Review: "Force of Nature," by Jane Harper
What a fitting title for a novel. It extends to the author. Force of Nature proves Jane Harper isn't a one-off. Her success isn't a fluke. Force of Nature solidifies Harper on my list of authors whose books I will spring for as soon as they come out -there are few (J.K Rowling, Stephen King, Dan Brown, to name a couple). Force of Nature is the second novel by Harper, and the second featuring Aaron Falk. Harper has created a main character perfectly likeable, yet fallible. There is a certain depth to Falk that I have a hard time putting my finger on. It's like I'm rooting for him, but at the same time pitying him for some reason. I get the sense that there is more to Falk than the reader has been told, that Harper knows more about him that she is letting on, which has me grasping for more. As for this novel. Harper has given us another page-turner. It seems she is showing us she's got a technique to how she tells her novels, and it works well. As she did in her debut novel, Harper navigates back and forth between narrations; she alternately provides us glimpses into the events leading up to the investigation that the reader would otherwise have never known, and in doing this she builds the suspense. And of course, another ending that I hadn't expected. Above all else, Harper just knows how to tell a damn good crime thriller. Force of Nature is written with that same fast-paced lyrical voice Harper used in The Dry. Her sentences are Hemingway-esque, sharp and pointed, perfectly crafted for maximum impact. She (and her editing team, to give credit where it's due) sure know how to weed out needless words and sentences. There's scarcely a word in her novels that don't need to be there. And I'd be remiss if I didn't (again) give credit to Adam Laszczuk for setting the tone with these damn genius cover designs. In my opinion, the cover is as important as what's inside. Half a book's success should be owed to how a book looks. If it doesn't look good, most people won't pick it up to begin with. In this, Flatiron Books has succeeded. But the cover designs are more than a flashy selling feature - they immediately set the atmosphere for the book in a way perhaps not even good exposition can. The Force of Nature cover gives us cool temperatures from the smoky blue clouds, with juxtaposition against those brilliant green trees. Without reading a word, you can feel loneliness and solitude, you can feel the chill of a cold forest and the impending sense of being lost in the middle of nowhere with no one to hear your calls for help. Five stars for cover design. Highly recommend you pick up The Dry and Force of Nature if you haven't already. Meanwhile, I'll just be sitting here waiting for Falk Number Three.
