Imagine a domestic terrorist group targeting Americans at National Parks. Enter Michael Walker, Special Agent with the Park Service, who is an able bodied amputee and he's smart and very capable. He is willing to do whatever is needed to save lives. Also enter brilliant and resourceful FBI agent Gina Delgado who will stop at nothing to save VIPs and her country.

This is an exciting thriller. So much befalls these heros, but they give it their all, time and time again. And there are more than these two heros. Great story!

I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator is wonderful.

Big thanks to RB for the approval to read Leave No Trace! I loved the preview chapters of this in the last Minotaur Sampler so was super pumped to get to read the whole book!

Pub date: Feb 27th.

I loved this story and I'd recommend to you if you love:
-political aspects (but really only in that we are dealing with federal law enforcement agencies, the military, potus, etc)
-HIGH action throughout
-National Parks <3
-lots of police procedural (as we are following several law enforcement agencies)

This was SO fast paced, packed with action, some thrilling moments and a big ol' mystery for these agents to solve. I didn't know an investigator for the Natl Parks Service was a thing but now I do, and we have one as the main character here. The characters are flawed but completely likable. They're really well fleshed out and we get glimpses of their backgrounds with (very few) flashback chapters included. This was great to get an idea of what brought our main characters to where they are in present day of this story.

In the beginning the multi-story lines were sliiiightly hard to keep track of but I figured they'd all converge and BOY do they come together with a (literal) BANG. I could NOT read this fast enough.

Thank you RB Media and NetGalley for this ARC audiobook.

Wow! Who doesn’t love a good conspiracy thriller?! And national parks and monuments!

- Given the amount of significant detail that held true to the settings involved, the pace was not slow and the story telling did not dragged.

- Each chapter gives a quick fact fun/true fact about the national park, monument or landmark that was about to be introduced. This was a different feature that what I typically see in writing and I enjoyed it!

- Great character backstories and development

- Loved the narrator Gregory Abbey. Halfway through the story, I was researching what other audiobooks are available with his narration.

- Given that this is listed as “National Park Thriller #1”, I suspect there is more to come for Special Agent Michael Walker!

4 stars! 🙂

Name of Book: Leave No Trace
Author: AJ Landers
Series: National Parks Thriller Book #1
Narrator: Gregory Abby
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: RB Media
Pub Date: February 27, 2024
My Rating: 3.8 rounded up
Pages: 352

Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Park Service is awakened by his boss with that news that an act of terrorism occurred and there was an explosion at the Statue of Liberty He is sent to New York as the agent-in-charge. However FBI Agent Gina Delgado has been placed in charge of the investigation as the lead of the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Additionally there is a threat of another terrorism attack.
Michael finds a young boy Danny, who is looking for his parents. He and his family had been injured by the bomb but Danny also was taking pics on his phone so may have a photo of the bombers.

I was drawn to this story since it is the debut of the series ‘National Parks Thriller’
I liked Agent Walker and FBI Agent Gina Delgado. I look forward to Book #2 in this series.

Want to thank NetGalley and RB Media for this early Audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 27, 2024.

The premise behind this book was really interesting--US landmarks in national parks being targeted by an unknown group. The main character was cool to follow (and I appreciated the inclusivity of someone not fully able-bodied). Ultimately, I found the "villain" and their reason for these attacks kind of convoluted. And while I enjoyed the historical facts that preceded each chapter, they felt distracting from the actual story.

This was completely gripping! Fast paced and action packed, an attack in the Statue of Liberty leaves many dead and a teenaged witness in terrible danger.

I really liked the main characters, Michael and Gina and the setting of the US National Parks, with lots of historical information thrown in were fantastic.

Narration by Gregory Abbey was very good, with excellent portrayal of the character’s personality’s and the urgency and tension of the plot.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, A J Landau and RB media for an ARC in return for an honest review.

If you love FBI crime shows, you’ll love this book! I was hooked in chapter one with the attack on the Statue of Liberty.
This book follows Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Park Service, who uses all of his knowledge of National Parks to stop terrorist attacks. He join teams up with the FBI to figure who is doing this an why. There is so many facts about National Parks and you can tell a ton of research went into this book! It is about terrorist attacks but it wasn’t a depressing or heavy read. I thought it was written more as an adventure like the movie National Treasure.

I received the audio version and it was fantastic! I enjoyed the narrators voice and thought was a great listen. The 10.5 hour listen time flew by!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for this audio arc.

One thing I really loved about this book was that many chapters begin with a fun fact about a national park location that relates to that part of the book. I found it interesting and informative, and is done really well in this book. I definitely learned a thing or two from these fun facts!

I think this will be a great series and I will absolutely keep my eye out for the next book. I enjoyed the suspense and semi-dual narrative (where you peek into the POV of the “bad guy” now and then). I’m excited for the next book but worried for that fictional America’s national parks!

Gina and Michael were great main characters and I enjoy their friendship and how they learned to trust one another and play off the other’s strengths. I hope they are both in the next book as well.

Leave No Trace is a very intense action-packed thriller about domestic terrorists who start off by blowing up the Statue of Liberty. Each chapter starts off with trivia or a tidbit of the history of our national parks and gives you a chance to breathe and catch your breath before the next harrowing catastrophe occurs. It is a plot driven race against time to save literally millions of people and the USA as we know it. It introduces us to two heroic characters, Michael Walker a special investigator with the National Park Service and Gina Delgado an FBI agent and lead of the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Thank you to Goodreads for having their giveaways, as I won a free printed copy of “Leave No Trace” by A.J. Landau. I am an avid audiobook reader, but I tried hard to read this book the good old-fashioned way and it is a really good book, so I would have gotten through it. However, thank you to NetGalley for an early audiobook edition of “Leave No Trace” by A.J. Landau, narrated by Gregory Abbey. I read 70% of the book, then finished the remaining 30% in 1 day in audiobook form, so did not get the full impact of Gregory’s narration.

This is a story about a “Terrorist” group who begins to blow up national monuments. The story immediately opens with a major explosion at the Statute of Liberty, that tips her off her pedestal, killing many. After the explosion, you begin to be introduced to the characters. Michael Walker, a Special Agent for the National Parks Service, and Gina Delgado, of the FBI, the two most important characters. The author does a great job introducing all of the characters. The story continues with more bombs on National Parks and the introduction of a bigger plot.

This book moves very quickly, is full of action, and is very easy to read. It will scare the bejesus out of you, as the way the author writes the story, you can so picture it being a true story. The United States people are at such a discord, that you can see a radical domestic terrorist group ready to do exactly what this book portrays. It says it is the National Park Book 1 – I hope so, as I am in for the next one. This was a really great book!

Oof, this book was NOT for me. I was so very bored within the first 10 minutes and I never grew to care about *anything* going on. The idea was there, the execution was not.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

First off, I love this book, second, anyone who knows me knows I am not political, it’s hard to review a book like this without getting too political but I will try. While this is not really a political thriller, in today’s climate that’s how I took it and this brought one of my greatest fears to the surface making this thriller a personal horror story for me.

It starts with a terrorist attack on the Statue of Liberty. A graphic scene is described during this attack that will make you feel like you were there with such a realistic degree that I had to take a break after this scene. It’s written so well that you will feel uneasy as you read this part.

After this attack, there is already a threat of another and we mostly follow Michael Walker who is a special agent with the parks, and Gina Delgado who is with the FBI. I loved both characters and there was so much depth and growth with both of them. Learning their backstories was not only a way to get to know them but it tied into the story perfectly.

This is a story that is about domestic terrorism. It may not be easy to read for many but I highly recommend it.

Gina is my favorite character, a Latina climbing the ranks and in charge ok queen.

The beginning of this book instantly had my attention from a young teen out with his family witnessing and recording a domestic attack at the Statue of Liberty (not a spoiler, as it happens early on and in the description of the book). His video helps aid the FBI and the National Parks Service identifying who is behind the attack. At each National Park, military installation, or new location you learn a new historical fact.

I feel like you would enjoy this if you want something related to domestic terrorism, political background, conspiracy theories, and ex military gone rogue.

I received this audiobook from NetGalley for an honest review. The narrator speaks slow for my taste so I listened at 2x speed. There were also long pauses in between chapters.

*sigh*

The premise of this book is 🤯🤯🤯

The execution of the premise was 😖😖😖

I wanted to love this book so badly. I was hooked at the start, then I was lost in the middle and at about 80% through I was hooked again and then it slowly tapered off without any sort of mind blowing resolution, in my opinion.

There was SO much historical information and backstory that was shared about each site and the logistics of all that was happening that I think that might have been what muddied the thrill and action of this novel for me.

I will say that I was somewhat surprised at how the events played out, but suspected the involvement of one of the characters from the start.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook and reader copy of Leave No Trace by A. J. Landau in exchange for an honest review. I really liked this book, I kept switching between the audiobook and ebook and thought they were both great. The only complaint I had was the mispronounced Eads. My ancestor designed the Eads bridge and we pronounce our name phonetically, like leads but without the l. Other than that it was a great book with intrigue. I've already recommended it to others.

3.75 stars

This is a well-paced and engaging thriller that feels very of the moment. It features a straightforward but engaging plot and characters I enjoyed but hope to get to know more about in future installments of this series.

The opening scene really gripped me, and I remained invested throughout. A favorite feature that I'll leave vague since I detest spoilers is the depiction of the villainous actors. I really appreciated the way these individuals were drawn. The most obvious highlight for me is the characters. I'm looking forward to more backstory and more personal content as their escapades continue.

I listened to and enjoyed the audio version of this one and recommend it for those looking for an action-packed thriller that seems like it could (unfortunately) be ripped right from the headlines.