Synopsis

A gripping novel from the author of the Sunday Times top ten bestseller, Waterstones Thriller of the Month, Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year, CWA Gold Dagger Winner and Simon Mayo Radio 2 Book Club Choice, The Dry.

Aaron Falk #2

Five went out, four came back . . .

Is Alice here? Did she make it? Is she safe? In the chaos, in the night, it was impossible to say which of the four had asked after Alice's welfare. Later, when everything got worse, each would insist it had been them.

Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side.

The hike through the rugged landscape is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing bushwalker. Alice Russell is the whistleblower in his latest case - and Alice knew secrets. About the company she worked for and the people she worked with.

Far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell Falk a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. And as he delves into the disappearance, it seems some dangers may run far deeper than anyone knew.

Details

• Format : Standard 2nd Hand Paperback
• Condition : Good
• Category : Fiction - Crime & Mystery
• Published : 2017 (This Edition 2018 - Abacus)
• ISBN : 9780349142128
• SKU : B003167
• PPC : SP300gm
• RRP : £7.99
• Quantity Available : 1 only.

External Reviews

'Jane Harper, the new Queen of Crime . . . Even more impressive than The Dry . . . Harper makes it look easy but she has to pace two narratives without giving too much away, creating an almost unbearable level of suspense . . . Nature is a hostile, unpredictable force in both of Harper's novels, but her brilliance lies in making it into a test of horribly fallible human nature.' - The Sunday Times.

'Once again Harper leaves you gagging to know who did what. Once again there are plenty of suspects.' - Evening Standard.

'With consummate skill, Harper alternates between Falk's investigation and an account of what happened to the five women on their hike, as they rapidly find that the natural world is out to get them and their relations with each other deteriorate . . . Harper has a fine gift for making her readers comfortable in inhospitable territory - psychological as well as physical.' - Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph.

'The most exciting emerging novelist of the last 12 months . . . As gripping, atmospheric and ingeniously plotted as The Dry, it places Harper in the elevated company of the authors she most admires: Val McDermid, Gillian Flynn and Lee Child.' - Mail on Sunday.

'Powerful, intriguing and recommended . . . Harper is wonderful at evoking fear and unease, and she draws a mesmeric picture of the terrifying Australian terrain.' - The Times.

'Jane Harper brings a potent outsider's eye once again to the uncanniness of the Australian bush . . . Like The Dry, this is a deftly assembled and cleverly paced novel, the characters skilfully and nimbly drawn . . . It's stirring to see a writer racing out of the traps with such confidence and storytelling flair.' - Alasdair Lees, The Independent.

The Author

Jane Harper is the author of The Dry, winner of various awards including the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, the 2017 Indie Award Book of the Year, the 2017 Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year Award and the CWA Gold Dagger Award for the best crime novel of 2017.

Featured Author . . . Jane Harper