[Book Review] Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Force of Nature by Jane Harper is a suspenseful story filled to the brim with twists and turns that will get you on a thought path that winds up as far from the truth as these women were from their hiking path!

I have to admit, when I heard that The Dry was going to be a series, I was very hesitant. I thought The Dry was incredible as a standalone and I was nervous that the second book wouldn’t live up to my expectations.

I’m so happy to say that this one surpassed my expectations! I actually enjoyed this book more than the first. I loved every second of it and really struggled to put it down! And of course, now I want to go back and re-read the first one again!

Let’s get to my review!

My Thoughts on Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2) by Jane Harper

Right away this synopsis totally grabbed me. When I finally got my hands on a copy and read the first paragraph of the prologue… I knew I was in for a treat:

Later, the four remaining women could fully agree on only two things. 
One: No one saw the bushland swallow up Alice Russell. 
And two: Alice had a mean streak so sharp it could cut you.

I enjoyed seeing Aaron Falk back in action! I found the feelings I had about Falk to be totally different from the first book. In The Dry, I felt like I couldn’t really trust Falk. There was just something a bit off about him that I couldn’t put my finger on. However, in this book, I was much more trusting of him and I was very excited to learn what had occurred between the two books. We got a bit of a glimpse, but he’s still a bit of a mystery himself.

The book had more of a creepy tone when compared to The Dry, and of course I loved that! The way that the chapters were organized was so wonderfully done. This can be the kiss of death with a lot of books for me, but this organization added to the suspense and mystery. I really enjoyed when the two main story perspectives merged early on, and I was so anxious to see how both of the storylines would turn out in the end!

Toward the end, the book was nearly impossible to put down. I loved that the chapters that switched between present day and the previous few days got shorter and shorter to flip back and forth faster as the action picked up and we got closer to solving the mystery.

While there were a few mentions in regard to Falk’s hand that had suffered from burns, and one additional scene toward the end, this second novel was written in a way that didn’t rely too much on the previous book. I’ve found that this is something that I really love about some series! After all, as much as I promise myself I’ll re-read the first book in preparation of reading the second book, that rarely happens. But with this one, I was able to dive right in and didn’t waste any time questioning things.

This novel was written so well in my opinion. I truly loved everything about it; the theme of being lost in the wilderness, the cattiness of the coworkers, the sense of dread, the drama and fighting, and of course the mystery of trying to figure out what happened.

As I stated in my opening sentence, Jane Harper has an excellent way of adding in details in such a perfect order… one minute you think you have everything figured out, but then you’re given another tiny bit of information and you’re thinking, “Oh now I think I know what happened!” But then it happens again and you’re off on a different path!

My Favorite Passages from Force of Nature

“…Alice could start a fight in an empty room…”

Her stomach lurched as hope was snatched away like a rug pulled from under her feet.

My Final Thoughts on Force of Nature

I absolutely loved this read. I’m totally sold now on this being a series. I cannot wait to see what Jane Harper does next!

If you enjoy crime thrillers or books about being lost in the wilderness, I highly recommend this one!

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Thanks for reading!
Have you read The Dry and/or Force of Nature yet? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts!