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claudetteb's review against another edition
5.0
Meg Gardiner never disappoints. This is a stand-alone book and a wonderful thriller. Meg Gardiner is one of my favourite authors mainly because of her strong female characters, and this book goes right to the top of the list. All the characters are well-defined, the story is so fast paced that it's hard to stop reading, and she ties it all together at the end, to produce a satisfying, thrilling read!
seddso's review against another edition
4.0
this was a 100 miles an hour book - exhausting to read but in all, a good little thriller with a few little twists. 3.5 would be my preferred rating
inveterateskimmer's review against another edition
3.0
Engaging plot, good structure. Maybe a bit too many cuts, but overall pleasantly diverting, a very standard member of the genre.
belle505's review against another edition
3.0
Completely sucked you in from the beginning, but kinda fell apart. Wasn't my favorite by her.
bherrera's review against another edition
5.0
A great fast paced thriller. It starts out when the main character finds out her sisters daughter has been microchipped by an evil cult clan that wants her back. Since her sister was killed under mysterious circumstances, she's been caring for her sisters daughter as her own. They then have to go into hiding and run from the clan but also from the FBI as the main character is considered a fugitive and kidnapper. From then on the action doesn't slow until the big showdown in an old airplane graveyard in the southwest.
Very fun book and nice satisfying ending.
Very fun book and nice satisfying ending.
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
4.0
How did we end up here?
The publicist from Dutton sent me over some information and asked me if I wanted to read it. After looking at the blurb it sounded like something I would enjoy so I accepted. It’s as simple as that.
Okay, book. You've got 50 pages. Go!
Within the first fifty pages Sarah’s on the run with Zoe and the poop has properly embedded itself in the rotating device. The first handful of pages actually open with a glimpse into Sarah’s job, which was interesting in and of itself: she’s a skip tracer, basically hunting down people who are trying to evade court (but not a bail bondsman, that’s a different game). She has to get a little sleazy in order to get her job done but she does it and that sleaze is a bit of a hook. In hindsight you don’t really see enough of Sarah’s job in order to relate it to her situation but it still acts as a good segue and her acting is indicative of what’s she’s been doing the last five years of her life.
What worked . . .
The action what non-stop and I really liked how as the plot unfolded the level of people with something invested in the outcome of this whole situation multiplied. At first you get this scope zooming in on just Sarah and Zoe but by the end of the book you might as well me looking through a bucket with the bottom missing. With the number of people convening on this thing it’s a miracle it stayed quiet for as long as it did.
I also really liked the screwed up element of the Worthe clan. I don’t know if this was part of a bigger story from a book past but it was the spine that kept the story together. I just wish there was more to it. I would have liked to have seen more of Beth and Nolan’s involvement beyond the mini-flashback scenes scattered throughout but they sufficed. It beefed the plot up and what was good about it was that each major player in the game got some point of view time so while you’d see the crazy in the Worthes from the outside, every once in a while you’d get to see it from the inside and get to see what’s really motivating these characters instead of getting guessing games from other points of view.
What didn't work . . .
Michael’s last name: Lawless. It’s just so . . . *eyeroll* Of all the last names for a US Marshal that doesn’t play by the rules to have.
Harkin, I felt, had the thinnest role in the whole story and I think his story would have played out just fine if that personal element wasn’t included, especially since it’s left hanging at the end.
While I liked all of the character angles, for the most part, by the end I felt the story was less about Sarah and more about everyone else. With the introduction of so many secondary characters and the need to give them their time in the spotlight to get their story told the focus got lost a little bit. I would have liked to have seen the story keep its focus more on Sarah since she was the driving force of it all.
And the final battle scene felt a little drawn out. By this time, because there had been so much action, so many near-misses, so many escapes I just wanted it to be over but it just kept going. It became a bit of an effort to keep my brain focused on the scene and I found myself skimming a little bit just to make it end a little faster.
And in the end . . .
I really liked THE SHADOW TRACER. It was a quick read without being insubstantial. The story was meaty, you got to know a lot of characters without knowing too much about them but enough so that they were more than one-dimensional on the page and you got to understand people’s motivations and that they weren’t always what they seemed. Sarah’s a relatable character that doesn’t make any massive departures from character in order to serve the plot and she seems to keep the situation grounded around Zoe. Her motivation is to protect Zoe. Period. And Zoe became more of a presence in the story after a while instead of someone that’s actually present which I actually liked. While the focus was on Zoe it was more on the idea of her rather than the child. It kept it from being a kid story and I think if it did go down that route I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. Her roll was mostly passive and it allowed plot elements to come to pass that probably wouldn’t have if she were more active.
I’d like to take a look at more books by Gardiner. Her writing style is great and it hooks me in pretty quickly. If THE SHADOW TRACER is indicative of her other books I’d definitely give them a try.
The publicist from Dutton sent me over some information and asked me if I wanted to read it. After looking at the blurb it sounded like something I would enjoy so I accepted. It’s as simple as that.
Okay, book. You've got 50 pages. Go!
Within the first fifty pages Sarah’s on the run with Zoe and the poop has properly embedded itself in the rotating device. The first handful of pages actually open with a glimpse into Sarah’s job, which was interesting in and of itself: she’s a skip tracer, basically hunting down people who are trying to evade court (but not a bail bondsman, that’s a different game). She has to get a little sleazy in order to get her job done but she does it and that sleaze is a bit of a hook. In hindsight you don’t really see enough of Sarah’s job in order to relate it to her situation but it still acts as a good segue and her acting is indicative of what’s she’s been doing the last five years of her life.
What worked . . .
The action what non-stop and I really liked how as the plot unfolded the level of people with something invested in the outcome of this whole situation multiplied. At first you get this scope zooming in on just Sarah and Zoe but by the end of the book you might as well me looking through a bucket with the bottom missing. With the number of people convening on this thing it’s a miracle it stayed quiet for as long as it did.
I also really liked the screwed up element of the Worthe clan. I don’t know if this was part of a bigger story from a book past but it was the spine that kept the story together. I just wish there was more to it. I would have liked to have seen more of Beth and Nolan’s involvement beyond the mini-flashback scenes scattered throughout but they sufficed. It beefed the plot up and what was good about it was that each major player in the game got some point of view time so while you’d see the crazy in the Worthes from the outside, every once in a while you’d get to see it from the inside and get to see what’s really motivating these characters instead of getting guessing games from other points of view.
What didn't work . . .
Michael’s last name: Lawless. It’s just so . . . *eyeroll* Of all the last names for a US Marshal that doesn’t play by the rules to have.
Harkin, I felt, had the thinnest role in the whole story and I think his story would have played out just fine if that personal element wasn’t included, especially since it’s left hanging at the end.
While I liked all of the character angles, for the most part, by the end I felt the story was less about Sarah and more about everyone else. With the introduction of so many secondary characters and the need to give them their time in the spotlight to get their story told the focus got lost a little bit. I would have liked to have seen the story keep its focus more on Sarah since she was the driving force of it all.
And the final battle scene felt a little drawn out. By this time, because there had been so much action, so many near-misses, so many escapes I just wanted it to be over but it just kept going. It became a bit of an effort to keep my brain focused on the scene and I found myself skimming a little bit just to make it end a little faster.
And in the end . . .
I really liked THE SHADOW TRACER. It was a quick read without being insubstantial. The story was meaty, you got to know a lot of characters without knowing too much about them but enough so that they were more than one-dimensional on the page and you got to understand people’s motivations and that they weren’t always what they seemed. Sarah’s a relatable character that doesn’t make any massive departures from character in order to serve the plot and she seems to keep the situation grounded around Zoe. Her motivation is to protect Zoe. Period. And Zoe became more of a presence in the story after a while instead of someone that’s actually present which I actually liked. While the focus was on Zoe it was more on the idea of her rather than the child. It kept it from being a kid story and I think if it did go down that route I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. Her roll was mostly passive and it allowed plot elements to come to pass that probably wouldn’t have if she were more active.
I’d like to take a look at more books by Gardiner. Her writing style is great and it hooks me in pretty quickly. If THE SHADOW TRACER is indicative of her other books I’d definitely give them a try.
giantsdancefarm's review against another edition
4.0
given a different scoring system, this might have been 9 out of 10, or 4.5 of 5.
ariereads's review against another edition
3.0
3.75
The Shadow Tracer is M. G. Gardiner’s eleventh crime thriller, and from the very first page it is clear that we are in the hands of a professional. The reader is taken on a nail-biting ride through the Southern States, and, as Sarah’s story gains complexity, the chance of anyone getting out alive becomes doubtful.
The characters are generally well rounded, with clear motivations that fit the plot well. However, a few things are touched on that are never quite explained or developed further. Zoe seems to have a hint of a supernatural ability, or at the very least incredible intuition, but it seems to only be used when the characters need to know something to further the plot, rather than as an interesting plot point on its own. I'm still really curious to know whether this intuitive power is actually going to be utilised in later books, or if it remains a crutch for the author to lean on when fore-shadowing is needed or the character wouldn't get out of a situation without knowing something impossible to know. Luckily none of this gets in the way of the story, and for the most part, The Shadow Tracer is thoroughly enjoyable.
Full review here
**Advanced review copy received from the publisher through Nz Booklovers
The Shadow Tracer is M. G. Gardiner’s eleventh crime thriller, and from the very first page it is clear that we are in the hands of a professional. The reader is taken on a nail-biting ride through the Southern States, and, as Sarah’s story gains complexity, the chance of anyone getting out alive becomes doubtful.
The characters are generally well rounded, with clear motivations that fit the plot well. However, a few things are touched on that are never quite explained or developed further. Zoe seems to have a hint of a supernatural ability, or at the very least incredible intuition, but it seems to only be used when the characters need to know something to further the plot, rather than as an interesting plot point on its own. I'm still really curious to know whether this intuitive power is actually going to be utilised in later books, or if it remains a crutch for the author to lean on when fore-shadowing is needed or the character wouldn't get out of a situation without knowing something impossible to know. Luckily none of this gets in the way of the story, and for the most part, The Shadow Tracer is thoroughly enjoyable.
Full review here
**Advanced review copy received from the publisher through Nz Booklovers
chaos_and_cabernet's review against another edition
5.0
Page turner. Stress inducer. This one is GOOD.