Force of Nature, by Jane Harper

Staff review by Chris Saliba

Jane Harper’s exciting new thriller holds a mirror to some of the darker recesses of the soul.

Boutique accounting firm BaileyTennants has organised a team building corporate getaway for its employees. There are two teams – male and female - who trek through the Giralang Ranges on a three day tour. The women’s group consists of Lauren, sisters Bree and Beth, Jill Bailey (brother of BaileyTennants chief executive, Daniel Bailey) and Alice Russell. As the women hike through the rugged and uncertain terrain, pitching tents and battling the elements, they find themselves lost. Arguments break out, ugly power plays develop and the domineering, almost Machiavellian Alice Russell starts to really throw her weight around. As their prospects become grimmer by the minute, Alice takes matters into her own hands and leaves the group, fully confident that she, and only she, can find help. But Alice goes missing...

Jane Harper’s much anticipated second novel is sure to please. Force of Nature is expertly plotted, a tantalising slow reveal. The story is so firmly grounded in reality, with identifiable character types (we’ve all met a pushy office psycho like Alice Russell) and authentic dialogue, it’s easy to become emotionally involved, making the overall experience more authentic and compelling. We’ve all been out camping at some stage in our lives and found our patience with others tested.

While ostensibly Force of Nature is a thriller, there’s also a subtle, underlying theme that deals with the  strivings of the affluent middle classes. BaileyTennants, a family firm of two generations, is under investigation by Federal Agent Aaron Falk for money laundering. Jane Harper paints these aspiring middle-class lives as ones of personal failure and lacking in values. The lingering descriptions of their expensive houses with their manicured gardens expose the lives within as sad and empty. The infighting of the women when left to fend for themselves in an inhospitable environment mirrors the ugly, often dishonest struggles played out in the supposedly civilised world of business. Even the children of these middle-class characters are spiritually and morally hollowed out.

An exciting thriller with elements of Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Lord of the Flies, Force of Nature holds a mirror to some of the darkest recesses of the soul and asks, what would we do in similar circumstances?

Force of Nature, by Jane Harper. Published by Macmillan. ISBN: 9781743549094  RRP: $32.99

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