Jane Harper

Helen Withycombe and Jane Harper

Jane Harper’s debut crime novel, The Dry, was an instant success – selling into 20 countries, winning major awards at the Indie Book Awards and getting optioned by Reese Witherspoon’s production company.

The Dry – set in a drought-stricken farming community in rural Victoria – follows federal police investigator Aaron Falk, who returns to his hometown in the wake of a horrific act involving a childhood friend and his family. Written with expert precision, the intrigue led to a thrilling denouement that left readers gasping.

Thankfully, Aaron Falk is back for Harper’s next mystery. Her second book, Force of Nature, finds the federal agent embroiled in a search for missing bushwalker Alice Russell. But this is far from a straightforward accident or random abduction – Alice was a whistleblower, who had been feeding the feds intel about her employers.

Jane Harper joins Wheeler Centre programme manager Helen Withycombe for a conversation about crime, conspiracy and runaway success.