The Hunted is Gabriel Bergmoser's debut adult novel. This violent, intense thriller is hard to put down! Maggie, a young woman on the run, turns up at Frank's isolated roadhouse in outback Australia. Frank's granddaughter Allie has come to say for the first time and is just getting to know her Grandfather when Maggie turns up bloodied and half dead. Maggie is being hunted by some evil men and Frank makes the decision to protect her. The Hunted is soon to be a movie and book two is also on the way. Thanks to NetGalley for my digital copy.

Debut novel and already has movie rights for this fast-paced and action filled story. The first few pages introduces the characters but straight after it gets into the action that leaves you grabbing onto the edge of your seat hoping the characters stay alive.
It had a wolf creek vibe in the story and we know how bloody creepy that movie is.
Can you really trust people you come across on a deserted road where they find you?

My review of this title appears in the Books Etc Magazine - July 2020 issue.

Please find link to a free copy of the magazine below.

Thank you so much for this title which I enjoyed immensely.

4.5 Stars
What a great introduction to this author, The Hunted was a one stop read for me. This is a suspenseful thriller with a compelling story full of intrigue and action. I will definitely be recommending and looking to find more by this author.

The Hunted by Gabriel Bergmoser was not what I was expecting. Less a thriller than horror novel in my opinion, I’m a little lost for words.

After a blood-soaked young woman stumbles from a car into a remote, outback roadhouse, owner Frank, his teenage granddaughter, Allie, and a handful of unlucky customers are caught up in a horrifying night of violence not all of them will survive.

Unfolding from several perspectives over two timelines that eventually meet, The Hunted is fast paced, action packed and suspenseful. My first instinct is to describe it as a cross between the films Wolf Creek (2005) and Deliverance (1972), and I think this would do well if adapted to the screen.

But had I been aware of the explicit incidences of torture and violence that occur in this novel, I wouldn’t have chosen to read it. At least twice I was uncomfortable enough to consider not finishing it, but to be fair to Bergmoser I was equally uncomfortable not doing so... I needed to know how it would end for the characters, particularly Frank, Allie and the story’s anti-hero, Maggie.

It wouldn’t be accurate to say I liked The Hunted, but that’s a matter of genre rather than any particular flaws with the book. If horror is your thing, I think you’ll love it.

The Hunted by Gabriel Bergmoser left me breathless! A terrifying story that had me captivated even though I didn’t want to keep reading I had to - I just couldn’t put it down despite the horror of what I was reading. The characters’ personalities and capabilities, under unusual circumstances, emerged to create a range of reactions and abilities which highlights that people don’t know how they will cope with things until they are faced with a particular crisis. I particularly loved the development of the young teenager Allie whose parents sent her off to her unknown Grandfather, Frank, to give them a break - despite the awful events that happen she emerged as strong and resilient.
Set in the backcountry of somewhere in Australia the story doesn’t feel probable but then again it did have a lot of elements that suggest that it was indeed possible.
There were many strong themes that gave the story and characters depth - domestic violence, growing up and coping with a dysfunctional family as well as the deeper issues of human behaviour in the face of extreme danger.
Highly recommended read with a warning that it is graphic and intense.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Publisher Australia for an ARC to read and review.

Wow! What a book! I was hooked from the start and could not put this one down...I stayed up reading till after 2am because I just had to know how it ended. One of the best suspenseful thriller/horror books that I have read in a while. Definetly going to be in my top books of 2020. Thanks for such an amazing, enjoyable read!

Well that's certainly what I call an unputdownable novel! It comes out of the boxes running, and doesn't let up until the finishing post is reached.

When an injured girl drives into a service station in outback Australia, little does the owner know that his life, and the lives of those around him, are about to get very interesting. And that's an understatement. I'm not going to say anymore as I don't want to give anything away.

This is a book for all action, thriller and suspense lovers, so do yourself a favour and grab a copy!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie is the Hunted, the intended prey of violent men who she has upset badly and are now out for revenge. That is until she stumbles into Frank's run down roadhouse on a lonely stretch of highway in the Australian outback. Now Frank, his granddaughter Allie and customers are all the Hunted.

This is one for those who like their thrillers dark, graphic and menacing. More violent than books I normally read and definitely not one for the faint-hearted, but utterly compelling. The waves of suspense just keep on coming as the tension ramps up and up to boiling point. A high octane roller-coaster of a novel, brilliantly written with strong characters to cheer for. Just don't read it before going to sleep like I did!

This book is an amazing debut! I was the first to read it at our bookshop, I read it in a couple of days. I was overwhelmed and dying to discuss with my fellow booksellers. They all read it quickly and were just as amazed! It is so violent, not gratuitously but so much more so than I normally read. Great character development and sense of place. I felt I was there and that’s what made it so scary. I loved the main character, she’s a warrior.

I had never heard of this author and I want more after reading this book. Great pace and direct narrative speeds this novel forward with great characters. Loved it

5 stars!

I went into this fast-paced-thrill-ride thinking it was going to be an action-packed countdown to a final stand. And it was. It was absolutely that.
But geez, it was so much more than that as well.
Frank is busy with his run down service station in the middle of nowhere and looking after his troubled granddaughter who has been dumped on his doorstep. They seem to have no common ground between them and they are practically strangers.
A young couple are inside the service station also when a young woman arrives, crashing into their lives in dramatic fashion, running from something, bleeding and near death.
From there, things go downhill fast.
Told in two timelines (then and now) this book does an excellent job of ratcheting up the tension until you are white-knuckling your kindle like you're on a theme park ride.
Full of everyday heroes and brimming with heart, this thriller/horror is the next book you need in your life.

This type of horror/action thriller isn’t my usual thing but boy, did I love this book.

The book is split into ‘then’ and ‘now’ sections. ‘Now’ features teenager Allie who has gotten into trouble with bullies at school at the same time as her parents are planning to divorce. As part punishment, part getting her out of the way whilst her parents sort things out, she is sent to stay with her grandfather, Frank, who runs a service station/roadhouse literally in the middle of nowhere. Frank and Allie are still tiptoeing around each other when a young woman drives into the service station before passing out from some horrific injuries.

The ‘then’ section focuses on Simon, who has left the city to find the ‘real’ Australia, and Maggie, whom he meets in a bar. Maggie claims to be homeless and she persuades Simon to let her join him on his road trip. The 'then' part follows them as they drive down one dirt road too many into the back of beyond.

I felt like Bergmoser reached his peak when the two story/timelines eventually met up. He created heart pounding tension along with a slew of roller coaster action episodes. The pace was frenetic but wonderful. I felt like every scene was a cliffhanger, let alone the end of the chapters. I literally could not stop reading and sat up way too late, flicking pages like a mad woman, to discover how the characters would fare in this weird wild world.

The action was all very well written. I knew exactly what was happening and could picture the scenes easily. They were also very clever and original. Characters get into, and out of, tight situations in the most unexpected and unique ways. Certainly nothing seemed cliched to me. Some of the scenarios might usually stretch the imagination but Bergmoser managed to make them all seem realistic.

Bergmoser has written a few young adult books but I wouldn’t recommend this to youngsters! As I said, this isn’t my usual genre, so I’m not sure how graphic these novels usually are, but I would give a content warning of violence and swearing and it’s certainly not for the fainthearted.

The official publication date isn’t until June but I managed to read this via an ARC on Net Galley (thanks Harper Collins). I recommend you click on pre-order and grab yourself a copy when this becomes available. It’s got the added bonus of appealing to both male and female readers, I think.

5 out of 5 I’ll definitely be on the lookout for future Bergmoser books.