TUESDAY SPARKS: “THE RED HUNTER”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a recent download:  The Red Hunter (e-book), by Lisa Unger, is a buzzworthy new standalone thriller…about two wronged women on very different paths who find themselves in the same dark place…

 

Intro:  Raven looked repentant, but Claudia knew that she wasn’t.  The girl had her head bent, and the sheets of her blue-black hair, thick and impossibly glossy, fell to hide her face.  It was October.  A week from Halloween, and this was Claudia’s second time in the principal’s office since school began.  The first one was about grades.  Raven was already struggling.  We can see from her test scores that she’s capable of more, the desperate math teacher said.  But it’s like she’s just not here.  Not paying attention.  Leaving answers blank on her test.  Mrs. Bishop, she’s not even trying.

Claudia could already see it on Principal Blake’s face:  The Look.  It was the expression that careful people, kind people got when they started to wonder if there was something wrong with Raven.

***

Teaser:  His eyes filled with tears and then they spilled over.  He bowed his head so I wouldn’t have to look, but to be honest I was relieved to see him cry.  If it was bad enough for him to cry, then it was okay that I did little else (63%).

***

Synopsis:   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.

***

What do you think?  Do the excerpts and the blurb tempt you to read more?

***