Review: Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia

Title: Leave No Trace

Author: Mindy Mejia

Published: September 2018, Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Format: ARC E-copy, 336 pages

Source: Netgalley via Publisher

Summary:

From the author of the “compelling” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis) and critically acclaimed Everything You Want Me to Be, a riveting and suspenseful thriller about the mysterious disappearance of a boy and his stunning return ten years later. 

There
is a place in Minnesota with hundreds of miles of glacial lakes and
untouched forests called the Boundary Waters. Ten years ago a man and
his son trekked into this wilderness and never returned.

Search
teams found their campsite ravaged by what looked like a bear. They were
presumed dead until a decade later…the son appeared. Discovered while
ransacking an outfitter store, he was violent and uncommunicative and
sent to a psychiatric facility. Maya Stark, the assistant language
therapist, is charged with making a connection with their high-profile
patient. No matter how she tries, however, he refuses to answer
questions about his father or the last ten years of his life

But
Maya, who was abandoned by her own mother, has secrets, too. And as
she’s drawn closer to this enigmatic boy who is no longer a boy, she’ll
risk everything to reunite him with his father who has disappeared from
the known world.

My thoughts: I loved Mindy Mejia’s last book, Everything You Want Me To Be, so of course, I was thrilled when asked to read and review her latest book, Leave No Trace. This was an author I was patiently waiting for to release a new book and I was psyched to have an early copy in my hands…and it did not disappoint!

Once again, Mindy Mejia thrills us with quite an addicting read, though I will say, this one does start off a little slower than the last one. But, once you get into the book, it is so worth the read. I liked that is very different, though, from her last book – this author proves that not only is she not a one-hit wonder, but she is also not a one trick pony. She totally changes things up here and the story is just as addicting and compelling as her previous book. 

What I loved is that this story is filled with dynamic, complex characters that drive the story just as much as the plot does. But equally important is the setting – this book is completely reliant on the setting to help drive the story. The Boundary Waters were almost a character themselves. This book is definitely atmospheric in nature and the writing is so vivid in that respect that it speaks for itself.

The characters are all flawed and you end up becoming attached to them. I loved the way their history is slowly revealed. You start off not knowing a whole lot about either main character, Maya or Lucas, yet as the story progresses, you watch both of them come into themselves. The layers are unraveled and we learn quite a bit about each of them, unraveling not only who they are but why they are the way they are. This is a multilayered story, with not only a great mystery to it, but some history thrown in as well. The stories of the isolationists adds a nice depth to this already layered tale. 

This was a thrilling, addictive read and I cannot wait to see what comes next from this author – she is definitely on my must-read list!