Author : Jane Harper
Genre : Mystery
Publisher : Little Brown
Pages : 347
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Five women, Jill Bailey, Alice Russell, Lauren Shaw, twins Breanna and Bethany, go out on an office-sponsored survivalist-style corporate retreat, a moderately challenging exercise where they will have to make their way from one point to another in the Australian outback, trekking with essential supplies. 5 women go into the wilderness and only 4 come out on the other end. Alice Russell is missing – either of her own volition or worse. The police is called in and Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper are roped in because they were already secretly investigating the family-run BaileyTennants for possible financial wrongdoing.
The present-day narrative (when Alice has already gone missing) is interspersed with events from the womens’ journey. Personal accounts from each of the women differ in their view of events Also, it comes to light that Alice had wanted to turn back from the trek at the very outset (Team Leader and BaileyTennants CFO Jill disallows it) and was privately accosted by CEO Dan Bailey during the trek, himself a part of the men’s team in a similar office-sponsored trek. Falk is worried that BaileyTennants had found out about Alice secretly smuggling financial documents to the police.
Jane Harper’s plots are interesting conundrums and this one is no different. On the face of it the retreat is supposed to be a pleasant, bonding experience, but Harper manages to imbue it with dread and creepiness. The outback is harsh and unyielding, easy to get lost in for one stepping off the beaten track. The women in the group aren’t the best of friends. Alice particularly is portrayed as a sharp-tongued, inconsiderate woman with little empathy.
Force of Nature is a suspenseful murder mystery. While I do love me a juicy Agatha Christie, mustachioed Belgian detective and all, Jane Harper’s version of the modern thriller is growing on me. I loved the slow burn of The Lost Man and the small-town intrigue of The Dry. Harper’s tales feel real and visceral and like Christie’s stem from ordinary folks, just like us, reaching the end of their tether. She draws her characters beautifully giving them believable back-stories and strews abundant red herrings to keep things interesting.
If you’re looking for a great murder mystery, look no further.
