How have I never read a Lisa Unger book until now?!?! This was one of those titles I've seen floating around on GR, never really paying attention, then deciding to finally check out to see what all the noise was about. I AM SO GLAD I DID. From the first to last page I was hooked. I could have easily read this in just a couple sittings, but chose to savor & absorb Unger's fantastic prose, which at times felt like agony because I was dying to see what would happen next. And can we take a moment to appreciate that beautiful cover?
Immediately trying to figure out where I should go next from here so if any Unger fans would like to give recs, I'd really appreciate it!
THE RED HUNTER involves two women whose past eventually overlaps their present. We have Claudia, a single mother who was raped in a home invasion, leaving her with a daughter, Raven. Claudia decides to move out of the city to the countryside that she inherited from her father, where the next house isn't for a mile. Claudia has a blog where she discusses what it's like to be a parent as well as a rape survivor- not to mention Raven is asking some hard questions about discovering her true biological father. While this is happening, Claudia decides that she definitely needs to renovate the house. Josh, the handyman, shows up at her doorstep & although a little poke is playing at her doubt, Claudia shoos it away & lets him inside. After all, how much harm could he be?
Zoey, the sole survivor of her parent's brutal murder, has been kicking ass & taking names for the last several years. Becoming a student in tae kwan do & committing herself to the art of self-defense, you'd be accurate in saying Zoey is one angry soul. And why shouldn't she be? After a decade, there still isn't any justice for her parents. Zoey eventually comes to the conclusion that she must be the judge/jury in this case, she must seek revenge. She must get the justice they deserve. In Zoey's case, this conversation between her & her teacher pretty much sums it up:
"Revenge seeks chaos," he said. "Justice seeks balance. That's the difference."
"That seems pretty vague to me," I said. "Open to interpretation."
"Okay, how about this: when you plan revenge, you should dig two graves--one of them for yourself."
I decided not to mention that that's been the plan all along.
Both Claudia's & Zoey's lives intersect when things come to a head- actions have consequences, energies get awakened & things have a way of coming back to us in the end. THE RED HUNTER brings up some painful & raw topics-- being the daughter of a rape survivor, the corruption of control money holds over you, how far you're willing to go to extract "justice", how much anger fuels you- for a little while at least, until it poisons you, etc. So much substance here for a mere 356 pages! Frankly, there's a bunch of novels out there that have sexual assault/abuse survivors as the MCs, but I've never seen character growth done quite so tactfully as Unger has here. Not a single character in here is flat & there is no fluff hidden in between the pages. Perhaps this is what Unger is known for, but for someone just coming into the game, it was utterly refreshing.
THE RED HUNTER is filled with twists & turns (perhaps not all that unpredictable, but with multilayered characters it's a worthwhile ride), intense questions that will resonate with you long after, as well as a few moments filled with just plain fun. I honestly didn't expect to love this as much as I did & am purchasing a copy for my own library. (Which I know isn't really a big deal, but for someone who has been forced to downsize their bookshelf by 90% so they mostly get ebooks/library copies, it's a significant deal to me.) I cannot recommend this enough. If there's one thriller you're looking for in 2017, make it this one.
Is this who you want to be?
Yes, it is, I answer to the voice in my head. It is precisely who I want to be.