lovisahells 's review for:

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

3.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The second book in the Falk series isn’t quite as initially engaging to me as the first was, but it didn’t take too long for me to get into it. The dry, rural vibe of the first one was what drew me in so I had to adapt to the new setting of this one, but I’m already too invested in the Falkverse to care. The actual plot of the book is something I can’t tell if I enjoyed as much as the Hadler murders, I was mildly annoyed in the moment at the constant perspective shifts since I just wanted to continue on with the side of the story I was reading. In hindsight I liked the choice to tell the story in this cut up, fragmented way, as if haltingly regaining the memory of what  actually happened during those faithful few days out on the mountain.

It still didn’t quite reach the level of Harper’s debut novel, but if you’re a fan it’s still a fun ride. It’s missing some excitement since the storytelling leaves a lot of the actual detective work out of our mystery. It slowly– thankfully, that way it still manages to makes it feel like a building mystery– throughout the book just shows you what happened, while Falk and his partner don’t make much progress with their own investigation until the end.

It was a fine book, easy to get through just as with the first one. Looking forward to starting book three.