This book was exactly what I wanted to listen to last week. I was looking for something with action and suspense, but not a thousand different characters and multiple story lines coming together. Complexity is great sometimes, but I just wasn’t in the mood for that, if you know what I mean. It also didn’t hurt that it was set in a cold climate, which turned out to be my home state of Alaska. Great! The fact that it was by Black Crouch was just a bonus.
So yes, there are a few unbelievable things, as others have mentioned. A father takes his sick daughter into life-threatening situations, which is completely out of character for him. An Alaskan wilderness guide drops a family off in the wilderness at the beginning of winter without any training or (as far as he knows) any way to protect themselves. This might only be unbelievable to some one who has been here, but seriously, it’s borderline impossible. This is a state where it’s illegal to leave the lid off your garbage can because it might attract bears that could harm others. What do you think we do to licensed wilderness guides who drop families off in the bush at the tail end of bear season to be eaten?
However, in spite of these minor flaws, the story was fast paced and interesting. It had some twists, but unlike others I didn’t find them at all unbelievable, and everything made sense at the end. I think perhaps those who said the twists were overdone didn’t really get it, since they are all in fact necessary to make the story fit together. Maybe they didn’t listen all the way to the end?
At any rate, I thought this was a solid book and a very good listen. I recommend it.