Force of Nature (Aaron Falk, #2) in Aussie Readers

Aug 27, 2017 PattyMacDotComma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, australian-author, mystery-crime-thriller, aa-ce, aa

3.5★ (rounded up to 4 because I like her writing too much to round down to 3)
“The Melbourne hiker was still missing. The road gently swung to the north and suddenly Falk could see the hills of the Giralang Ranges on the horizon . . . he had grown up in a place not unlike it. Isolated terrain, where trees grew thick and dense on land that was reluctant to let anything escape.”

Aaron Falk and his new off-sider are off to the bush to follow the hunt for the missing hiker, Alice Russell. What interes ...more

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Mar 06, 2018 Kathy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, crime-thriller, highly-recommend, favorite-covers, favorite-authors, series

I read Jane Harper's debut novel, The Dry, at the end of last year and wondered why I hadn't read it as soon as it was published. The Dry introduced the character of Federal Agent Aaron Falk, and it was easily one of my favorite reads last year. That it was a debut novel was simply gobsmacking impressive. Now, in Force of Nature, Harper returns readers to Australia and Agent Falk, an honorable man whose baggage from his youth was explored in the first novel. We are still learning about this soli I read Jane Harper's debut novel, The Dry, at the end of last year and wondered why I hadn't read it as soon as it was published. The Dry introduced the character of Federal Agent Aaron Falk, and it was easily one of my favorite reads last year. That it was a debut novel was simply gobsmacking impressive. Now, in Force of Nature, Harper returns readers to Australia and Agent Falk, an honorable man whose baggage from his youth was explored in the first novel. We are still learning about this solitary figure in book two, with the focus on his relationship with his late father. But, those are the side notes that keep giving insight to the character and explain why he is where he is in life. There is an overwhelming problem with which to deal while we grow closer to the character, and that problem in Force of Nature is one of finding a needle in a haystack.

Five women and five men from the accounting firm of BaileyTennants go on a three-day team building trek in Australia's Giralang Mountains, routes and supplies provided by a professional excursion company for just such activities. But, at the end of the three days, as the men's team waits for the women's team to return to the base lodge, only four of the five women return. Aaron Falk gets involved in the disappearance because the missing team member, Alice Russell, was working with him to blow the whistle on the corrupt BaileyTennants accounting firm, a firm run by a brother and sister. The sister and brother were on the exercise, too, and Falk is concerned that Alice Russell may have been outed as a traitor before the trip. One thing is certain. The five women on the team have issues with one another, and Alice could be quite cutting with the others. Resentment would only grow with the time the women spent together. Falk and his partner, Carmen Cooper, can sense that the returning women are filtering their stories and holding back information, and at least one of them is holding back the key information to finding Alice. Sergeant King of the State Police is in charge of the search for Alice in the mountain ranges and keeps Falk and Carmen apprised of what is being done there. It's up to the two federal agents though to determine just what went on with Alice and the other women, as their investigation of the accounting firm depends on documents Alice was about to provide.

As Falk begins the investigation at the mountain range itself, he is confronted with ghosts, that of his father who hiked this wilderness and whose map of the area is in the backpack of his father's that Falk brings along to his lodgings, and there is the ghost of a serial killer who once used these mountains as a hiding place. The investigation when Falk is in Melbourne is fraught with complications of past and present relationships and trying to move forward with the surprise bringing down of a corrupt company. Falk's partner, Carmen, is an interesting new character who works well with the loner Falk and seems to have a well-balanced control of her life, although her upcoming nuptials give a bit of pause for thought. With hours becoming days, Falk and Carmen are losing hope for a happy ending with either Alice's survival or the success of their financial investigation into BaileyTennants.

There should be no doubt after reading Jane Harper's second Aaron Falk novel that Harper is an author of great skill and delivery. Her writing is as polished as any seasoned writer I read. Her grasp of creating a suspenseful story results in a thrilling read, with her on-target descriptions of an immense forest in the dark and trails that lead nowhere. The gas attendant at the only station close to the park entrance states, "It’s the panic that gets you. Makes it hard to trust what you’re seeing.”
Harper brings this panic into our minds with a masterful deftness. Force of Nature cements this series and this author as storytelling at its finest. ...more

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Jan 30, 2018 Josh rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie_crime, crime, read_2018, own

The inventive take on the whodunit aspect was well written and kept me guessing; switching perspective from the active investigation to the missing woman, and the doomed undertaking of the workplace retreat into the Australian bush.

I loved the Australian setting and thought the backdrop was as much a character as the group on of women on the workplace retreat, often more interesting. However, I struggled to have any emotional connection with the characters which isn’t to say they weren’t well wr ...more

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Aug 12, 2018 Michael Livingston rated it liked it · review of another edition

Read this way too fast - I was saving it for a long flight, but by the time I boarded there were only 80 pages left. It's compelling in the way that all good crime fiction is - hints and twist carefully doled out to keep you guessing until (almost) the end. I wasn't entirely convinced by the characters, but the landscape and the weather brought enough foreboding and tension to the party to keep me hooked. ...more

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Apr 02, 2019 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-author

Force of Nature is Jane Harper’s second novel featuring Australian Federal Agent, Aaron Falk. Her first, The Dry, was a phenomenal success (you can read my review here) and Force of Nature is a solid follow up.

In Force of Nature, Falk, and his new partner Carmen Cooper, are investigating a company for money laundering. They are expecting to wrap the case in a matter of days, with help from insider, Alice Russell, when she goes missing during a corporate retreat.

The story unfolds through multiple ...more

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Aug 30, 2022 Janine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A missing colleague on a business professional team building exercise in the bush. Is she dead or alive, and what about the other 4 women who were on the same trip, how did they survive and walk out of the bush and Alice didn’t.
A great Australian crime novel that will have you guessing from page one. We see the return of policeman Aaron Falk from Janes first novel The Dry, when he is called in to help,with the investigation.

Really enjoyed this book and will look forward to the upcoming film adap ...more

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Mar 09, 2021 Tien rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australia, mm-21, own, australian-author, crime

I loved the first book but I just couldn't really get into this one. I think it has to do with the alternate chapters between Falk and the run down of events. I didn't like those chapters because it was like psychological thriller and I don't like that particular type of reads. But if you like psychological thriller, I think you may enjoy this one more than I do. ...more

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Mar 18, 2018 Sandi rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebooks, crime-mystery-thriller-suspense, read-2018

Another atmospheric Australian suspense tale that, while not quite as good as the debut book in the series, was well plotted and a compelling read.

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Nov 17, 2019 Lucinda rated it liked it · review of another edition

I didn't enjoy it as much as 'The Dry' as I thought it dragged in places. ...more

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Jan 03, 2018 Tango rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is another page turner by Jane Harper. The story revolves around a group of women sent on a team building retreat which goes terribly wrong. The novel is neatly structured to keep you guessing what happened until the end. Further development of the central character, Aaron Falk, made this one more enjoyable for me than the very popular debut. I particularly liked the introduction of a partner and hope that this continues. The only issue I had was with one of the characters getting bitten by ...more

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Jan 22, 2018 Tracey rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, crime, australian, mystery, 2018

There is always trepidation when you commence reading the second novel of an author who has seemingly come out of nowhere with a best seller. There is probably not many people who have not read ‘The Dry’ which featured Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer Aaron Falk. In ‘Force of Nature’ we move into the oppressive Australian bush which is dense, thick, quiet, dark and damp. It provides an appropriate backdrop for a group of a women who are ‘encouraged’ to undertake a corporate bonding sessio ...more

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May 06, 2019 Kerry rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was a very good read; in fact, I enjoyed it more than the first one (although my wife disagrees). It spent a lot more time constructing the context of the characters other than Falk and that was good. There was a great red herring in the plot that I totally bought as well. Very enjoyable.

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Mar 11, 2019 Chris marked it as unfinished-tower-of-babel · review of another edition

A capricious read. Picked it up as a passing fancy then put it down on a different whim.

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Mar 11, 2018 Jyv rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, australia, australian-author

Not as gripping as The Dry. The characters were unlikeable and/or dull. The chapters towards the end were shorter and shorter as if racing towards an exciting conclusion, but, sadly, I found the ending an anticlimax. Disappointing really. Pretty lacklustre.

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