A gripping and entertaining book I couldn't put down.
An excellent plot, a great cast of character and an author who is an excellent storyteller.
I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Told from the different perspectives of three people, including the killer, makes this a great novel. All the way through, I was never sure of the real details of a past case and the connection to current events and it upped the suspense and it was a thoroughly fascinating read with more depth than usual given to the psychology of the killer. It was a much better than most of this genre and I will look for another by this author as I loved her style of writing and characters I could see were really complex.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This book had me reading into the night and that says a lot about a book being that I have 2 kids under 4 and I have to be up early it was that good. I will be looking for future books from this author.

BLURB

Fifteen years ago, Hector Lewis’s wife and young daughter vanished without a trace. People have long thought he was responsible, but the man he knows is behind their disappearance still walks free. As a police officer, he is sworn to uphold the law. But he has seen how little justice there is in the world. And when a newcomer’s arrival sparks a harrowing series of crimes, Hector finds himself in a race to catch a man he is convinced is a killer.

Evelyn Hutto knows what it is to be prey. She moved west to start over. But the remote town of Raven’s Gap, Montana, is not as quiet and picturesque as it appears. The wild borderlands of Yellowstone National Park are home to more than one kind of predator. Women are going missing, and Evelyn’s position at the local museum unearths a collection of Native American art steeped in secrets. As she traces the threads of the past and the present, she finds them tied to one man.

Hector is a man obsessed with finding answers. Evelyn is a woman with secrets of her own. As winter whittles the land to bone and ice, the body count rises, and both become locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a dangerous man. A man who is as cunning as he is charismatic. A man whose new hunting season is only just beginning.

REVIEW

Psychological thrillers are not my usual choice for reading. Heck, that goes for movies as well...I remember a time when I was in my teens going to a double feature of Premature Burial and The Pit and the Pendulum. I didn't even make it through the first film before I left the theater. 😱 However, based on how much I loved the author's previous book, Once More Unto the Breach, I decided to dispense with my idiosyncratic character flaw and read Hunting Ground. It is, as the author mentioned to me, quite different from Breach, but there are similarities nonetheless. The characters are well crafted, realism in their demeanor's, their responses to events, the motives behind their actions, all lead the reader into an intense, taut drama. Meticulously detailed descriptions, whether it is of a small Montana town, or the sprawling, winter bound wilderness of Yellowstone immerses the readers in the surroundings, in the chilling events. As the story unfolded, and more secrets emerged, more details came to light, the twists and turns of this page turning thriller had this reader/reviewer pausing to remember to breathe. Oh, yes my  peeps and fellow travelers on the reading road, this is a good one for sure. A psychological thriller that even the idiosyncratic flawed, like me, can enjoy. 

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This was my first read by Meghan Holloway. I Enjoyed everything about this book there was nothing I didn't like about the book.

#HuntingGround
It kept me up all night reading it. I think it's a great thriller and has a creepy feel, which was wonderful to the overall imagery of the book.

As much as I would have loved to be able to read this, I am not able to view the book text. The text is not loading properly on my tablet. I need to be able to read with a black background and white text - however, it is loading with black text on a black background. Please send me a new copy. Thank you.

First of all, I just wanted to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book before its publishing date in a few months!

This gripping thriller follow's the lives of several interesting characters.

Evelyn, a young woman with a traumatizing past, moves to Montana in the hopes of starting over after the death of her grandparents. Raven's Gap, a small, quiet town, seems like the perfect option to her--a chance to blend into the shadows and just be a normal person. She accepts a job at the small museum in town, where her job is to review and sort through Native American artifacts that have been given and stored in the museum for years.

Hector's wife and daughter went missing fifteen years ago, and he is certain he knows who is behind the kidnapping. They haven't been seen since, and he assumes they are dead. The only catch is, most people believe he was the one who did it.

Jeff Roosevelt works at the local bookstore. Charming, kind, and charismatic, Jeff is a man that all the women swoon over. . . all except Evelyn, who can see behind the mask he wears.

When women start going missing in the town after Evelyn's arrival, Hector is certain that the person who killed his wife is acting again. He plans to use Evelyn to lead him out to the open so he can watch the killer in the act and finally get vengeance on his wife and daughter's death.

A tale of suspense and mystery, Hunting Ground will keep you on your toes and questioning everything. As Evelyn's past comes to light throughout the novel, readers can see that she maybe isn't the innocent victim she seems to be on the outside. However, her motives are justified (in my opinion), and when she realizes that she is being stalked by a certain book seller, she plans to do something about it rather than let herself feel trapped again.

I absolutely loved this book. I honestly enjoy reading about the psychology behind people's actions and motives, and I was absolutely fascinated by Jeff. I would love to know more about his story. Evelyn was a character that I could connect deeply with, and I found myself feeling scared for her throughout the story. I wanted her to be okay and fight back. I loved Hector and his tough act, but I knew that he was truly hurt and brokenhearted and had been for the last fifteen years. (And side note: I would love to give Frank a big hug).

I absolutely recommend this book to lovers of mystery and thriller novels, and I highly encourage people to seek out this book when it is officially published!

5/5 stars.

Here is the link to my blog, where I also posted the review!:
https://writingbyrylanne.blogspot.com/2020/03/hunting-ground-by-meghan-holloway.html

Meghan Holloway’s Hunting Ground is her first entry in the crime fiction genre. Suspenseful, dark, and gritty, this is a tautly paced thriller filled with noir characters, breathtaking settings, and shocking twists.
Evelyn Hutto's new position at a museum is straightforward. She is tasked with ensuring the museum’s collection meets the guidelines of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. What she uncovers in a private donation is something far more sinister—a series of art pieces that hint at a predator hunting close to her new home. Hector Lewis has been searching for his missing wife and daughter for fifteen years. When Evelyn arrives in town, he sees the perfect opportunity to finally ensure justice is served.
Evelyn and Hector share the narrative with Jeff, a serial killer hiding behind the guise of an antiquarian book dealer. Jeff’s chapters are sinister and highlight the twisted psyche of those who fit the serial killer profile. The highlight of the story is certainly the characters of Evelyn and Hector, both morally ambiguous and engaging narrators. Evelyn is a capable, resourceful woman who proves herself to be far more than a victim. Hector is the perfect antihero, a man whose actions are cold and questionable but whose motives are entirely understandable. After reading Holloway’s previous novel, a story that focused on a father searching for his son, I was intrigued to see her take an entirely different approach with the character of Hector.
A moving real life current issue undergirds the plot: the high numbers of Native women who go missing and are never accounted for by the justice system. Holloway handles this haunting subject with a deft, sensitive hand. Her writing style is vivid, visceral, and highly visual. The scene setting of the Yellowstone wilderness in winter is poetic and transportive, and the brutality of the land in winter is an echo of the chilling crimes and character of the serial killer. The pacing is driven, and the twists Holloway throws the reader are impactful and staggering.
Holloway’s latest novel is as compelling as it is disturbing, as engrossing as it is ominous. Hunting Ground is a story of taking the law into your own hands when the justice system fails you, of women’s vulnerability and strength, and of obsession. The dedication is one of the most haunting I have read, and I was gripped from the first page to the last.
Highly recommended for fans of crime fiction revolving around unsolved disappearances and serial killer thrillers underpinned by pointed social justice issues
Many thanks to NetGalley and Polis Books for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

An amazing thriller full of suspense. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Brilliant and highly recommended xxx

Police officer Hector Lewis has always been suspected of being behind the disappearance of his wife and daughter. Lewis is innocent, but he knows who really stole his family from him, and it takes every ounce of his control not to exact his own brand of justice. At the same time, Evelyn Hutton has moved to the small Montana town for a fresh start. She expects a quiet job at the museum, but instead finds herself caught up in the disappearance of a number of local women. Her research into the disappearances leads her to one man. Together, Lewis and Evelyn try to expose a killer, no matter what the cost

Meghan Holloway is a new author for me, the blurb outlined an interesting premise and I've always like the murder mystery genre.

Our 2 main characters are Evelyn who moved to a new place to start over and Hector who lost his wife and young daughter many years back. Hector who is a police officer is convinced that the person responsible for the death of his family still walks free. When Evelyn arrived into the small and remote town of Raven’s Gap, crimes started happening. Hector is convinced that it is the work of the same killer.

Was I wowed by the story, not really. It has potential but I wasn't wowed by it. The writing was perfunctory, the characters were quite fleshed out. I wasn't bored reading the book by any means but I do wish it wasn't too simple, it lacked nuance. It could be more, it has potential to be more and for this I will check out future books by Ms Holloway.

I received a copy from Netgalley, however the views above are all my own.

Hunting Ground is a fast paced thriller that does not disappoint! Thorough and intriguing!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was a bit predictable and formulaic but it’s very engaging and the characters are like able and fun enough that it keeps you sucked in and turning pages through the plot. 3.5 rounded up

This was a quick read. I enjoyed the different POV for the main characters. It was refreshing that the bad guy was know from the very beginning.