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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
Cover Your Tracks by Daco S. Auffenorde - 2.75/5
S U M M A R Y
Margo Fletcher and Nick Eliot are on a train from Chicago to Spokane when a devastating avalanche hits the train while it is passing through the Rockies. Nick, a former special forces soldier, has the foresight to know the back of the train is safest, but Margo, 8 months pregnant, is the only one who listens to him, and thus they are the only 2 to presumably survive the calamity. But as they struggle in the wilderness afterward, nothing is really as it initially appeared, and Margo starts to have paranoid thoughts surrounding the man who saved her life.
C H A R A C T E R S
For all they seem to be fleshed out, they still felt somewhat superficial to me. I never really connected in any way to either of them. There was always a feeling of distance and remoteness even as you learned about some of the dark secrets of their respective pasts. We were repeatedly hit over the head that Margo is a doctor, Margo is a doctor, she's pregnant, she's pregnant, and those were her defining characteristics as a person. For Nick, it was that he was a soldier, a soldier, he had to know what he was doing, right? I never particularly liked either of them, though I did admire Margo in the end.
I also feel that there were various threads having to do with mental health were left dangling but never resolved or addressed in any way. The word crazy was thrown around a few times, but truly, I don't think it was truly accurate or appropriately used. Nick was truly disturbed, but it was never truly touched on - despite Margo BEING A DOCTOR. Ahem.
P L O T
Honestly, I feel like most of this book was an exercise in the suspension of disbelief. I can buy that there are coyotes in the Rockies - but to have a random, rabid one show up? In the middle of a blizzard? Honestly, I don't buy that. And then to have an otherwise intelligent woman like Margo buy that there was a leopard stalking them? Excuse me, we don't have leopards of any size that far north. Literally almost any other predator could have been named.
Too, I found it hard to swallow that no one had ever caught on to how disturbed Nick was? Since childhood? He was never caught, no one ever suspected, even in the military? Really? Pretty sure special forces has psych evals that would have turned something up.
Leaving aside those things, I suppose it was decent book, if a little overfilled with ingrained misogyny that you would think a single woman doctor like Margo would have overcome at least partially. I mean, I understand hormones, but ... sheesh, lady, you're supposedly a put together, confident doctor.
Those things aside, there was rarely a dull moment, things kept moving forward, and I really enjoyed the last 10% or so as it climaxed and things fell into place.
N A R R A T I O N
The narration was good, I have no issues with the narrator or how things were voiced. Good job.
O V E R A L L
If the first two thirds had been as well edited and paced as the last 10% or so, this would have been a really good read. As it stands, though, my above nitpicks kept nagging at me and throwing me out of the story, and I kept going "really?!" at Margo. But if you're good at suspending your disbelief, I'd say you would quite enjoy this thriller.
S U M M A R Y
Margo Fletcher and Nick Eliot are on a train from Chicago to Spokane when a devastating avalanche hits the train while it is passing through the Rockies. Nick, a former special forces soldier, has the foresight to know the back of the train is safest, but Margo, 8 months pregnant, is the only one who listens to him, and thus they are the only 2 to presumably survive the calamity. But as they struggle in the wilderness afterward, nothing is really as it initially appeared, and Margo starts to have paranoid thoughts surrounding the man who saved her life.
C H A R A C T E R S
For all they seem to be fleshed out, they still felt somewhat superficial to me. I never really connected in any way to either of them. There was always a feeling of distance and remoteness even as you learned about some of the dark secrets of their respective pasts. We were repeatedly hit over the head that Margo is a doctor, Margo is a doctor, she's pregnant, she's pregnant, and those were her defining characteristics as a person. For Nick, it was that he was a soldier, a soldier, he had to know what he was doing, right? I never particularly liked either of them, though I did admire Margo in the end.
I also feel that there were various threads having to do with mental health were left dangling but never resolved or addressed in any way. The word crazy was thrown around a few times, but truly, I don't think it was truly accurate or appropriately used. Nick was truly disturbed, but it was never truly touched on - despite Margo BEING A DOCTOR. Ahem.
P L O T
Honestly, I feel like most of this book was an exercise in the suspension of disbelief. I can buy that there are coyotes in the Rockies - but to have a random, rabid one show up? In the middle of a blizzard? Honestly, I don't buy that. And then to have an otherwise intelligent woman like Margo buy that there was a leopard stalking them? Excuse me, we don't have leopards of any size that far north. Literally almost any other predator could have been named.
Too, I found it hard to swallow that no one had ever caught on to how disturbed Nick was? Since childhood? He was never caught, no one ever suspected, even in the military? Really? Pretty sure special forces has psych evals that would have turned something up.
Leaving aside those things, I suppose it was decent book, if a little overfilled with ingrained misogyny that you would think a single woman doctor like Margo would have overcome at least partially. I mean, I understand hormones, but ... sheesh, lady, you're supposedly a put together, confident doctor.
Those things aside, there was rarely a dull moment, things kept moving forward, and I really enjoyed the last 10% or so as it climaxed and things fell into place.
N A R R A T I O N
The narration was good, I have no issues with the narrator or how things were voiced. Good job.
O V E R A L L
If the first two thirds had been as well edited and paced as the last 10% or so, this would have been a really good read. As it stands, though, my above nitpicks kept nagging at me and throwing me out of the story, and I kept going "really?!" at Margo. But if you're good at suspending your disbelief, I'd say you would quite enjoy this thriller.
Cover Your Tracks Review
I wanted to read this book solely based on the cover. It just looks like it would be a good book. Therefore, I went in thinking I was going to love it. The premise was okay, but the book itself was just... meh. It was very, very, unbelievable which I could have gotten past. But I did not love how they handled a few of the topics in the book, specifically PTSD.
Margot is a doctor and 8 months pregnant while taking a train to visit family. When an avalanche is hurling itself at the train, another passenger, Nick, convinces her to move from her seat. The two of them survive the ordeal but with no help coming, and more avalanches, they are struggling to survive.
Warnings: adoption, teen pregnancy, PTSD, death, war, animal mutilation, racial slur
I wanted to read this book solely based on the cover. It just looks like it would be a good book. Therefore, I went in thinking I was going to love it. The premise was okay, but the book itself was just... meh. It was very, very, unbelievable which I could have gotten past. But I did not love how they handled a few of the topics in the book, specifically PTSD.
Margot is a doctor and 8 months pregnant while taking a train to visit family. When an avalanche is hurling itself at the train, another passenger, Nick, convinces her to move from her seat. The two of them survive the ordeal but with no help coming, and more avalanches, they are struggling to survive.
Warnings: adoption, teen pregnancy, PTSD, death, war, animal mutilation, racial slur
This story was unlike anything I have read before. You could feel their raw emotions and my heart would race at every twist. Their individual histories were revealed at the perfect time to give you just enough information without spoiling the ending (which was absolutely incredible). I highly recommend this one to anybody who needs to spice up their bookshelves.
This was awful. I have no clue why I finished it. I won't waste your time with a rant so here's the basics:
-Weird anti abortion (and maybe anti adoption??) through line
- NO exposition, train crashes like page two
-Only two characters so obvious one's evil
-No tension building whatsoever, little thrill
-Horrible depiction of mental illness
-Vaguely racist towards middle eastern people
-No conclusion really, the second she escapes it just cuts off
My favorite thriller setup is people trapped by snow, but this book couldn't even make me feel a chill under a literal avalanche
-Weird anti abortion (and maybe anti adoption??) through line
- NO exposition, train crashes like page two
-Only two characters so obvious one's evil
-No tension building whatsoever, little thrill
-Horrible depiction of mental illness
-Vaguely racist towards middle eastern people
-No conclusion really, the second she escapes it just cuts off
My favorite thriller setup is people trapped by snow, but this book couldn't even make me feel a chill under a literal avalanche
This book is out of my usual comfort zone when it comes to genre, but I picked this one up back in October because I thought it would be a suitable read for spooky season! And it was. Sort of.
Read my full review here: https://9thstreetbooks.com/blog/cover-your-tracks-by-daco-s-auffenorde
Read my full review here: https://9thstreetbooks.com/blog/cover-your-tracks-by-daco-s-auffenorde
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes