No sophomore slump here! This was a fast paced book that keeps you guessing! I loved it.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc.

Still just an "okay" mystery, bordering on the "alright" ... I couldn't help but expect more from the author and her second Aaron Falk book. However, I'm intrigued by Aaron and how layers keep unfolding and unfolding back and in this novel we learned more about his relationship with his dad. There are, of course, allusions to the previous mystery, "The Dry," but "Force of Nature" works well as a standalone.

Five women go on a hike for a corporate retreat in the Australian bush but only four return. The story shifts between the search for the lost woman and the challenges the group of women faced during their ordeal. Incredibly descriptive and well written, I felt the frustration of the searchers and the despair of the women while they fought for their lives in the rugged terrain. Jane Harper's vivid portrayal of how quickly people revert to their more primal instincts when their lives are on the line is riveting and truthful. I found it very hard to put this book down!

This is billed as a psychological suspense novel, but I think it is more of a character study with suspense as a side dish. It's also second in a series about Detective Aaron Falk. Falk is a likable character, and clearly underwent some trauma in Book 1 (I have not read it and intend to). He is called in to investigate the disappearance of a woman during a corporate retreat at an Australian park. The retreat consisted of several days of hiking and camping, team building, etc. We slowly learn about the other women and get their different points of view as the story is told by shifting back and forth between the past events leading up to the disappearance of Alice and the present day investigation. I enjoyed the somewhat slow pace of the reveal, as it allowed me to get to know the characters, and it becomes clear fairly quickly that these colleagues are not also friends.

I found the details of the ending surprising and satisfying. This is a book that reminds you that everyone has secrets, everyone has life struggles you know nothing about, and it also makes you think about how well you know the people who you see at work every day. Great character building.

I LOVED The Dry last year, and this is another well-written, multilayered mystery from Harper. There were many ways the story could have gone, and I did not predict the ending.

Harper does it again with a twisty, compelling story which skyrockets out of category.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Five women go into the Gilagang national forest on a team building retreat but only four come out. What happened? Australian federal agent Aaron Faulk needs to find out because the missing woman was his informant.

Hard to put this one down.

I really enjoyed Jane Harpers debut mystery, The Dry, and have selected it for an upcoming book discussion. I was excited to see a new novel by this adept writer, also set in Australia and featuring Aaron Faulk. While the story was interesting, the novel did not have the same atmospheric tension and character development of Harper’s first novel. I found the story line and conclusion a bit predictable and there wasn’t much additional insight into Faulks character in this one. The hint of attraction between him and his partner was frankly far too predictable. I felt the women on the hiking trip were not well developed characters and didn’t really care about any of them, or the daughters. Hopefully this is just sophomore slump and Harper gets her groove back next go around.

I really loved this book...finished it last night and this morning I have separation anxiety!
Excellent writing with great character development and story. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Jane Harper is SOLID. Her first book, The Dry, was a memorable, well-crafted mystery. Force of Nature, her second book, also featuring Australian federal agent Aaron Falk, stands on its own as another excellent mystery.
One of the things that the author really excels at is creating atmosphere. Force of Nature takes place largely in rural Australia, and the sense of isolation and danger present in this area is palpable. The tension simmers throughout this book, and the author dives deep into group and individual mentalities when faced with great and potentially life-threatening challenges. There are a great deal of characters in this book, and the author did a fairly good job developing each of them well enough that readers can get a sense of the challenges between their personalities and experiences. Additionally, we get a little more development for Aaron Falk throughout this story.
I read quite a few mysteries and thrillers, and I find it somewhat rare these days for a story to truly surprise me without it feeling manipulative. I feel that after the big reveal, I should be able to think back through the story and recognize that it was within character and plausibility for the act to have been committed in the way described. Force of Nature did this perfectly- I realized what happened alongside Falk and Carmen, and the pieces clicked together just right. The story and the ending were very well done, and there was no "sophomore slump" with this book.

While there are some references to the events of The Dry in this book, theoretically this one could probably be read as a standalone. However, the reading experience will likely be enhanced by reading these books in the order written.

*3.5 stars

I loved THE DRY and was very excited to read this next installment continuing the investigations of Federal Agent Aaron Falk. While FORCE OF NATURE does not quite possess as compelling of a storyline as the first book, it is nicely paced and has interesting, well-drawn characters. I loved Harper's technique of switching the chapters between past and present, with shorter chapters leading up to the climax that helped to build the excitement and tension. There was a nice twist towards the end that I appreciated as well. Overall, a very enjoyable read that I devoured in two sittings.

Thank you Netgalley to an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Forces of Nature took the Aaron Falk series up a notch! Ten people go on a bonding retreat through work, five women and five men. The men complete the hiking course...but only four women come out of the bush. Aaron Falk and his partner are drawn into the search. The missing woman was helping them and now their investigation is at stake. A serial killers child is responsible...or someone else? The answer may surprise you.

This novel can stand alone, but it did help me to read "The Dry" previous to reading "Force of Nature." It gave me insight into Aaron Falk's character.

I really like books about survival and getting lost in the woods, so the premise of this one hooked me:

When five colleagues are forced to go on a corporate retreat in the wilderness, they reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking down the muddy path.

But one of the women doesn’t come out of the woods. And each of her companions tells a slightly different story about what happened.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing hiker. In an investigation that takes him deep into isolated forest, Falk discovers secrets lurking in the mountains, and a tangled web of personal and professional friendship, suspicion, and betrayal among the hikers. But did that lead to murder?

I was immediately intrigued from the first page and didn’t want to stop reading until I knew what happened in the wilderness!

Force of Nature by Jane Harper is the second book of the Aaron Falk series. I need to go back and read the first book, The Dry. I downloaded it after loving Force of Nature!

I was guessing all the way through at what on earth happened out there with the women. What a fantastic premise and so well written. I rarely give books five stars but I couldn’t give any less after being so intrigued with the women and the truth of how things went down in the woods.

I really enjoyed Jane Harper's first book (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1919348535?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1">The Dry</a>) and was eager to read this when the Advanced Reader Copy became available. I found this title just as enjoyable and just as much of a page turner as the first book about Aaron Falk, a financial crimes police investigator from Australia). He is in a different remote part of the country in this title, after a witness assisting the police investigation of a money laundering firm goes missing on a company retreat. She and four coworkers fail to return on time from a 3 night hike in the bush. When her co-workers return a few hours late, they seem shocked that Alice did not preceed them to the meet up point. The novel alternates chapters of the invesetigation and search for her with the narrative of their time on the hike, and successfully keeps the tension and mystery mounting throughout.

Highly recommend for fans of a well crafted murder mystery and novels of suspence. With thanks to the author, Jane Harper, and the publisher Flatiron Books, for the Advanced Reader copy via www.netgalley.com

4.5 stars! I loved The Dry, and I was delighted that there would be a second book about Aaron Falk. While I don't care that much about his character, I love that Harper continues with the atmospheric mysteries set in the Australian bush and outback, an environment that feels so excitingly different and exotic to me. The scenery comes alive in Harper's books, and I hope she will take us on more adventures down under.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Jane Harper, and Flatiron Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

After devouring Jane Harper’s debut novel, I could not wait to get my hands on this sequel, which pulls Aaron Falk back into the mix. A member of the Australian Federal Police’s Finance Division, Aaron Falk is knee-deep in a case that could have many important implications. One of his sources calls him in the middle of the night and leaves a garbled voicemail, with ‘hurt her’ as the only decipherable message. It is then that Falk realises that his source, Alice Russell, has been on a team-building weekend, hiking in the Giralang Ranges outside of Melbourne. Her group, five women from the company, did not arrive for their pick-up and it was only six hours later that they emerged from the wilderness, tattered and torn, without Alice. Calling on his partner, Falk rushes to the scene and agrees to help the state police with the search, learning a little more about Alice as things progress. With no clues leading to Alice, many remember what gave the Ranges their infamous notoriety, having been the location a serial killer picked his victims, all but one of whom was discovered at some point. Two decades later, Falk wonders if there is something in the forested area who seeks to copycat that horrendous experience. However, the more he digs, the greater the information trove about Alice and her relationship with the others on the trek. Each person tells a different story about the weekend and their connection to Alice, which provides many with a reason to see her silenced. With a parallel ‘slow narrative’ of events during the trek itself, the reader can not only see the investigation as it progresses, but also the strains that befell those five women as they tried to work themselves out of many awkward situations with little but their guts to lead them. Harper has shown that she can create multiple novels of a high caliber as she delivers yet again. Fans of Aaron Falk are privy to more of his development, in a novel that proves vastly different from the debut thriller. Well-worth the time for those love a good thriller and who were highly impressed with The Dry.

While it is always easy to create a single masterpiece, it is the ability to remain at such a high standard that makes an author truly captivating. Harper has done just that, turning both the narrative and the format on its head from the opening novel. Aaron Falk’s backstory is less sketched out in this piece, but there are crumbs to give the curious reader a little more to add. It is the likes of ‘the five’ and how they pieced themselves together that proves brilliant. Harper not only sketches out a solid character for each of them, but builds on it by weaving their stories together with Alice Russell, all while keeping events that occurred in the forest a secret until the very end. Harper pulls the reader in to guess who might be responsible for the missing Alice, while arming all four with viable reasons. The story itself is wonderfully developed, positioning a current investigation alongside the events leading up to Alice’s disappearance inside the Giralang Ranges. What secrets does Alice possess and how can they unravel over the span of four days before someone takes action? Harper pushes the reader forward in such a way that they cannot help but want to learn more, forcing them to stay up late into the night just to piece things together. It is one of those novels, which is sure to prove useful when it hits book stands in early 2018. Harper has much to offer the genre and those who pay her mind will surely not be disappointed in the investment.

Kudos, Madam Harper, for this stunning follow-up piece. I know I will be keeping an eye open for your work in the years to come.

Five women from the same company go on a team building event in Australia’s Giralang Ranges. It is basically a multi-night backpacking expedition with supply and food caches left for them along the way. But something goes terribly wrong and the women don’t show up at the end of the trail when they’re supposed to. When they do show up many hours later there are only four of them and they are in rough shape.

As the search for Alice - the fifth woman – begins Federal Agent Aaron Falk gets involved. He and his partner Carmen interview the four women and try to figure out what happened. Alternating chapters go back to tell the story of the women’s time in the wilderness and what happened while they were out there. It quickly becomes apparent that Alice was not a very likable person and not everything is as it seems.

This was a very suspenseful and well-written book. The alternative chapters made me want to keep turning the pages to see what happened. I very much enjoyed Jane Harper’s first book and this one was just as good. Looking forward to more from this author!

Five women are forced to go into a wilderness corporate retreat to improve performance and morale among employees. What could possibly go wrong? Well, as we later find out: a LOT!

First of all, to force people to go on a company function for an entire weekend with coworkers they do not get along with is just cruel. And yet it happens... this is the setup for this charged and interesting novel.

The novel takes place in the Australian wilderness and is told from different points of view. I liked that the characters had very different personalities and that the clash of their decisions made the novel more captivating to read.

This is the second novel in this series (Aaron Falk #2), the first one is The Dry and you do not have to read it to be able to follow this one.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel. It reminded me of another novel I liked, The River at Night in which four friends fight to survive a white-water rafting accident in the Maine wilderness.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.

Many authors have difficulty with their sophomore books. Jane Harper is not one of them! This is another character driven books that make us look with question at those around us that we think we know!

Slow moving, dark and dreary, confusing with the shifts in time settings and then with different POVs of the characters, While I tried to hike through, I ended giving up about half way through.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.