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Book Review: The Hunt by Tim Lebbon

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunt by T.J. Lebbon (Tim Lebbon)
Avon Books, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-0008122904
Available: New and used paperback, Kindle edition

 

The transition from writing horror to thrillers sounds like it should be an easy move, yet very few authors have mastered the art of actually “thrilling” the reader from the first to the last without letting up.  Tim Lebbon has pretty much pulled it off in his first attempt. The Hunt is a definite departure form horror and fantasy. This is a different animal than the creature horror of last year’s The Silence, but in any genre, Lebbon proves he knows how to sustain pace and suspense.

The Hunt is run by the shadow group “Trail”. The members have many names, live invisibly from society, and are free from persecution as they provide the ultimate game for the super-rich, famous, and thrill-seeking.

The story begins when Chris Sheen returns home from a great run, breaking his own record, to find his wife and two daughters missing. A man warns him not to call the police; if he does, they’ll be butchered.

Meanwhile, Rose has been training to avenge the murders of her husband and children, as she is the lone survivor of the hunt.  Her mission options: escape the hunters and live while her family dies, or sacrifice herself to keep them alive.

Rose attempts to track down and eliminate the group, while Chris fights to avoid the hunters and stay alive long enough to save his family. Both work with separate motivations as they run, hike, and climb through Snowdonia.

To say The Hunt is fast-paced is like saying a Ferrari can break the speed limit. Lebbon’s writing has always been lean and tight; here, it moves and twists through a violent, exciting story with rarely a wasted word.

Avon has already signed him for a second thriller. Here’s to hoping there’s many more. Highly recommended.

 
 

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on December 2, 2015 by , Reply

Book Review: Little Boy Blu by Cara Brookins

Little Boy Blu by Cara Brookins

The Wild Rose Press, Inc., 2014

ISBN: 978-1628306903

Available: Paperback, Kindle

 

Novels set in Appalachia will always hold a certain mystique: there’s a certain air about the location found only in a few places in America. In Little Boy Blu, readers will find themselves immersed in a dense atmosphere comprised of heavy forests, mountains, moonshine stills, and a culture that entices, amazes, and often frightens those outside of this geographic microcosm. This is what makes Cara Brookins’ tale so tantalizing.

Brookins is the author of the very successful Timeshifters series, and has now penned what just might become a staple in the genre. Based on true stories of the “blue” people of Kentucky, Little Boy Blu centers around a family living far away from the mainstream, deep within the woods, where time and civilization often fail to penetrate. Blu Tracey was born with an anomaly—he’s the only one in his family who does not sport the blue-tinged skin. This characteristic gives them a disturbing bond and also places a target on their souls.

Blu’s mother sold out her family for a reality show, but her pseudo-fame didn’t quite pan out the way she had planned. Her own story is chronicled alongside Blu’s during a journey where he discovers that someone is trying to kill him. But is the killer from the world outside their own, or from someplace much closer?

 Many threads weave together into a story as profound as the mountain song that echoes through the hills and flows down the rivers and streams which bisect Blu’s world. Little Boy Blu is Southern Gothic crossbred with a tight thriller. It sings with Brookins’ stylish writing, smoother than the ‘shine found in those hills, but just as potent. Her characters are the backbone of the story,   and will entice just before punching the reader in the heart with twists and turns that work on so many levels. Tough to categorize but very easy to love, I recommend giving this fine novel a shot. Recommended for age 15 and up.

Contains: N/A

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on August 22, 2015 by , Reply

Book Review: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

HarperCollins, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-0062224101

Available:  Hardcover, Kindle edition

 

Young adult fiction has been getting darker and more realistic with each year.  Lauren Oliver has been at the helm for much of it, beginning with Before I Fall and followed by the immensely successful Delirium series.  While dystopian YA has been the main thrust of the genre for years, culminating with The Hunger Games and Divergent,  teens also have been clamoring for something more personal.

Oliver has delivered both over the past the few years and with Vanishing Girls, has hit it out of the park with an unsettling, dark tale that will resonate with the reader long after the book is closed.  She knows teens well, how they speak, act, and think.  It shows on the page in a brisk read that will fly by.

The book begins with notes from a therapist which immediately suggests things will not be as they appear. Sisters Dara and Nick have always been close, sharing their worlds. Nick is the quieter, reserved sibling, while Dara’s wild side tends to be well explored  They are competing for a common love interest: Parker, the boy next door, who lends a natural tension to the story.  A car accident shreds their relationship and much more when Dara is left facially disfigured, and shuns her sister.  What ensues is a jump down the rabbit hole, in which the reader is twisted and turned through phases of reality. The characters are more complex than those typically found in YA fiction, and face issues that teens do face, ignoring any sugarcoating.

Nick takes a job at a local amusement park, which brings her into another world,  showing what happens behind the bright lights, and after the midway and rides shut down. Just as the reader might think the story is becoming a romance, the dark sets in, as a young girl goes missing.  As Nick delves into the mystery of the missing girl, Dara disappears.

Oliver builds suspense steadily, and keeps the plot unpredictable, drawing on the complexity of the characters. The ending is satisfying and completely worth the wait. Oliver has crafted a near perfect thriller, and her writing improves with each subsequent book.

Recommended for middle school and high school libraries, for mature teens and older, Vanishing Girls, in addition to being a great thriller, can be an excellent learning experience about mental illness for many and show others that they’re not dealing with the issues alone.

Posted on February 15, 2015 by , Reply
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