Force of Nature
By Jane Harper
Flatiron Books, 9781250105639, February 2018, 336pp.
The Short of It:
A corporate retreat goes wrong, leaving a missing woman behind.
The Rest of It:
In theory this should have been a real page-turner but in reality it was a story that I really just wanted to give up on. However, because it’s gotten plenty of good reviews from bloggers I respect, I pushed myself to finish it. Me, pushing to get through it didn’t pay off.
A group of catty women head into the wilderness on a corporate retreat. None of them are properly equipped for the elements and when they get lost, they cannot for the life of them pull together as a team and figure a way out. Plus, they aren’t being honest with one another so when one of them goes missing, a woman no one likes, no one really cares about her disappearance. In my opinion, having this unlikable character be the missing woman was a big mistake because I didn’t care if she was found or not.
The added background story of what was going on with the woman at the time of her disappearance really didn’t add anything to the story so I’m not even sure why it was included.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this one.
Source: Borrowed
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Book Chatter 
That’s a bummer. I hate when page turners turn out to be duds.
It angered me for a number of reasons. I hate to see women portrayed in this way and it was a sincere waste of my time.
I agree. The Dry was so much better. I don’t know any adult women who behave like those characters. If you haven’t read it, you will enjoy The Dry.
I’m willing to give her another try.
This sounds like a book based on lots of (bad) female stereotypes: we’re ill prepared, catty, and unsupportive of one another. Not a good premise.
You hit the nail on the head. Stereotypical females, losing their cool, being nasty to each other and being secretive. Ugh. I wanted it to be good.
Sorry this was a stinker for you.
Sorry it wasn’t as good as you would have liked.
I actually borrowed the audio version of book #1, The Dry, and the Australian accent was torture so I returned it unread. However, from your review it doesn’t seem like it matter whether you read the first book?
I might just pass on both.
I did hear that the first book was much better but yeah, this second one has nothing to do with that first one except the investigator. That’s my understanding anyway.
I read the first and liked it up until the end when the killer was revealed through first person, I think, after being third person for the first three quarters of the novel. Ugh. I’m glad I didn’t bother with the second one.