Leave No Trace

This is a wonderfully atmospheric psychological mystery from Mindy Melia that grips from beginning to end. It is set in Duluth, Minnesota and the vast wild wilderness of the forests and lakes of Boundary Waters, locations which are evoked beautifully with Melia's rich descriptions. Josiah Blackthorn took his 9 year old son, Lucas, and disappeared into Boundary Waters. Ten years later, a 19 year old Lucas emerges to a storm of media attention when he is caught breaking and entering an outfitters. His violence and refusal to communicate has him incarcerated at the Congdon Psychiatric Facility. 23 year old Maya Stark is the newly promoted assistant speech therapist working under Dr Mehta. Maya is a damaged and lonely woman who has never got over her geologist mother leaving her as a child, she is still struggling to make any meaningful connections with another human being, and she herself was once a patient in Congdon. Dr Mehta believes that Maya is the person who can get past Lucas's unco-operative behaviour and muteness, and get him to integrate with others.

From difficult beginnings, a strong and intense connection begins to form between Lucas and Maya, born of their recognition of each other as kindred souls at the most elemental of levels. Maya researches other examples of people who share a similarity with Lucas's isolated wilderness experiences, such as the Russian Lykov family in Siberia and Ho Vans in Vietnam to help her to understand Lucas better. The police are keen to interview Lucas to find his father but Lucas refuses. He confides only to Maya about his terrors and fears for his sick father in Boundary Waters that led him to leave their remote and isolated home in search of medicine. Lucas's position resonates with Maya, inspiring a strong willed determination to help Lucas, irrespective of ethical and professional issues, with a disregard for keeping her job and all the consequences that might flow from her actions.

Mejia writes a twisted story of broken families, mental health, emotional damage, love, loss, and the unexpected connections between Lucas and Maya. She does an amazing job in characters and their development, the slow reveals of Lucas and Maya's history, really getting under the skins of them as individuals and giving us psychological portraits of people we cannot fail to be interested in. There are occasions when a little bit of suspension of disbelief is required, but this is, after all, fiction and they never once got in the way of me enjoying this enthralling character and location driven novel. A fantastic read that I recommend highly to others! Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

Having been a huge fan of “The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman“ I was intrigued to find out how Mindy Mejia would follow that up.

Leave No Trace is a gorgeous, emotionally resonant read, once again peppered with beautifully drawn characters who creep up on you. Descriptively this is brilliantly done bringing the wild and edgy setting to vivid life.

Into this comes Maya, once a psychiatric patient herself, now a person who helps others. But she and the untamed Lucas are drawn together by more than just a patient/therapist relationship and it will change them both in unexpected ways..

This is a road journey of sorts, both literally and figuratively as Maya deals with her past and her growing connection to Lucas. It is thought provoking and highly addictive- not some little part of me felt like disappearing into the wilderness myself, such was the power of it.

This was a clever, memorable novel and one that will stay with me in both character and setting and has put Mindy Mejia firmly on my list of must read authors.

Recommended.

Mindy Mejia garnered global acclaim last year with her outstanding rural noir THE LAST ACT OF HATTIE HOFFMAN (aka EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE). Sometimes after a big hit authors can struggle with their next book, but from the first pages of LEAVE NO TRACE it's clear that Mejia hasn't suffered that fate.

This is a compelling page-turner, with depth. A one-night kind of read that still has plenty of layers.

Speech therapist Maya Stark is tasked with giving voice to a violent young man who’s reappeared a decade after vanishing in the forest-rimmed lakes of the Boundary Waters with his father. A ravaged campsite, a possible bear attack, father Josiah and son Lucas were presumed dead. But it turns out at least one of them survived. But what has Lucas Blackthorn being doing for the last decade? Where has he been living?

And what happened a decade ago?

Now Lucas is a celebrity patient at Congdon Mental Institution, and Maya needs to get him to reveal his secrets in the very place she was hospitalised herself as a teenager. Two people with troubled family histories and plenty of secrets must learn to work together, even as rules get in their way.

Mejia keeps the revs high while instilling plenty of humanity in her tale. It's clear how much she loves her home state and its natural wonders. There's a really good sense of place. With fresh turns of phrase and little touches that elevate the writing to a higher level, coupled with keen insight into people and their messy relationships with themselves and others, this is a cracking good read from a talented author.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the idea of the story. The thought of a father and son living in the wilderness for ten years. There is a lot of detail in this story but it was definitely worth wading through to find out what happened. I really liked the ending. It brought everything together in a way that I did not expect. I liked the characters and the descriptions of the scenery were really good. The surroundings add a lot to the enjoyment of this story.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Leave No Trace is a psychological thriller with a wonderfully atmospheric tale wrapped around it. The author must know the Boundry Waters and Duluth area very well because her descriptions of the surroundings put me right there in the company of Maya Stark and Lucas Blackthorne.

Maya is a feisty girl, not afraid to mix it with Lucas Blackthorne as he tries to escape and is determined to repay the trust shown to her by Dr Mehta. Through it all though, Maya forms a bond that proves stronger than the trust that was bestowed upon her after she overcame her own meltdown.

Throwing caution to the wind Maya is determined to help Lucas find his father, Josiah, even if it means an end to her own career, one that she has spent the past few years trying to build. I am now a fan of Mindy Melia and will look out more of her books to read.

Ten years ago, Josiah Blackthorn took his son, Lucas, camping in the Boundary Waters and they disappeared. Now, his son is back and placed in a psychiatric facility where he is unable or unwilling to communicate. Maya is a young speech therapist working at the hospital who wants so much to help the young man.

When I read the outline of this story I couldn't wait to read it and it hooked me right from the off.

Maya is the author at the beginning if this tale and she's a great character who gets close to Lucas and wants to help him. She's a complex character having been abandoned by her mother and she has her own personal demons.

We then get to hear from the father, Josiah and it's a heartbreaking tale of love and loss.

One of the things I loved about this book is the non fiction elements that taught me much I didn't know about the area as well as a family called Lykov and others who chose, or were forced, to live in isolation. There was also learning for me about rock and nature information that is beautifully woven into the story.

Now to what I didn't enjoy so much; Maya has a loving father and a supportive mentor, both of whom, at times, she seems to treat with disdain, whilst also breaking every professional code of practice and getting away with it, time and again. At times she frustrated the heck out of me, but I like others forgave her, don't ask why, I just know that she was worth it.

Overall, this is a great read about mental health, family, love, abandonment and survival and it's a fabulously tense, tight read that kept me hooked from start to finish and I loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley, Gernert Company and Emily Bestler books and Quercus publishers for the opportunity to preview this really great read.

I absolutely loved Mindy Mejia’s previous novel, The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman, so I was incredibly excited at being given the opportunity to join the blog tour for her latest release, Leave No Trace. I’ll tell you right now though, this is nothing like her previous novel! I love it when an author takes me by surprise.

Ten years ago, Josiah Blackthorn and his son trekked into the wilderness, only to vanish. But now, Josiah’s son Lucas has returned. Lucas is now nineteen years old and finds himself incarcerated in a psychiatric institute. He doesn’t talk and all he really wants is to return to his father.

Maya Stark is a speech therapist at the psychiatric institute and it’s her job to get Lucas to talk. Is he keeping quiet because he doesn’t know how to talk? Or is he just being stubborn? Maya is haunted by past events herself. Will meeting Lucas bring her the answers she has so desperately been searching for?

Leave No Trace is very different from Mindy Mejia’s previous novel but as ever, it’s immensely beautifully written. The vivid descriptions of the Boundary Waters in Minnesota really bring the place to life and almost made me want to go out on a hike or grab a canoe. I say almost, because you know, water and creepy-crawlies. But there’s also the peace and tranquility, not another person in sight, just gorgeous Mother Nature all around you. Bliss. Living off the grid obviously isn’t for everyone but Mindy Mejia took inspiration from people who’ve actually done so, for various reasons, and I do so enjoy it when an author makes me want to google things.

Despite it’s relatively slow pace, I was captivated by the exquisite storytelling. There is some fascinating character development to sink your teeth into and even a few twists and surprises. Some I may have figured out but that did nothing to ruin my reading experience, nor did the fact that maybe a few things might have required me to suspend belief just a tad. Leave No Trace is a compelling mystery and I was swept away by this tale of love, family and loss from start to finish.

I must say, I’m fast becoming a fan of Mindy Mejia’s work and remain impressed with her excellent storytelling skills. I’m incredibly curious to see what she comes up with next.

'Leave No Trace' is critically acclaimed, international thriller writer Mindy Mejia's third standalone novel, and having absolutely adored 'Everything You Want Me To Be' which in my humble opinion was one of the best crime thrillers of 2017. I was not alone in my appreciation for the book, and am pleased to report that with this new story, Mejia has kept up the extra high standard she set for herself. I reckon that this will feature in my top books of 2018, it really is that unputdownable.

One of the standout features of the book has to be the setting. It plays such a substantial role in the overall story that it almost feels like a character in itself. So, those of you who enjoy crime fiction set in spectacular surroundings are in for a treat! In fact, it reminded me a lot of Jane Harper's use of the Aussie outback in her novels - super special! Once I begun reading, I clearly had no idea how fast it was flying past, as I was shocked that I read it in one suspenseful sitting then sat back wishing I had savoured by reading more slowly (always the sign of a superb book). The tale is a straightforward one and much emphasis is placed on the descriptive prose. As with all of her novels, the writing is smooth and effortlessly flowing, I cannot imagine anyone taking issue with it.

The story is told from Trudy's perspective mainly with the other main characters gettingin on the action, albeit to a much lesser extent. I love the overall feelings that permeates through to the reader - the feeling that nobody should be trusted in anything they say or do, is a strong theme, and one of the best and most elusive feelings in the genre. Literally everyone in this book is spinning you a yarn! Trudy is a wonderful character, and I can feel it in my bones, she is destined to become someone who has a real place in my heart. She is a excellent protagonist who had my admiration from very early on - intelligent, tenacious, brave, bold and courageous. The plot also heads into disturbing territory, and we get a glimpse of personal issues Trudy is having to endure. The sexism and surrounding problems are drawn sensitively by the author and sadly were the reality of worklife in the 1960s. Doctor Ryder has very different traits to Trudy, but ultimately that is what makes their relationship and dynamic work so cleverly! I look forward to seeing how each develop individually as well as the formidable team they certainly appear to be!

Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.