‘Attack is the only defence’
[ About the Book ]
A troubled genius who vanishes in a mysterious car crash.
A disillusioned cop sensing conspiracy in the corridors of power.
A ruthless team of mercenaries operating in the shadows.
A billion-dollar business that wants the world in its grip.
One link connects them all.
A champion fighter. Betrayed and searching for the truth.
CAMERON KING IS THE HUNTER.
[ My Review ]
The Hunter is the debut novel from Scottish writer, Andrew Reid and was published in paperback on 7th February 2019 by Headline. It is described as ‘a nerve-shredding debut thriller full of twists and turns, perfect for fans of Terry Hayes’ I AM PILGRIM, Rob Sinclair’s SLEEPER 13 and Karen Cleveland’s NEED TO KNOW’
The Hunter follows the story of Cameron King, a champion fighter whose career was suddenly halted by a horrendous car accident causing terrible injuries to Cameron and resulting in the disappearance of her brother. The day of the accident Cameron noticed her brother to be on edge as he drove through bad weather with an almost reckless abandon. Following the shocking crash that did inevitably follow, Cameron woke up in the car in pain but also in panic, as her brother, Nate, had just vanished. He had been the driver of the car but now there was no trace of him. Where had Nate disappeared to? And why the subterfuge?
Eighteen months later, following her recovery from the accident, Cameron has to face the realisation that her championship days are behind her. Her determination is still intact so she gathers herself up and starts the hunt for Nate. With no experience of searching for someone who does not want to be found, Cameron looks to skip tracing (bounty hunter) as her method of finding Nate. Cameron is tech savvy and is all too aware that in order to search for Nate, she needs to learn and learn fast. She makes the decision to go for the more challenging skip traces, always increasing her knowledge and upping the challenge.
‘Training herself to find him had meant going after the hardest skips, the sort of people you didn’t find while sitting in your armchair. You had to get out in the world. You had to hunt….you had to be willing to take a risk’
But as Cameron is soon to discover the search for Nate is a very complex one, leading her into extremely dangerous and challenging situations. Cameron will need every ounce of strength and courage to survive and to find out the truth about Nate…..
The Hunter is an action-packed novel containing a plethora of technological vocab and terminology. It moves at the pace of a high-octane Hollywood blockbuster with the explosive sequences and quite graphic violence very visual to the reader. There is a futuristic element to the novel, with a Bond-like feel to the plot-line. It’s quite obvious that Andrew Reid is very much excited by the possibility of what our society is capable of, with his own background as a research scientist in projects involving DNA synthesis, forensics and drug development filtering through.
I did find the continuous use of present tense a little jarring and felt that it did take from the overall adrenaline-pumping vibe of the plot but, in saying that, this is a debut novel and I am happily comparing it to Bond!!!!
The Hunter is an entertaining debut and Cameron King is a feisty and tough protagonist. I wonder if she will be returning any time soon?
[ Bio ]
Born in Scotland, Andrew worked as a research scientist for almost a decade, on projects including DNA synthesis, forensics, and drug development. His short fiction has featured in several anthologies published by Fox Spirit books and his fantasy novel serial on Wattpad amassed nearly 175,000 reads.
THE HUNTER is his debut novel
Twitter ~ @mygoditsraining
Wonderful review! You’ve definitely made me curious.
Glad to hear! Thank you 🙂