Don't Look Back

Gregg Hurwitz never disappoints. I couldn't put it down; I was reading every chance I could. There was some graphic violence but no more than you would expect given the circumstances. It was not dwelt on. There was only a minor amount of sexual content and it was not graphic. I loved this book as I have others of his that I've read.

Depressed and recently divorced from her cheating husband, Eve Hardaway leaves the comfort and familiarity of home behind to head off to Oaxaca in Mexico and some whitewater rafting and other activities in the isolated jungle and mountain area there. She accidentally gets herself involved in a mystery -- it seems that a woman who was recently a guest at the resort, and who had stayed in Eve's same assigned hut, left a few things behind in the room when she packed up and left -- including a camera with some strange pictures of a machete-throwing man on it that Eve also manages to find on the jungle floor when she momentarily leaves her fellow tour members behind while wandering off the trail. All these items belonged to Theresa Hamilton and the owners of the resort aren't forthcoming and merely say that she left in a hurry.

I could barely force myself to finish this book and must say it didn't hit the mark as a thriller for me. The unbelievable peril and survival in the jungles of Mexico theme stretched my credulity way too far. It was assumed from the start that our plucky, nearly Rambo-like heroine, Eve, a nurse and single mother, would survive and outwit the bad guy but the sheer relentless description of how she managed this almost made me scream and throw the book at the wall. There were a lot of predictable grisly deaths of humans and animals. Antipathy too strong? The villain here was so ridiculously evil and the political ramblings so biased and contrived that I could barely get past it. This was definitely not what I was expecting when I read the synopsis.

Perhaps other readers will love this adventure in the wild gone wrong, but it definitely did not appeal to me. I've read other titles by this author and may give him another try.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-book ARC to review.

SICKENINGLY VIOLENT. WHY? CAN WE NOT HAVE SUSPENSE WITHOUT MONTROUS VIOLENCE ANYMORE? I USED TO REALLY LIKE THISAUTHOR'S BOOKS. BUT I AM STARTING TO THINK HE IS JUST AS DEPRAVED AS HIS CHARACTERS SINCE HE APPARENTLY CAN'T WRITE WITHOUT SCENES OF DISGUSTING TORTURE.

PLEASE DON'T SPEND YOUR MONEY & SUPPORT GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AGAINST ANIMALS & WOMEN. ALL THIS BOOK DOES IS ADD MORE SICK CRAP TO OUR ALREADY SICK SOCIETY.

This is a difficult book to read. After the prologue, which is well done, the writing goes downhill in a hurry. Adverbs litter the pages like humidity in the rain forest. The plot is interesting and the pace and action picks up but getting to that point in the book was an arduous task.

Hurwitz is a master of thrillers in which ordinary people must overcome extraordinary situations, and Don’t Look Back is no exception. Set in the jungles of Mexico with a main character attempting to move on after a break-up and now threatened by an extremist madman, Hurwitz has again written a book full of such amazingly terrifying suspense that you’ll want to make sure to read it with all the lights on.—Nicole Bonía, Bloggers Recommend

This is a review of the Audible audio book version. I liked the double narrators - female for Eve's portion and male for the villain. It helped set the mood and tension appropriately, especially as the action and stakes ratcheted up in the last third of the book.

This is the second novel by Gregg Hurwitz for me and I really loved his other book "The Rains", but this one had some problems that almost ruined the entire book for me at the half way point. First off there's a lot of repetition of minute details about every little thing. The sound of rain, the crinkle of undergrowth, the bird calls, the feel of wet socks, the incessant whining of various characters who say the same things over and over.... with judicious editing, this book would be considerably shorter, tighter and suffer none for it.

The main issue I have with the story is the simple fact that three different times in the plot the characters had perfect, obvious opportunities to kill the bad guy and escape further carnage easily. Instead they make stupid, sloppy choices. At one point this happens after only one person has been killed! It really felt like a bad horror movie where the entire audience is shouting "Don't run into the basement! Drive away!" Of course had that happened, there would not have been a reason for the book to continue. I liked it, but it is going to be awhile before I read anything else from this author.

After listening to the Evan Smoak series, I expected an awesome story here. Gregg Hurwitz did not disappoint! This was great! Scott Brick always does an excellent job with narration. Cassandra Campbell was great as well.

This is a great survival story. Eve is a recently divorced mother. She decides to go on a vacation in Mexico. This was supposed to be an anniversary trip. What should have been a relaxing vacation turns into a life or death nightmare. Number 23 on the FBI'S most wanted list is hiding in the woods. Her desire to get home to her son keeps her going.