The Shadow Tracer takes no time at all to pull you in, and it never lets you go until the end.
Sarah is a shadow tracer. She finds people who are hiding out from the law -- usually to serve them with a subpoena. Her 5-year-old is one of the victims in a school bus accident, and when Sarah goes to the hospital, the doctor finds that Zoe, the 5-year-old, has an identification chip embedded in her neck -- like a dog would have. Sarah knows nothing about the chip, but she knows that secrets that she has been running from are now going to come to the surface.
Thus begins a cross country run from both the authorities and a very powerful crime family -- who want Zoe returned to them at all costs. Sarah's profession helps a lot as she tries to stay hidden and off the radar, but she also has no one she can trust. Sarah isn't really Zoe's mother -- Sarah's sister was the mother, and she entrusted Zoe to Sarah as she was dying.
This is my first Meg Gardiner book, but I will be looking up some of her others. She has a way of making you really care about her characters. I also liked how the line between the good guys and bad guys was somewhat ambiguous -- in particular an FBI agent with his own agenda. Also, the crime family is about as fanatic as I've seen -- and evil to go along with it.
Sarah and Zoe get in one scrape after another, but have some people who are supporting them and trying to help them. In particular, Sarah's boss, Danisha, who is a colorful character. There's also the unlikely nun, Teresa, who I would have liked to see stick around until the end of the book, rather than making a rather quick entrance, then exit.
The ending leaves the possibility of future stories with some of these characters, and I think I would really be interested in reading more about Sarah's adventures. She's tough, but sympathetic, and I really enjoyed getting to know her.
Teens who enjoy crime drama and escape/survival stories will have no problem enjoying
The Shadow Tracer, and I look forward to recommending it to them in the fall. I really had difficulty putting this book down when I needed to!
The publisher is allowing me to host a giveaway for a copy of
The Shadow Tracer. Please watch for my giveaway post tomorrow! I'll put a
link to it here, after I've posted it too.
Published by Dutton Adult, June 27, 2013
Copy obtained from the publisher for review
358 pages
Rating: 5/5
