Review: The Shadow Tracer by Meg Gardiner

The Shadow Tracer by Meg Gardiner

Dutton Adult

June 2013

Format: Hardcover, 368 pages

Source: Publicist

An explosive stand-alone thriller from the Edgar Award–winning writer Stephen King called “the next suspense superstar”.

Can a person ever really disappear for good by going off the grid? And what happens when vanishing is no longer an option?

Sarah
Keller is a single mother to five-year-old Zoe, living quietly in
Oklahoma. She’s also a skip tracer, an expert in tracking people who’ve
gone on the lam to avoid arrest, prosecution, or debt—pinpointing their
locations to bring them to justice.

When a school bus accident
sends Zoe to the ER, their quiet life explodes. Zoe’s medical tests
reveal what Sarah has been hiding: Zoe is not her daughter. Zoe’s
biological mother—Sarah’s sister, Beth—was murdered shortly after the
child’s birth. And Zoe’s father is missing and presumed dead.

With
no way to prove her innocence, Sarah must abandon her carefully
constructed life and go on the run. Chased by cops, federal agents, and
the group responsible for Beth’s murder, Sarah embarks on a desperate
journey. Can her knowledge as a skip tracer help her stay off the grid,
remain one step ahead of her pursuers, and find a way to save her
daughter?

My thoughts: This is the first book I’ve read by Meg Gardiner and I loved it. I am a big fan of psychological thrillers and my usual go-to authors in this genre are Iris Johansen, James Patterson, Lisa Gardner, and most recently Tami Hoag. Well, now I have a new author to add to this list!

As a skip tracer, Sarah knows all the tricks to staying under the radar, which is a good thing because after a freak accident exposes her true identity, that’s exactly what she needs to do to keep her enemies and even law enforcement from coming after her. In an instant not only do Sarah and her five year old daughter become the hunted, they also become the bait to lure the hunters out. 

There are many characters in this book that end up involved in this chase and as the book progresses we find out what their motivations are – some not quite as pure as you might hope given their profession. There is a lot of action and the twists and turns are so plentiful you don’t want to put the book down for fear of missing anything.

I loved the interactions between Sarah and Lawless. He helped her once before, when Sarah was trying to get baby Zoe to safety and he told her to call him if she ever needed him. Now five years later, he jumps to action, giving her instructions and getting to her as soon as he can. There’s something palpable between them – although nothing happens in the book – you just get the sense that if the story continued something might.

After reading this, I had hopes that it might possibly be the beginning of a series, but have since heard that it is just going to be a stand-alone. I’m bummed about that, but am glad I read the book. Now I’m going to check out some of her other books.

Do you enjoy psychological thrillers? If so, who are your go-to authors?