Powerful, intriguing and recommended ... Harper is wonderful at evoking fear and unease
Five women pick up their backpacks and start walking along a muddy track. Only four come out on the other side.
The hike through the rugged Giralang Ranges is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone. At least that's 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.
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.
Force of Nature is on sale in Australia (Pan Macmillan), the United States (Flatiron Books) and the United Kingdom (Little, Brown).
Read Chapter 1 here first
Force of Nature book club notes (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
POLAR DE COGNAC Best International Thriller
2018 DAVITT AWARDS Readers' Choice
International Author of the Year
2018 INDIE AWARDS Fiction Book of the Year
2018 AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS General Fiction Book of the Year
2018 AMAZON Best Mystery and Thriller Novel
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Force of Nature returns to the severe, unforgiving territory of the bush — and it is even more impressive than The Dry Full review
The book is gratifyingly chilling, for the human horrors of the story but even more so for the women-against-nature survival battle Full review
Harper's talent for plotting is propelled by fluent prose. A superior thriller Full review