Hunger Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff.
The Huntress/FBI Thrillers, Book 5.
Special Agent Matthew Roarke has abandoned his rogue search for serial killer Cara Lindstrom.
A brilliant read. Love this series. Couldn't put it down. 5*.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

NetGalley, as well as Thomas & Mercer, provided me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of Hunger Moon. The choice to review this book was my own.

Special Agent Matthew Roarke is featured once again in the series about serial killer Cara Lindstrom. Focused on the present, instead of his exhaustive search for Cara, Roarke is part of the FBI task force with the goal of ridding society of its worst predators. When the skeletal symbols of Santa Muerte, Lady Death, start appearing on college campuses, threatening death to rapists if change is not made, will the investigation yield surprising results?

Having read all of the books in this series thus far, I had a certain level of expectation about Hunger Moon. Truth be told, I was disappointed in the overall novel, from characterization to plot. The inclusion of the current political and social climate was actually off-putting, as the anger was too realistic and consuming. Although fiction stories do not live in a pretend world bubble, too much realism can ruin the overall effect of the book. Because I was not taken in by the story or characters, I would be hesitant to recommend Hunger Moon to other readers.

FBI Sa Matthew Roarke and serial killer Cara Lindstrom are once again in a tango of terror in this ongoing series. It does help to have read the earlier ones but Sokoloff does give back story. A fast read.

I took quite a while before I wrote this review to see if my opinion would change and unfortunately it hasn't. I loved the prior books but the intent on this novel was to use the subject and characters to drive home the author's political feelings. She is absolutely in her right to do so and I am not arguing her point what so ever. I, as a reader and the paying public, have the right to not invest my time and money into it.

I look forward to the author's future work and will certainly give them an opportunity. Alexandra Sokoloff is a terrific author and her prior novels and the dynamic between the characters have been some of my favorite works as of late.

I'm simply not interested in the lecture.

Cara Lindstrom is a very different kind of hero. She might just be the best female anti-hero I've read to-date. I mean, it's hard to look at current events and not sympathize with her plight. She's a cold-blooded murderer... and yet she's still so damn sympathetic. Which is heartbreaking and empowering at once.

The series has always taken a hard look at rape culture, but in this one, the scope of the story expands as more eyes are opened and groups band together on both sides of the moral divide. I, for one, am totally on-board for Roarke and Cara's story, but if it's resolved, then the series will end, and I don't want it to end. So I am all for their paths diverging, and I loved the twists and turns that the story took here.

As an aside, I found the interjection of real-world politics into this installment jarring. Not because of the political view, but because it kept pulling me out of the fictional world I was completely immersed in (and dumping me into the one I'm currently trying to escape). I think I found the parallels more distracting because there was no hint of the same in any of the first four books in this series, and, with so many characters echoing the same sentiments, it did start to feel repetitive and a bit preachy. But, thankfully, the thrills kept coming and the pace kept roaring along.

So an overall two-thumbs-up for vigilante justice and an amazing anti-hero.

I love this series and can't wait to find out what happens next.

Thank you tp Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

I have read a few of this author's books before and was looking forward to this book, but it was not what I thought it was going to be. I did not like this book, I found it hard to read and not enjoyable. I like reading for fun, not for political opinions. Not my type of book.

Received from NetGalley for my honest review.

TL:DR ~ if you like the series, then it's worth the read, maybe. That's up to you and your own views on politics.

That said, for me, I read fiction to escape reality. There's enough shittiness going on in this world and I don't want anything to do with it. I read fiction to take me away from the ugliness of the world. Even a good murder mystery can take you away because it's fiction and it's usually these crazy people doing these crazy things and that's entertaining to me.

This, though, reflected the state of the world right now, specifically the US. That's all fine and good it just wasn't for ME. I already know this country sucks and the people at the "top" suck and I really really wasn't expecting to read about it in this book. I actually really disliked this book because of that. It was too much politics, too close to the climate of things, too real for my fiction.

But, I rated this book highly (instead of my planned 2 stars) because it's not the authors fault that I didn't want to read what she wrote, and I agree with her. It just sat badly with me because it was too real, rather than all fiction.

I was going to rate a 3 just because *I* personally didn't like it, until I saw the author attacked here on GR in the questions for this book. It's so sad when someone can look at our country and not see the evilness going on these days.

While *I* personally hated this book because it was too real and too much politics (which I avoid as much as I can) I stand behind the author and her views.

The following is my review as posted.

After the excellent Bitter Moon, I was eager to read Hunger Moon, the latest book in this high octane series.

This one is more political than the previous books and focuses on what is happening under the present administration in the USA today. Roarke and Lindstrom are now on different paths. Girls are being raped in colleges and the whole attitude around this culture is delved into pretty deeply here.

Meanwhile, Lindstrom has her own problems with an old enemy coming to the fore once again.

I don't want to say too much here as I'm aware of spoilers but this book is indeed a commentary on current attitudes from all sides whether on the right or wrong side of the law and how some are being driven to take matters into their own hands. For me personally this book wasn't as strong as previous books in the series. Whilst being very relevant, it is hard to ignore what is going on and it indeed it shouldn't be ignored but this just didn't hold my attention in the same way as previous books had. I will say though that Ms Sokoloff is very much on the money with her narrative and this book definitely had a message to convey.

Very often books in a series can be jumped into at any point, but here I would strongly advise reading the books in order to appreciate fully the continuing storylines. Whether there will be more to come I don't know but Ms Sokoloff has created a brilliant series and I've been singing about these books for a while! I don't do that often!!

Very readable, exciting, brilliant characters in Roarke and Lindstrom and terrific storytelling. Really..... what more do you want?!!

As a series overall, I highly recommend. Go there ..... sooner rather than later!

Thanks to those for my ARC. Much appreciated.

Hunger Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff is book 5 in the Huntress series. This book looks like a great thriller, which I love to read normally, but I found this book really hard to like or to get into. I did not read earlier books, so it is possible that this book would be a lot more interesting if read in conjunction with earlier books. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

This fifth installment in Sokoloff's excellent 'Huntress/FBI' series is a fast, and furious, read. The narrative crackles with an angry energy, a sense of injustice that echoes the real-life rise of the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements. Sokoloff is a master storyteller who gets the pages whirring and keeps the entertainment levels high, but she's also unafraid to hold up a mirror to the ills of contemporary society, the pervasive misogyny that has existed for millennia in various forms but seems to have crawled out of the shadows into the light (and the highest of offices) in recent times.

At its heart, HUNGER MOON is about two people who hunt down the worst of society, the heartless and selfish predators who care little for the damage they cause. Matthew Roarke and Cara Lindstrom are both seeking justice; they just operate on different sides of the law. And perhaps have slightly different views on what are the most fitting or just punishments for heinous crimes.

After chasing vigilante killer Lindstrom throughout previous books, FBI Special Agent Roarke is trying to step back, and focus his work life elsewhere. But he can't shake his connection to Cara. Especially when it seems her actions, and her story, have begun to inspire a whole host of others across the country. "Lady Death" has had enough, and time is up for rapists and predators ...

Roarke and his team find themselves pressured into the strange position of protecting the privileged, of trying to prevent vigilante justice that might have plenty of justification. Meanwhile Lindstrom is being hunted by the very kind of people she's tried to punish, who inspired her vigilante actions.

It's hard to read HUNGER MOON without thinking of various real-life campus rape cases that have hit the news, and the ways in which universities and law enforcement have systemically failed so many victims over the years. Or the recent Hollywood scandals and the #MeToo movement, which are themselves only a high-profile example of pervasive issues women have faced across so many industries and cultures over so many years. Patriarchy, misogyny, the abuse of power.

Sokoloff fearlessly delves into those oh-so-current themes while delivering a barn-burner of a crime thriller. HUNGER MOON is entertaining, and confronting. Polished storytelling packed with raw and authentic emotion. Like a UFC fighter dressed in a tailored suit, it's stylish but bristles with barely-suppressed menace. It's the kind of book you devour in one sitting, but doesn't feel 'breezy'.

I would suggest that readers may get even more from HUNGER MOON if they've read at least some of the first four books in the series, but regardless of whether you start here or back in the beginning, I'd recommend crimeloving readers give Sokoloff and her hard-hitting series a try.

Another excellent entry in this compelling, evolving series.

Very rich and compelling, fantastically well-written and chilling.

A very exciting book from start to finish. One of the best books I read back in 2017.

Hunger Moon
By Alexandra Sokoloff

This is book 5 in the Huntress/FBI Thrillers series.

I must say that I have brought into the series and the characters. I would recommend that if you are going to read, that you go back to Book 1 – Huntress Moon, as it sets so much of the scene.

In this volume, Special Agent Matthew Roarke returns to the FBI to head a task force with one mission: to rid society of its worst predators. However there is a new threat to rapist operating on university campuses, and Roarke’s team is pressured to investigate.

Hiding from the law, avenging angel Cara Lindstrom is on her own ruthless quest, hunting predators in her own way.

This series is an easy to read set of books, that engages the audience. They are starting to get predicable in outcomes.
#NetGalley

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This is the first book that I have read in the Huntress/|FBI Thrillers series. In the previous books, FBI agent Roarke is after serial killer Cara Lindstrom who is seeking revenge against those who brutalized her as a child.

In this book, women across America have become aware of the manhunt and the reasons behind Cara's killings of sexual predators and have formed an online network to out rapists across the country. But then the hanging of rapist dummies and spraypainting fraternities escalates into the abduction of a Santa Barbara fraternity member. His well-connected parents call in the FBI Director and Roarke's team (agents Epps and Singh) to find the culprit.

Meanwhile, Cara is herself a target of bounty hunters being led by one obsessive member on a vicious online forum. Will Cara be able to save herself and continue her quest?

This was a fast-paced, graphic and violent-filled read. References to the impact of the current political situation in 2017 are made.

I received an eARC via Netgalley/Thomas and Mercer with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Many thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

As with the previous 4 I really liked it, and yes, you do have to read the previous 4 to really get into the backstory of FBI Agent Rourke and serial killer Cara (she's fab btw).

Would recommend but go from the beginning of the series!

My goodness, this series is such a cracker, I have enjoyed every single one of the books in it. This particular book reads well as a standalone but I think the reader would get much more enjoyment out of reading the series in order, from the beginning.

There is a new President in the White House and this is the tipping point for action from various sectors of society. In particular, young women on the campus of Universities, who are seen as disposable by frat boys - most of whom seem to come from privilege. Being Australian, this is not something I know very much about but I was fascinated by the traditions and culture around these frat houses, and horrified at the same time. It reminds me a little of the sorts of stunts that are pulled at military colleges as well.

Anyway, Matthew Roarke is on the case, along with his partner Epps, and his life partner, Singh. The three of them make a formidable team and bit by bit they cut through the layers of lies that people in power have told, to get to the truth.

Cara is fighting her own battle, and she has become hunted by well organised and well equipped packs of men. My heart was in my mouth several times, wondering how she was going to come through. You will have to read the book to see what happens though!

Fantastic book, as always, and really looking forward to the next one.

Another five star book in this fantastic series!

To appreciate the full impact of Hunger Moon though I really feel that you need to have read the previous books. So much in the stories now depends on knowing and understanding the main characters especially Cara Lindstrom. Without background knowledge I am not sure how she would come across to a new reader.

To say this book is exciting is an understatement. Several different plot lines occur simultaneously leading up to the thrilling finale. The level of blood and gore and the body count is probably higher than in any of the previous books and some of the retribution is nasty. Deserved but still nasty.

It will be interesting to see where the author takes this next. So far she has managed to maintain the reader's sympathy for a main character who is actually a mass murderer. I can't wait to see what happens next!

The fifth book in the series sees Special Agent Matthew Roarke back with the FBI but he has now given up hope of ever catching the elusive serial killer Carla Lindstrom after all the wild goose chases she's led him on in the past. This time though, the tables are turned and a vicious group of teenagers are running wild, causing the huntress to become the hunted, leaving a trail of violence in their wake.
The story flows so naturally, and again, we see the characters back on top form, with their individual quirks. I look forward to seeing what's next for these two in their next adventure.