Title: The Shadow Tracer
Author: Meg Gardiner
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Release Date: June 26, 2013
Read: May 27-29, 2013
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Can a person ever really disappear for good by going off the grid? And what happens when vanishing is no longer an option? Sarah Keller is a single mother living quietly in Oklahoma with her five year-old daughter, Zoe; her job is to hunt down people who are trying to avoid arrest and bring them to justice. But when a school bus accident sends Zoe to the ER, that life explodes in a heartbeat because medical tests show that Zoe isn't Sarah's daughter and the lie Sarah has been living all these years is suddenly all too obvious. Who were Zoe's parents? Why has Sarah concealed the truth? And how will she and Zoe stay off the grid when the cops, the FBI and a sinister religious cult are all hunting them down . . . for very different reasons.
My thoughts:
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Can a person ever really disappear for good by going off the grid? And what happens when vanishing is no longer an option? Sarah Keller is a single mother living quietly in Oklahoma with her five year-old daughter, Zoe; her job is to hunt down people who are trying to avoid arrest and bring them to justice. But when a school bus accident sends Zoe to the ER, that life explodes in a heartbeat because medical tests show that Zoe isn't Sarah's daughter and the lie Sarah has been living all these years is suddenly all too obvious. Who were Zoe's parents? Why has Sarah concealed the truth? And how will she and Zoe stay off the grid when the cops, the FBI and a sinister religious cult are all hunting them down . . . for very different reasons.
My thoughts:
In our age of technology, how hard would it be to disappear,
become invisible, stay hidden? When every move, every transaction is recorded
somewhere – on CCTV cameras, social media, atm transactions. Sarah Keller has
no choice – with both law enforcement and some ruthless killers after her, she
has been a fugitive for five years, trying not to draw any attention to
herself. As a skip tracer, a professional paid to locate persons who do not
want to be found, Sarah knows all the tricks required to stay under the radar.
But when a freak accident exposes her identity, Sarah once again finds herself
on the run, because she still has the one thing both the killers as well as the
law want: her five-year old daughter Zoe. In a heart-stopping flight through
America’s Southwest, Sarah and Zoe not only become the hunted, but also the
bait to draw the killers into the open. Not able to trust anyone, it is up to
Sarah to find a way to survive – and to keep her daughter safe.
With The Shadow Tracer, Gardiner surely delivers for all
those adrenaline junkie readers out there: car chases, gun fights, sieges and
bloody battles between law-enforcement and killers who won’t stop until they
have got what they came for – it makes for one hell of a ride! Though at times
stretching the boundaries of credibility, the plot is so fast paced and
relentlessly thrilling that I was unable to put the book down and had to remind
myself to “breathe”.
What is it about the idea of being hunted which makes for
such compelling reading? Maybe it touches on one of our primeval fears, the
nightmare of feeling cornered and exposed, being chased and having to run for
our lives. Sarah does so in a spectacular fashion – gutsy, clever and very
street smart, she is not easily cowed even when confronted by people who will
stop at nothing to get what they want. I particularly liked the first part of
the book, which described Sarah’s efforts to stay under the radar and out of
harm’s way, and the steps she has taken to disguise her identity. Fleeing in
the middle of the night in a borrowed car with a five-year old in tow, Sarah
must rely on her experience of skip tracing to employ a few tricks of her own.
Unfortunately this was also where a few discrepancies crept into the storyline
for me – if the idea of prepaid credit cards was to make the transactions
untraceable, how was it still possible for her pursuers to find transaction
details on the statements? Maybe I was missing some vital clues or simply did
not understand how the system works in other countries. However, the story was
so compelling and fast paced that I did not get time to get hung up on details
for once, but instead buckled up to enjoy the ride.
As the novel progresses and the various characters’
different agendas become more obvious, the body count starts to mount and the
action speeds up until the breath-taking finale. Again, the final showdown
stretched the boundaries of credibility a bit far for my normal preferences,
saved however by the author’s ability to back it up with good character development
and the adrenaline rush that went with it. With the fast paced action and the
somewhat indestructible nature of all main characters, I would class this novel
more in the action/adventure category than mystery/suspense – although it also
delivered plenty of suspense!
It is rare to find a book which appeals equally to both
sexes, but I believe Gardiner may have nailed it with The Shadow Tracer. Whilst
female readers may be drawn to the gutsy female protagonist and her enigmatic
male counterpart, the fast-paced action should appeal to male readers out
there. Michael Lawless provides an interesting ally to Sarah in this novel, one
which I could imagine seeing more of in future novels.
All in all, the Shadow Tracer provided me with a
heart-pounding adrenaline rush and hours of entertainment and I recommend it to readers who enjoy fast-paced action/suspense stories. Gardiner is an
author new to me, but I will make sure to look up her other novels.
This novel forms part of my 2013 Eclectic Reader Challenge - category Action / Adventure.
I just picked up this for review via Netgalley and I am looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy, Shelleyrae! =:>)) Looking forward to hearing your take on it.
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