jane Harper has worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK. Her bestselling first novel, The Dry and Force of Nature have sold to over thirty territories, with film rights for The Dry sold to Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea. Jane lives in Melbourne with her husband and daughter. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

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 air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team-building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises.

Police officer Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing walker. 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.

Far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell Falk a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. And as he delves into the disappearance, it seems some dangers may run far deeper than anyone knew.

'I loved The Dry. Force of Nature is even better. Brilliantly paced, it wrong-foots the reader like a rocky trail through the bush. I adored it' Susie Steiner

'Lord of the Flies in the Australian outback, with grown women in place of school boys. I loved every chilling moment of it. A blistering follow-up to The Dry from one of the best new voices in crime fiction' Sarah Hilary

[thumbnail of author pic]

@janeharperautho
Crime Vault logo @TheCrimeVault @LittleBrownUK

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

The best in compulsive literary crime, from the author of the Sunday Times top ten bestseller, The Dry. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

File size : 1186 KB
ASIN : B07254SLCR
Print length : 354 pages
Publisher : Macmillan Australia (26 September 2017)
Word Wise : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Language: : English

Best Sellers Rank: 408 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 77 in Contemporary Fiction (Kindle Store)
- 102 in Mysteries (Books)
- 207 in Whispersync for Voice

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Top reviews from Australia

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Confronting but an incredible force...

Reviewed in Australia on 26 September 2017

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There is nothing harder than the follow up of an incredibly successful debut novel, so I read 'Force of Nature' with some trepidation.

Fortunately, Jane Harper doesn't disappoint. This is a great follow up, if not better than 'The Dry'. Both have her signature style and incredible sense of place and both books kept me on edge late into the early hours of the morning.

The premise of 'Force of Nature' was highly unusual but totally relatable - who hasn't been on a team building exercise with work colleagues only to wonder who you can trust? In this instance, five women walk into the bush on a similar team-building exercise yet only four emerge - everything goes awry when the team gets lost... what happened to Alice?

Once again, the Australian landscape was very much a character in the book however instead of 'The Dry' we have the wet, windy backdrop and the most miserable conditions for those who are lost, hungry, and distrusting of each other.
The switching of times and points-of-view between chapters helps keep the pace quick and plot moving along.

Definitely, a slower burn than its predecessor, but the complicated plot, the pace of the last half of the book and the vivid descriptions certainly make it addictive reading. It is a great examination of the wild nature of the human condition. It kept me breathless.

Another confronting 5 Stars.

14 people found this helpful

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EM. Lipski

I loved The Dry but this one just did not do ...

Reviewed in Australia on 28 November 2017

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I loved The Dry but this one just did not do it for me. The suspense of The Dry was not there. I kept putting it down and picking it up a few days later and by the time I was almost through reading it, I cared not on iota for any of the characters. Also, I was perplexed as to why, in basically a plot-driven book, the cop had to have a few pages devoted to his personal angsty history. I love really suspenseful books and if you are like me you can't go past Security by Gina Wohlsdorf.

4 people found this helpful

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Lies & allibes

Reviewed in Australia on 23 January 2019

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Not really my cup of tea - showing increasing acrimony amongst a group of five female hikers. There was I thought a group of male hikers too, what happened to them?. The Federal Police characters [Falk & Carmen] appeared very subdued with their contribution to the investigation. The theme of the story though was a great idea but I would have like to read more about past missing persons in the bush to add interest to the story. This book is all about peer pressure, personalities & family issues none of which I wish to know about. Sorry!

One person found this helpful

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mellowreader

Excellent

Reviewed in Australia on 2 October 2017

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I loved this book. In my opinion it is better than The Dry which I also liked. The characters were complex and interesting. The mystery was engrossing. The atmosphere of the Australian bushland was beautifully captured. There were satisfying twists and turns to this briskly told story. No waffling, no prolonged dialogue, no flat spots in the whole story. A joy to read.

4 people found this helpful

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Could not put it down

Reviewed in Australia on 14 August 2019

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I am old enough to remember the fear that permeated through Australia with the Ivan Milat case, so having a similar background to the story (all be it with a made up name) increased that sense of urgency and not knowing.
The twists and turns are all intertwined, and some go back decades. Towards the end of the book, the clever structure increased the panic/tempo. Just grand. I also loved the ending. I can't wait for the next Aaron Falk novel

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SMNZ

Better Than THE DRY!

Reviewed in Australia on 4 December 2017

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This is why I don't do corporate teambuilding retreats.
Mandatory fun never is.
Enforced trustbuilding exercises does not build trust.
Women will always be a little like the girls they were in high school.
Snakes may represent original sin, but in the Aussie bush it's ego & arrogance that will get you killed.

I love Harper as a writer. I can't wait to see her books hit the screen.

2 people found this helpful

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You can't pick your family

Reviewed in Australia on 7 October 2017

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Another Aaron Falk novel based around an investigation into a corrupt family business, this story contains everything you know is bad about corporate team building weekends. It confirms my belief that they are a totally bad idea. From dysfunctional families to a bush walk gone wrong with a serial killer thrown in for good measure, this is a great read.

3 people found this helpful

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joseph

Disappointing

Reviewed in Australia on 26 April 2018

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First up – I adored The Dry, it was such a surprisingly outstanding novel on so many, many levels. I just devoured it. So it was with much eager anticipation I read this latest novel…….and after just now finishing it………ummmmmm Meh is the very best I can say.

I cannot believe it’s the same author to be honest. This novel lacks most things that made The Dry such a fantastic read. There is little sense of suspense or intrigue. The protagonists are simple stereotypical caricatures that fail to hold much interest. The plot is leaden, full of red herrings and a few flaws. I will admit the last 20% did pick up the pace as it raced to a conclusion but ultimately, I found the ending just such a letdown as it did not address any of the few interesting plot twists that exist.

While the Dry was a delightful surprise Force of Nature is sadly disappointing

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Female Reader

Atmospheric tale of missing hiker in Australian mountains

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2017

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This is a follow up to The Dry. Aaron Falk, the sympathetic fraud cop is involved in the search for a missing hiker who was taking part in a company team building exercise. Well written, twists, human interest. Calling this a detective story or a thriller is to underestimate it. Looking forward to her next book.

32 people found this helpful

Orna G

Scary!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2018

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This is a gripping, edge of the chair sort of read. Having thoroughly enjoyed The Dry, her previous book, I was greatly anticipating this. It did not disappoint. The hero, Falk, is the same policeman as in The Dry and I felt that anyone who had not read it first might have been at a slight disadvantage. However, Force of Nature is a terrific stand-alone story. Basically, five women enter an impenetrable forest as part of a team building exercise. Only four return. Personally, I would not have wished for any of these five neurotic women to be my friends, as it was difficult to sympathise with any of them and I wouldn't have been upset if they had all disappeared. But this is a five star book in my opinion and well worth reading if you like to be scared.

23 people found this helpful

Kee Lady

Ok but not as good as The Dry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 December 2018

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Five female work colleagues set off on a team building exercise in the Australian Bush. Only four return. The missing woman is Alice Russell, the whistle blower in Aaron Falk’s latest case. Could this be the reason behind her disappearance? Alice was not popular with her colleagues and as the investigation develops, Falk uncovers how suspicion and mistrust plagued the group.

I really enjoyed Jane Harper’s debut novel The Dry and I was keen to see if Force of Nature would match its quality and success. It appears to have matched its success but not quite its quality. The beginning is promising and Harper builds some nice anticipation, teasing the reader with numerous possibilities for Alice’s disappearance. I was therefore expecting some thrilling revelations but sadly, this is never realised, as a number of threads are revealed as nothing more than red herrings with no conclusion. The real reason behind Alice’s disappearance was painfully underwhelming although the final scenes add some much-needed drama into an otherwise pedestrian plot. Perhaps it is a case of second book syndrome but I am hoping it is third time lucky for Jane Harper with The Lost Man.

11 people found this helpful

M. Sumner

Another Stunner from Jane Harper

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2018

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From the author of The Dry another exhilerating read featuring Federal Agent Aaron Falk. Falk and his associate Carmen are investigating serious money laundering by the Bailey family in Melbourne. He has coerced a whistleblower, Alice Russell, to obtain evidence. Alice works for the family.

Alice and four other women who work for Bailey are sent on a team building exercise in the outback, a hike in the bush intended to teach resilience. Five women set out on the muddy track. Only four come out the other side. Alice is missing.

Harper builds tension as the plot moves between the last days of the hike and Falk's endeavours with other searchers to find the missing woman. Four women tell Falk about their relationship with Alice, a tale of suspicion and disintegrating trust. Who is telling the truth?

A brilliantly paced plot wrong-footing the reader at every turn. It's another stunner from Jane Harper.

10 people found this helpful

Bluecashmere.

Stunning story.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 May 2019

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I read Jane Harper’s trilogy in a strange order, starting with The Dry, jumping to The Lost Man and then returning to Force of Nature. Probably this resulted from slightly less enthusiastic reviews on the whole for the middle novel. In any event, I am now even more convinced that Jane Harper is a particularly fine writer and much as I was bowled over by The Lost man, I think I have to acknowledge that I enjoyed this novel most of all. The narrative structure is handled with masterful control, the identities of individual characters seem to me to be more fully fleshed out and the detectives, Falk and Carmen and their relationship is at its most convincing.
The story evolves from five women, led by Jill Bailey, senior executive of Bailey and Tennants company, who ventures into the Australian outback on an endurance and bonding exercise. The four other members of the party, all mature women, some with children at home, are the twins Beth and Breanna, Lauren and Alice, in whom Falk has an interest concerning other matters altogether. One of the girls goes missing, the launchpad for almost all that follows. We shift back and forth between the search party and the events that reveal the women and the events that lie behind the disappearance of one of them. These shifts in location and time are handled most skilfully, ratcheting up the suspense until the dramatic climax. The novel is part psychological thriller, part whodunnit, but much more than either. The personalities and backgrounds of the key figures give depth to the novel, and the unself-conscious evocation of the natural world in which the women have to survive and negotiate their path provides a powerful background to the narrative.
I found this to be an exceptionally fine novel, as indeed are the other books in the trilogy. Thoroughly recommended.

7 people found this helpful

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