Shadow Valley

Don't plan to do anything else once you start this book. It's a wonderful thriller with lots of interesting plot twists!

Ms. Hunter has written yet another superb novel with Shadow Valley. I really am in awe of her talent, and consider her to be one of the best writers in America today. Thus it is that when I read nasty, one star, reviews of her books, that I am forced to conclude that whomever posted it has got to be a jealous, frustrated, would-be author. What a shame.

I'm a big fan of this author's Dr. Rae Lynch series so I was disappointed that her latest was not a Dr. Rae book. After having it sit on my shelf for months I finally read it. What a great read. It is a very engrossing thriller and it did not disappoint me at all. I liked the characters and I'm a big fan of secondary characters and this book had several I loved. I liked the look into the world of SAR and I'm glad it was the main focus of the book. There was a romance storyline but it was just enough to enjoy without being over done. I'm really glad that I finally read this book.

This was my first book by this author and I was very impressed. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

While waiting for her divorce to be finalized from her cheating spouse, Mackenzie Morgan and her teenage daughter Bella take photographs of an abandoned fishery in an isolated part of the Appalachians. However, their solitude is disturbed when geologist Dell Shirley arrives on a horse accompanied by two dogs. Dell ties up Mac expecting her to die and abducts Bella. Refusing to sit idly by while her daughter is in trouble, Mac treks four miles although still tied up until she reaches a ranger. The police begin a search and rescue led by volunteer tracker Caleb Howell while Bella's dad Marlowe blames Mac and acts as the caring concerned father and martyr with the media. However, the seemingly random kidnapping runs closer to home as truths begin to surface, but the chances of Bella surviving her ordeal get slimmer by the second. This exhilarating suspense thriller with a romantic subplot that rightfully takes a back seat to the abduction will elate fans as the action never slows down until the final altercation. Fans will admire the courageous "superwoman" who is a lioness out to save her cub; on the other hand readers will hiss at her unsympathetic spouse who brings his latest bimbo to the Appalachians. The final twist will surprise the audience, but seems right as Gwen Hunter writes a tense search and hopefully rescue tale.