Force of Nature by Jane Harper (Mini Review)

Note: I’ve been reading some 2nd or 3rd books in series lately, and I don’t really know how to review them… So far, I’ve reviewed with the assumption that readers have read the first book or books. I do point out when I think a person could read the book as a stand-alone. Any thoughts on this?

WARNING. Some Major Spoilers Below:

A corporate retreat gone awry. 5 men and 5 women go out in separate groups into the bush for a weekend of team building. 5 men return, but only 4 women struggle back to the trailhead. As the investigation begins, we find many conflicts bubbling under the surface. At the forefront is an ongoing federal investigation into the company’s finances, and Falk and his partner’s source just happens to be the woman who is missing…

Harper tells the story by alternating between the narrative of Falk’s investigation after the fact, and the story of the hiking trip. She has a real knack for ending chapters with cliff hangers to create some great tension.

SPOILERS👇

There was a thread or a line of possibility in the mystery that made me cringe every time it was mentioned. I was very happy that it burned out. To add some good atmosphere, Harper fictionalizes a series of past killings in the area where the hike takes place. That would have been fine, but she adds the serial killer’s son as a possible factor or threat. It’s a somewhat minor part of the book, but it’s a plot device that has been done too many times, and her writing in regards to characters, pacing, and atmosphere is so strong that it wasn’t needed at all. There a sibling rivalry, a teenage bullying conflict, lots of office politics, and the ongoing investigation. All great threads and I was able to focus on them and kind of skim over that son-of-killer stuff…

SPOILER RANT OVER

Overall, a very good addition to the series and a compelling argument to move on to the next book in the series which will be released very soon.