One Single Thing

Hunter Grant

by Tina Clough

Journalist Hope Barber disappears two weeks after returning to New Zealand from an assignment in Pakistan, leaving her front door open and her bag and phone inside. The police are tight-lipped about their reluctance to act, and Hunter Grant and Dao agree to help Hope’s brother Noah find her. But when details about Hope’s time in Pakistan start emerging, they only raise more questions. Was Hope under surveillance? Was she linked to terrorists? And who is the man Hope called ‘my stalker’?Hunter, who in The Chinese Proverb used his front-line Army experience to save Dao, finds himself in unknown territory where outside agencies and powerful personalities need to be negotiated.When a key person from Dao’s past life in captivity turns up, things reach crisis point and Hunter once again takes matters of justice and retribution into his own hands.

Genres: Crime

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Kirsten McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of two halves. The first half set a slow and steady pace, building the tension, creating the backstory. The second half was all action - kidnappings, desiccated bodies, judgmental eyes.
One Single Thing is the second book in the Hunter Grant series, and sees him well settled, living happily every after with Dao, and an extensive security system and faithful hound. But things don't stay quiet (or safe) for long.
I think I said it in my review of the first book in this series, but I normally don't enjoy first person narratives. I felt that a little more keenly with this book, but the second half of the book dispersed those feelings. The fast pace of action was well worth the wait.
I also enjoyed reading about places I knew and could recognise. What a treat to be able to read about my hometown instead of New York or some made up English village.
I look forward to more from this author. There are still some loose ends threatening Hunter and Dao... the perfect ending to any series!

[Marcus Hobson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two characters from Clough’s previous novel ‘The Chinese Proverb’ are back. Hunter and Dao are thrown into a new adventure trying to find a missing woman. Hope Barber is a journalist who has vanished, leaving her front door open and her mobile in the flat. Her brother is worried, but is having a hard time convincing the police to take her disappearance seriously.
At first I was enjoying the story, but somehow not fully engaged. Then suddenly it was as though someone threw a switch and I suddenly began to care about what had happened to Hope Barber. I think that moment came when we were allowed to read some of her personal accounts from her travels in Pakistan. She had already been the victim of a kidnap attempt, and had also been caught up in an airport bomb blast. Allowing these first person narratives to enter the story suddenly brought Hope Barber to life and made the reader care about her fate. I really liked the way that was done.

After that we a lead down a trail of investigations where we are never quite sure who the suspects are. That coupled with some unfinished business from the previous novel, where a barrel of drugs remained unaccounted for, adds to the mounting tension.
I like the way that Hunter, with his military background, and Dao, with her sixth sense of when people are telling the truth and when they are hiding something, work together and compliment each other. Somewhere in the middle of all this mayhem they are trying to patch lives back together and recover from previous traumas.
Very enjoyable and very readable.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

ONE SINGLE THING is the second in the Hunter Grant series from NZ author Tina Clough. You don't have to have read the earlier book (THE CHINESE PROVERB, 2017) to get this outing to work, but this series is developing into something a bit special, and it's always best to get in at the start when that's going on.

Somehow I managed completely and utterly to miss posting a review of THE CHINESE PROVERB when I read it, so this is now a combined thing. The first book in the series was released in 2017, after an earlier standalone novel by the same author.

THE CHINESE PROVERB introduces Hunter Grant and his now partner Dao in an explosive start to what becomes a caring and supportive relationship. Grant discovered Dao unconscious in the NZ bush, a victim of horrendous abuse. Rescuing her, and extracting some revenge took all of the cunning and smarts this Army veteran could muster. A little prone to big portents and the overuse of metaphor, it was, nonetheless an interesting pairing of two characters with potential. Dao in particular is not your standard victim, damaged sure, but not bowed, so THE CHINESE PROVERB provided a decent bit of escapism and some solid dare doing.

Forward to this second novel ONE SINGLE THING, released in 2019 and Hunter and Dao are now living in suburbia, still hyper-alert as one of Dao's abusers still roams free, definitely posing an ongoing threat as some unfinished business awaits. Protected by some serious surveillance systems, but managing to live a reasonably peaceful life, they are approached by the Noah, the brother of journalist Hope Barber, because Hope has vanished. Her front door was wide open, her bag and phone still inside, and there are strange things about her disappearance - not the least of which is the discovery that she's escaped an earlier, recent, kidnap attempt. Is this something to do with her time in Pakistan or is there something else going on? Hunter Grant's army front line experience doesn't help him in the same way that it did when rescuing Dao, but her smarts and understanding of human nature helps fill in some gaps, and Noah's tech literacy works to their advantage as well.

As mentioned earlier it's not absolutely necessary to read the earlier book to get the backstory of Grant and Dao sorted out - there's more than enough fill in here to give new readers a good idea, without bogging down what's overall a really tense, and well paced thriller. The ongoing character development is good, and the chance to get to know how the fallout from Dao's past is going is cleverly done. The balance of personal and action, and the tightness of the dialogue and the plot development is getting better and better, and there's much in ONE SINGLE THING to make the possibility of an ongoing series quite tantalising.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Journalist Hope Barber disappears two weeks after returning to New Zealand from an assignment in Pakistan, leaving her front door open and her bag and phone in the house.
Hope’s brother Noah contacts Hunter Grant and his partner Dao, to investigate her disappearance as the New Zealand police are reluctant to become involved.
The reader is soon drawn into the mystery with the author cleverly incorporating details about Hope’s time in Pakistan which seems to raise more questions.
When I received The Single Thing, I was intrigued by the cover, a plain black background with a white wheely bin on the front cover, but thanks to Hope’s blog writing it was soon revealed why this simple design was used by Tara Cooney Design.
This is the first book by the New Zealand based author I have read and I found it a thoroughly absorbing read. Hunter had appeared in a previous book by Clough, The Chinese Proverb, when he used his front-line Army experience to save Dao.
I soon picked up the background to the earlier book as Clough recaps key facts at intervals in the early chapters of The Single Thing, so I did not feel at a disadvantage picking up the story at this stage.
The novel highlights a number of modern global issues, such as ‘honour killings’ which Hope Barber had been investigating in Pakistan, and Clough skillfully incorporates how surveillance can affect someone’s life without them being are of what is going on.
The story moves along at a steady pace, the chapters a short and I enjoyed Clough’s descriptive style “The rain starts as we drive on to the Harbour Bridge; within minutes it is a downpour of tropical proportions. The windscreen is a blur of running water, cleared for only a fraction of a second by each sweep of the wiper blades.”
Anyone who enjoys crime/ mystery novels will find this an engrossing read and I am wondering if Tina Clough will find another assignment for Hunter Grant, Dao and their dog Scruff as she has established solid characters which will appeal to not just New Zealanders but a worldwide readership.

[Trish McCormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those stories that gets under the skin and it’s down to a few things but mainly the rich characters. Hope, Hunter and Dao are all drawn with depth and compassion so we care about what happens to them. And as for the story- it’s accomplished and a page turner but it also makes you think about things in a different way. The consequences of a good deed, a new twist on the dangers of surveillance for a start. I liked the way this novel was structured with Hope’s stories and the present tense narrative work well. Love Scruff. And I’ll never look at a wheely bin in the same way again!

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel, seet in Auckland, New Zealand, follows on from The Chinese Proverb and we again follow the lives of Hunter and Dao, an unlikely, but interesting pairing.
Hope Barber 's brother is concerned about her disappearance, certain that she is in danger but the police are not following up. The brother, Noah is introduced to Hunter, and Dao encourages him to investigate. He soon discovers that Hope was being followed, and watched.
I soon became invested in the story, keen to know Hope's fate and concerned for her welfare. While I find Hunter a wee bit too macho - although that comes in very handy on several occasions, I do like the character of Dao - quietly determined, considerate of others, and full of compassion for the underdog, possibly because of what happened to her (read The Chinese Proverb to find out)
I will certainly be interested to read the next outing of Hunter and Dao.

[Ruth Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent read with Dao and Hunter as the main characters. Would recommend reading The .Chinese Proverb first, even tho this book stands on it’s own it follows on.

[Bronwyn Hegarty · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is readable and I wanted to findout what happened and the premise had potential but unfortunately this novel - second in the series - did not have the same depth and intensity as the first book - the Chinese Proverb. The really good scenes when bad stuff happened were glossed over. If only they had been developed and expanded, this would have been a much better crime thriller.

For example, it was disappointing that the mystery around the woman who disappeared was not developed in more detail.

Hunter's voice is unconvincing as an ex-army 30 something man who organises mercenaries to go to jobs around the world. He is caring towards Dao - the woman he found in the bush in the first novel - and that is great but the fussyness surrounding his manner and actions seem to be more like what you would expect from someone like the author. I got a little annoyed by the way Dao and Hunter were interfering in everything, and acting unethically - I would have liked more grit in the story and better characterisation - the plot was an excellent concept for a story. Overall, it just didn't do it for me.

[Averil Wills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when I was feeling sad that I had finished A Chinese proverb I found out there was a second Hunter Grant book. I couldn't wait to get home to read it. I think I literally devoured this book. An intriguing story that doesn't disappoint. Recommend.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was interesting and not too hard to keep track of the characters. It’s always good to read a book set in New Zealand specifically Auckland.