The Red Hunter Paperback – 29 May 2018

I have listened to some of Lisa Unger's books and enjoyed them all. This didn't disappoint! Characters I could sympathise with, good plot, gripping throughout. A great 'read'.

Red, the colour of anger and revenge, and the colour Zoey imagines inside herself as she prowls the streets of New York looking for people who need saving. It’s not all altruistic though, it’s her way of taking control of her life, something she doesn’t feel and hasn’t had since her parents were killed and she was left for dead 10 years previously. No one was ever arrested for the murders but Zoey knows who is guilty and, now, she feels strong enough to start making them pay.On the outskirts of New York, Claudia is looking to start afresh, having left the city and moved into a run down farmhouse left to her by her father. Her plan is to rebuild and refinish the farm, creating a life away from the grind of the city for her and her daughter. Like Zoey, Claudia has a past touched by violence – her daughter, Raven, is possibly the result of rape. She has never wanted to know but it has coloured her and Raven’s lives.As Zoey and Claudia’s stories unfold over alternating chapters it starts to become clear that violence isn’t the only thing that links them and that their lives are on a collision course, destined to intersect and putting them all in danger again. Just how this happens I won’t say (spoilers) but I will say Lisa Unger brings it all together very well, building the tension slowly and steadily until the final scenes.At its core Red Hunter is a pretty simple story and, describing it recently I realised that I made it sound like there isn’t a lot to it. But there is. Unger makes it so much more because the characters she creates are so strong that there is a life to their stories that makes you want to keep reading.Zoey, Claudia, Raven and the supporting case felt so real to me, I cared for them a lot by the end. I’ve seen some of these people before – the angry young woman out for revenge, the older woman looking for a new start and trying to run from her fears – but it didn’t feel that way. They felt fresh, fully formed, and I wanted things to work out for them.The writing itself was clear, crisp, simple like the story but in a good way. I really enjoyed reading it, turning the pages, and didn’t find myself bored once, even when I realised what was coming (because I did, something which normally leaves me disappointed).This is the first Lisa Unger book I’ve read, though a few are on my to read list, and it won’t be the last. The story, the style, the characters. It had everything I enjoy and look for in a book and, as a result, I found myself liking it a lot. Highly recommended.

When I pick up a Lisa Unger book I fully expect certain things: solid, well rounded characters; a good plot; plenty of action, tension and humour plus a sense of well being and satisfaction after the book closes. I believe I've read everything she's written to date and can honestly say this novel feels as fresh and engaging as her first novel. She is a sure thing, for me, and I continue to grab everything she writes. Brilliant stuff!The Red Hunter follows two main story lines - one is Claudia, a single mom whose daughter may/may not be the result of a rape that occurred years ago. The second tracks Zoey, a young woman who witnessed her family murdered when she was a teen. Each has a different story, background, perspective and motivation yet their stories converge and all becomes clear as the tale unfolds.There is a lot of heart in a Lisa Unger book and this book is no different. Claudia, especially, seems the zen, turn the other cheek sort. She has an enlightened view of life, adulthood and parenting and comes across rather inspirational. All that therapy, I'm guessing? If she were a real person, I would make a fast friend of her. She's just positive and delightful, even when she isn't feeling it.The Red Hunter carries a fair number of subplots and supporting characters which help to bring the story to ground. I like the ease of reading this sort of story to distract me from a hectic life and make me feel brighter as a result. As I said before, this is brilliant stuff!

The start of The Red Hunter was a bit slow and it took me some time to connect the different storylines, but as soon as the pace picked up: BAM! Instant pageturner. Each storyline adds something different to the story, and there is no doubt it's a fascinating one. Trigger warnings for rape and violence, but nothing 'too' graphic. The Red Hunter basically focuses on the lives of two different completely different women. Confession: I wasn't a big fan of Claudia Bishop, although it was interesting to see how she tried to deal with her rape trauma and I liked the whole house renovation subplot. Her daughter Raven is without doubt a very interesting character as well... But I found Zoey Drake's chapters to be the most intriguing ones. She had without doubt a very traumatic childhood experience that scarred her for life, and her messed up character was fascinating. And once the pace picks up, the many many MANY plot twists will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page. I had my suspicions about certain things, but I didn't guess the complete truth until the very end. And trust me, after reading so many psychological thrillers, that doesn't happen often. Recommended for fans of the genre!

I love most of Lisa Unger's books. I thoroughly enjoyed this one too.

not something you would read twice

I am a fan of Lisa Unger’s and I enjoy all of her books--although I enjoy some more than others. This book was one which did not have the same impact as some of my favorites (such as Under My Skin or Blackout). The story had much complexity, including multiple plots that did fold in together eventually.All of this book quite complex and twisty to the max, as I tried to keep track of several plot lines. The complexity and numerous charactershad me puzzling as to which person belonged with which story. I found much more repetition than is usual for this author, and that had me skimming portions.There were little things that jangled as I read. I wondered: Would a woman who has a daughter who may or may not be the offspring of a psychopathic killer name her child RAVEN? Amazingly, Raven grows into her gothic-y name; she has very white skin and blue black hair. (Paraphrasing a joke from Jerry Seinfeld – A Parent should be careful when they name their child. Consider that a kid named JEEVES would seem to have his future employment mapped-out.)For me, this story just had too much—too many words—too many characters and back-stories and side-stories. A bit much for me. I feel the book should have been edited down a bit, the story tightened up, and then the truly important plot issues would not be bunched in with the clutter of minor stuff. And yes, coincidences happen – but they abound in this story.Still, I stuck with it. The plot seemed to come together a bit when I was mid-way through, and I love the author’s imagination, which allows dead people to advise Zooey without making a huge plot issue. I wouldn’t recommend to my reading group (as I did with BLACKOUT), but I was involved enough to keep with it for myself.

Possible triggers for abuse5+ stars CompellingThis stand-alone is easy to follow and difficult to put down. No editing or formatting errors. No gratuitous violence or drag-you-down drama.Intriguing storyline with several twists including paranormal activity. Believable characters with distinct personalities. Thought-provoking and memorable dialogue.'A fight, when you must fight, is a dance. You can prepare but not strategize. You are married to your opponent, his movements dictating your own; his weaknesses are your strengths, his mistakes, your opportunities. You must be present, focused, and—most of all—you must breathe. No panic. No anger. Just the breath.''Defense starts on approach, he used to say. Watch the body language, the eyes. Trust your instincts. If it feels like something’s not right, it probably isn’t.'“What happened to you, Kym,” I said, “was not your fault. You are a kid. Your care was entrusted to someone who didn’t deserve it. You were a victim in that moment, but that doesn’t mean you’re a victim for life. You can find your strength, your power. You can create the life that lies ahead of you.”No desire to re-read this story. I am interested in other works by this author.

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Inc. for my free copy of The Red Hunter in exchange for a fair and honest review."What is the difference between justice and revenge?" - Lisa UngerTwo horrific crimes leave two women broken yet surviving on their own terms. Without each other knowing, an old farmhouse serves as their common tie. It's a house of horrors to one woman and a beacon of hope for the other.Years after Claudia's brutal rape, she still struggles to forgive her attacker and move on with her life. Through therapy, self-defense classes and the support of her family (including her estranged husband), she strives for peace and is taking charge of her life once again. She and her teen aged daughter, Raven, have moved into an old farmhouse Claudia inherited when her father died. Her goals for renovating the neglected house are empowering and positive... she has even started a blog!Zoey, on the other hand, has taken a page right out of Lisbeth Salander's play book (she even wears a hoodie). She sees revenge as her only path to salvation. Zoey will not rest until she has served her own brand of justice to the monsters responsible for the murder of her parents as well as her own torture in that old farmhouse all those years ago.She is the Red Hunter. But during Zoey's search for revenge and truth, she unwittingly sets off a chain reaction of evil acts. All leading back to the farmhouse where Cluadia and Raven are trying to start their new lives.While this story is unique, there are a few nods to some intense classic and contemporary novels including: Capote's In Cold Blood, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, and even Steinbeck's East of Eden.This is a fast-paced novel with many twists and turns. Lisa Unger uses several writing styles to tell the story, including flashbacks and first person narrative, which is my personal favorite. The descriptions of sights, sounds, smells, and pain put us in the middle of the drama with our favorite (and least favorite) characters. There is never a dull moment... Fasten your seat belt for this one!

Claudia Bishop’s perfect life fell apart when the aftermath of a brutal assault left her with a crumbling marriage, a newborn daughter, and a constant sense of anxiety about the world around her. Now, looking for a fresh start with a home restoration project and growing blog, Claudia takes on a crumbling old house—one that unbeknownst to her has an ugly history and may hide long buried secrets. For Zoey Drake the defining moment of her childhood was the horrific home invasion murder of her parents. Years later, she has embraced the rage that fuels her. Training in the martial arts has made her strong and ready to face the demons from the past—and within. Strangers to each other, and walking very different paths in the wake of trauma, these two women are on a collision course—because Zoey’s past nightmare and Claudia’s dreams for her future take place in the very same house. As Zoey seeks justice, and Claudia seeks peace, both will confront the monsters at the door that are the most frightening of all.My Thoughts: The intertwined lives of Claudia and Zoey were fascinating, and kept me reading as they told their alternating tales. Zoey, living in the East Village, tells hers with a first person narrative, so we find something more immediate about her story. About the violence that ripped her world apart one night, in Lost Valley, and the ongoing threats that keep her on her toes, learning how to defend herself.A different kind of violence tore Claudia’s life apart, also in the East Village, but moving into her father’s old abandoned house in a town called Lost Valley, with her teenage daughter, is her way of starting over. To renovate the old house, to blog about her adventures, and to find her strength. Not knowing the history of the house allowed Claudia to feel optimistic.Who were the bad guys that murdered Zoey’s parents? How are they now connected to the apparently normal lives that each woman is trying to live? How is each woman dealing with her rage? What will finally trigger another bout of violence, and bring some answers that have plagued them for years?As  The Red Hunter: A Novel  weaves back and forth between the past and the present, we learn more about all the characters, and how the present threat has ended up right back where it started, in an old house in Lost Valley. As Claudia stands before the home that could have been a new beginning, she has a realization: “How had she gotten here? How many accidents and mistakes and choices had she made? How many of them had been wrong or right, good or bad? Maybe that’s all life was, this impossibly complicated helix of choice and accident, things you could control and couldn’t. And when the day was done, the only measure of success was how happy you were, how much you loved and were loved.”Each woman finds something in the answers that will allow her to move forward. A 5 star read. The Red Hunter: A Novel

It's been nearly two decades since the attack that shattered Claudia Bishop's life and marriage. Now divorced, she and her teen daughter have fled NYC and have moved in to a crumbling old house she inherited. Claudia posts a home restoration blog, where she also shares details of her life since the attack.Zoey Drake's life-altering moment was the murder of her father and mother in her childhood home. Zoey didn't go unscathed though, as she was tortured before being rescued. Rather than giving in to her pain, she's spent the last decade training in martial arts, preparing herself for the moment when she confronts those who destroyed her life. The author has crafted two incredibly unique and well-fleshed out characters in these two women. There are dozens of layers to this book and to the author's credit she ties up the ending with a pretty red bow with no strings hanging. You have your answers to all your questions. I found this book to be intense and it was hard to put it down. I won't go into the story more than the above as I do believe that most mystery lovers will love it as much as I did. A 5 star from me.

I don’t want to populate my review with spoilers so I will focus on the HOW rather than Lisa Unger’s WHAT…the most enjoyable part of this novel’s journey for me was the beautiful prose. It was my first real introduction to the thriller/suspense genre and I went into it with certain assumptions about thrillers being heavy on plot rather than character development or beautiful prose.I am glad to report, Lisa Unger obliterated all my assumptions with masterful sentence after masterful paragraph after masterful chapter – one of my very first responses to this novel was that my favorite part was the narrative voice, the clever word choice that made me laugh out loud so often and the meticulous attention to every detail responsible for creating a strong emotional bond between the story and the reader! As a beginning writer, reading THE RED HUNTER was equivalent to taking a Master’s Class for the bargain price of $25.99 (plus tax). I expected at some point the masterpiece would give way to the mediocre and I would close the pages of the book asking myself the same question and feeling deflated like I have too often after reading critically-acclaimed books: what happened to the ending? But this was not the case with Lisa Unger. Her work is not plagued with this illness so many suffer. She maintains (and I dare say) improves the narrative from page 1 to the very last keystroke. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ ‘THE RED HUNTER’ DO IT…DO IT NOW!

3.5 STARSClaudia is restoring her dream house which happens to be Zoey’s nightmare home. Just over ten years ago, in that house, Zoey’s parents were murdered and she was left for dead. Now she’s out for revenge. Claudia is also a crime victim, brutally raped by a man who may be her daughter’s father.I empathized and related more to Claudia, a strong woman still trying to rebuild her life. Zoey leaned more toward sociopath, justifying her violent behavior as righteous. She hallucinated her father, with whom she never had a close relationship. Her relationship with Uncle Paul was much closer, as was her relationship with her mother. Lisa Unger seemed to throw Zoey’s conversations with her dead father in for plot convenience, not to accurately portray mental illness.THE RED HUNTER kept me interested, but I never felt pulled into the plot or invested in the story. I did root for both Claudia and Zoey. Toward the climax, #TheRedHunter did feel like a thriller, but for the most part was a pretty good mystery.

How, exactly, do you read a book that is written as though the author was suffering from some form of psychosis while writing it, and drawing you into the dregs of her madness along with each and every word? This is exactly where Lisa Unger held me firmly in the grips of the madness experienced in a world where over the course of ten years, things have gone very, very, wrongly for Claudia, Raven, and everyone even remotely connected to the hidden bounty of a ten year old robbery. It is a little jumpy and difficult to follow in places, but that's what makes Lisa Unger such a fun read. 4-stars for The Red Hunter.

I liked the premise of the book. Young girl is left for dead after watching her parents slaughtered. Dad was a cop. May have been involved in robbing a drug dealer. She is raised by another cop friend and becomes a martial arts expert. In a side story, a family moves into the house where the slaughter took place and bad guys are still looking for the missing money. Lots of sub stories too. Fairly fast paced. Not quite a 5 Star book because there wasn’t anyone particularly likeable or “real” in the whole story.

Well, I liked the book after I finished it. I almost didn't read all of it since I was getting confused. I decided to read a little more since I have always liked this authors books. I'm glad I did. A lot happened at an old house in the country starting around 10 years earlier. Turned out to be a great story for a couple families. There was a lot of hurdles to go through the bed guys wanting to find a million dollars that was hidden.

Revenge? Or justice? I kept asking which as I read The Red Hunter. I wanted it to be justice but it actually leans more towards revenge. You can't help but root for Zoey, who at the tender age of fourteen witnessed her mother and father brutally murdered while she was left for dead. She also has to grapple with the question was her father a dirty cop? Claudia, also a victim of a violent crime, unwittingly moves into the same house where Zoey's parents were murdered. And from then on, the characters and stories all come together. It was a little confusing at first but eventually it all makes sense. I would recommend this book. Thank you Lisa Unger!

This book is told from multiple characters’ perspectives and the author did a wonderful job of weaving their stories together. Two separate families experience tragedies and how they cope with their pasts is the story. I liked the characters and could relate to their decisions - good and bad.

But unlike other books by Lisa, it didn't have me cringing; afraid to keep reading and afraid to not keep reading.I can't say everyone lived happily ever after, but the key characters came out happier, for which I am glad. The morality lesson was tainted, but straightforward.I am still not sure who, if any of them, I should have pity on. We all sow the seeds of our own discontent if not destruction.