THE HUNT

Author: Allison Brennan ISBN: 0345480244 2/2006 SUSPENSE Publisher: BALLANTINE

Touched by a killer, she feels the fire of revenge. Twelve years ago, Miranda Moore miraculously survived the torture of a serial killer who was never caught. Since then, Miranda, a former FBI trainee and now a member of a local search-and-rescue squad, has witnessed with horror the recovery of the mutilated bodies of seven young women, all victims of her tormentor, known as The Butcher. When another beautiful Montana college student goes missing, the Feds get involved, and an agent, a man Miranda once trusted with her heart, arrives to take over the investigation–forcing her toward a painful choice. Now, while Miranda battles her demons, while friends, lovers, and traitors are caught up in a frantic race against time, a killer hides in plain sight–waiting to finish the one hunt he has left undone. After the hunt, go in for the kill.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Jeepers creepers!

I didn't know if Allison Brennan could top the creepy atmosphere she created in her debut, THE PREY.

She did. In THE HUNT, she doubled it.

Oh man...

THE HUNT is fantabulous. With a gutsy heroine, a truly twisted killer, an explosive storyline and a number of crafty suprises, this gritty, often horrific, thriller is almost impossible to put down.

Miranda Moore lived through a week of hell 12 years ago at the hands of an elusive serial killer, the Bozeman Butcher. Since then, the haunted, driven Miranda—the only survivor of the Butcher—is obsessed with stopping this cold, cruel monster who destroyed her life.

Miranda, the Butcher and several other notable characters, including FBI agent Quinn Peterson (from THE PREY) and Sheriff Nick Thomas, are wonderfully sketched. Miranda, in particular, is finely tuned—a conflicted character alternating between strength and vulnerability. Her internal struggle is, at times, gutwretching.

In truth, a reader may even feel a stab of pity for the Butcher as the story of his horrifying childhood unravels within THE HUNT.

Ms. Brennan's fluid style of writing, her remarkable talent for pacing suspense and her intriguing characters combine for a killer thriller. The dynamite romance in this story is just icing on the cake.

THE PREY propelled Ms. Brennan to the top of her genre. THE HUNT should cement her position there.

Debbie Jett