The Red Hunter

At fourteen years of age, Zoey Drake was forced to watch as her parents were brutally murdered in front of her eyes, whilst she barely escaped with her own life.Over the last ten years, instead of letting the trauma destroy her life, Zoey has channelled all her energies into making herself stronger, vowing never to be a victim again. Now fully martial-arts trained, the anger still living inside her is the “Red Hunter”, a force that compels her to seek out and fight injustice.

“It was getting to me. I was vibrating, giving off the energy of the thing I tried to hide and harness. I had given it a name. A thing that lived inside of me, The Red Hunter. Rage.”

Claudia Bishop has also had her life shaped by trauma. Brutally raped as a young woman she has never been sure whether her daughter is her husband’s child or that of her attacker. Over the years, this uncertainty has destroyed her marriage and has propelled her to make a new start with her teenage daughter, leaving the city and seeking solace in the country. Restoring an old house she inherited from her father might just be the project she has been looking for to put her life back on track and find the peace she is craving.

Strangers to each other, the two women are linked by the house’s dark past and the secret it still harbours. A secret that some people are prepared to kill for, which will see Claudia’s and Zoey’s paths collide and have them fighting for their lives once again.

What is the difference between justice and revenge? This is the underlying theme of her latest thriller, and is a question Zoey asks herself many times as she channels the “Red Hunter”, an avenging energy which is the one thing that has kept her going over the years, trying to overcome after the horrific trauma she suffered as a teenager.

“In our touchy-feely culture, there’s a lot of talk about forgiveness, a commonly held belief that the nurturing of hatred and anger is a toxin. No one ever tells you that is can be an angine, that it can keep you alive.”

But as Zoey will find out – revenge may not be as satisfying as she has believed, nor will it bring the peace and closure she has desired.

“When you plan revenge, you should dig two graves – one of them for yourself.”

I loved the background theme of empowerment for victims of crime, both for Zoey as well as Claudia, and how both women find their inner strength in different ways, which allows them to become stronger and move on with their lives. With characters who are well drawn, believable and engaging, the thriller comes to a nail-biting finale as the two women’s lives collide. I made the mistake of reading this book in the evening, which meant another sleepless night as I absolutely could not put the book down until I had turned the last page!

The Red Hunter is a tense and suspenseful thriller which will set your heart racing as the action unfolds. At the same time, it raised the age-old question in my own mind: is revenge justified if it brings a murderer to justice? I guess that depends on each individual’s own moral code, and would make a very interesting discussion point in a book club gathering. Lisa Unger is a new and exciting discovery for me – after this nail-biting rollercoaster ride of suspension I will make sure to put her other novels on my to-read list!

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Claudia Bishop’s perfect life fell apart when the aftermath of a brutal assault left her with a crumbling marriage, a newborn daughter, and a constant sense of anxiety about the world around her. Now, looking for a fresh start with a home restoration project and growing blog, Claudia takes on a crumbling old house—one that unbeknownst to her has an ugly history and may hide long buried secrets.
For Zoey Drake the defining moment of her childhood was the horrific home invasion murder of her parents. Years later, she has embraced the rage that fuels her. Training in the martial arts has made her strong and ready to face the demons from the past—and within.
Strangers to each other, and walking very different paths in the wake of trauma, these two women are on a collision course—because Zoey’s past nightmare and Claudia’s dreams for her future take place in the very same house. As Zoey seeks justice, and Claudia seeks peace, both will confront the monsters at the door that are the most frightening of all.

Lisa Unger is a bit of a mystery for me - some of her novels absolutely hit it out of the park, yet others, sometimes you feel a little let down. This book is certainly in the former. While it may not necessarily hit a home run (what's with all the sports metaphors?), it is definitely one of her better novels.

The beauty of this novel is twofold: the great storylines, and the characters. Two very important things when it comes to a psychological thriller.

The dual stories of Zoey and Claudia really drew me into the story. What both women go through in this story is compelling - I really enjoyed the way the author brought their separate stories together and gave a very satisfying conclusion at the end.

As far as characters, Zoey and Claudia were fantastic. Written so perfectly, I found myself dragged into their stories purely based on their personalities. I wanted to know more about them, about their lives and invested my time in their story.

The one criticism I do have, though, is that there were times that their narrators lives blurred together and there really wasn't quite enough separation between the two to be totally sure who's life we were following...but, really, that was hardly a major issue.

Definitely recommending this one!


Paul
ARH