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stormlightreader 's review for:
Canned Hunt
by Kerry K. Cox
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Brief synopsis: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Nick Tanner goes undercover to follow up on another agent’s investigation—one that may have led to her murder. Tanner is drawn into a world of a wildlife trafficking family, a crooked sheriff, a white nationalist church, and a killer with the perfect alibi.
Overall thoughts: I found this in the 'Read Now' section on NetGalley and was intrigued by the premise of canned hunting as the basis for a thriller. I am familiar with what canned hunting is, so I'm grateful to Cox for not going into a great amount of detail on the methods used to subdue the animals (the detail we did get was sad enough). It was good to see examples of different wildlife crimes: large mammals (canned hunting) and butterflies (trafficking).
I read this over 2 days and initially I went back and forth on it a lot in the first 100 or so pages, mainly due to lines like: "a bustline that gave the uniform buttons a workout" and (in reference to a climb) "five thousand feet had Tanner panting like a porn star". However, after the first 100 or so pages this became less frequent and the plot picked up. I didn't find Tanner particularly likeable (perhaps due to the aforementioned quotes) but I did like Martinez. Her and Tanner had good banter and she was just more likeable, as was Danni. My favourite character by far though was Ray! The overall atmosphere of the book was probably the best thing about it (besides Ray!). It really did feel like I was reading about a corrupt little town, where people are so detached they just make up their own rules and authority.
I am constantly on the lookout for ecothrillers but my last one (Eden by Tim Lebbon) was a disappointment but this one was way better.
Overall thoughts: I found this in the 'Read Now' section on NetGalley and was intrigued by the premise of canned hunting as the basis for a thriller. I am familiar with what canned hunting is, so I'm grateful to Cox for not going into a great amount of detail on the methods used to subdue the animals (the detail we did get was sad enough). It was good to see examples of different wildlife crimes: large mammals (canned hunting) and butterflies (trafficking).
I read this over 2 days and initially I went back and forth on it a lot in the first 100 or so pages, mainly due to lines like: "a bustline that gave the uniform buttons a workout" and (in reference to a climb) "five thousand feet had Tanner panting like a porn star". However, after the first 100 or so pages this became less frequent and the plot picked up. I didn't find Tanner particularly likeable (perhaps due to the aforementioned quotes) but I did like Martinez. Her and Tanner had good banter and she was just more likeable, as was Danni. My favourite character by far though was Ray! The overall atmosphere of the book was probably the best thing about it (besides Ray!). It really did feel like I was reading about a corrupt little town, where people are so detached they just make up their own rules and authority.
I am constantly on the lookout for ecothrillers but my last one (Eden by Tim Lebbon) was a disappointment but this one was way better.