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Release date: June 22, 2016

Publisher: Bookouture

Genre: Thriller

Goodreads blurb: 

He watches. He waits. He kills … 

When Jessie Conway survives a horrific mass high school shooting, in the aftermath she finds herself thrust into the media spotlight, drawing all kinds of attention. But some of it is the wrong kind. 

Caleb Switch, a sadistic serial killer has been watching her every move. A skilled hunter, he likes his victims to be a challenge to him. Jessie is strong, fearless, a survivor, and now…she is his ultimate prey. 

As Caleb picks off his current victims one by one, chasing, killing and butchering them with his crossbow, he’s closing in on Jessie… But will Jessie defy the odds and escape with her life? Or will she be Caleb’s final sacrifice … 

Review: 

From chapter one this book takes you on a nonstop roller coaster of a ride. It opens with Jessie, a thirty something teacher in the middle of a typical school day, but this day is anything but typical as it turns into a horror show as students with guns appear and open fire. Jessie is quick thinking and intelligent and manages to save the lives of several students and is soon lauded as the town hero.

But this act of heroism has a hefty price tag as it’s made her catch the evil eye of Caleb Switch. You see, he is a hunter and he is no longer satisfied by simply hunting big game animals, he now hunts humans.

This book has several compelling characters that are well developed and intriguing. Besides Jessie there is her brother in law Ace, an ex con. While he’s made some mistakes and bad choices in the past, it seems that now he is ready to do what’s right. Darla is a local reporter who will not let anything stop her from getting to the heart of a story. Caleb is a cold blooded, cunning sociopath with no emotions and no regrets. He places his victims into two categories; A or B with A being reserved for those he feels are the strongest and smartest. 

Since the killer is revealed right from the start, there is no mystery behind that aspect. There were a few twists, but only one really surprised me. Rather than keeping you constantly guessing whodunnit, this book ramps up the suspense while you’re waiting for the action to unfold. The reader knows the who, and some of the how, but you don’t know when. 

The only thing missing for me was more detail about Darla’s story. I enjoyed her and would’ve liked to learn what happened to her in the end. There were also mentions of Jessie’s brother a few times, then…nothing. I had a few theories about him that I had hoped would come up but nothing panned out. 

If you’re set on a story with lots of twists and turns then this probably isn’t for you, but if you want a wonderfully written thriller with well developed characters and fast paced chapters told from several interesting viewpoints, give this one a read.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy in exchange for an honest review.