It's a "Get Up and Walk Around" Read | The Hunted

A small town secret erupts in violence | The Hunted | Mike Dellosso

books:


	• The Hunted Mike Dellosso Realms, 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Fans of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have found their author!

"The Hunted" is a great novel that has a Preston and Child "Relic" kind of feel to it. The story moves along at a very fast pace from the first attack from the beast to the last one. The characters are given great motivations for every action, particularly Maggie Gill, the town Chief of Police. She is forced to choose between protecting her family secret for her father and helping the man she loves stop the monster in town. I have to admit though that the secret she is protecting isn't really all that big and doesn't seem like it would cause the conflict it does in the end. Still, Mike has put together a great story.

Understand, this is a Christian novel, and not in a Dekker I-dare-you-to-find-the-word-"Jesus"-in-my-book kind of way, but with an up-front straightforward message. I found it refreshing because so many Christian fiction novels seem to just try and write a clean story rather than any mention of God. Mike didn't belabor the point, but brought it into the story nicely.

The ending was a little disappointing to me, but just barely. Most of the loose ends were tied up nicely, but it just seemed to end with more of a whimper than a bang. Still, it's not so bad as to mar the enjoyment of the story. I highly recommend the book and look forward to Mike's next one.

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It's a "Get Up and Walk Around" Read

I don't usually read suspense/horror novels, but several people recommended I read "The Hunted." Oh, wow. It's what I call a "get up and walk around while your read it" book -- the intensity, the pace and the plot all conspire to keep you riveted, so much so that I had to set it down every couple of chapters, walk around and catch my breath, and then dive back into it. Then repeat. The last time this happened to me with a book was Stephen King's "The Shining" more than 20 years ago.

Dellosso's novel is more than well written; the characters are real and their relationships are real, while the story pulls you into itself. The landscape of old secrets, unsolved crimes, guilt, revenge, a strange creature on the prowl -- and a dash of unselfish love -- "The Hunted" has it all. If there are more novels like this out there, then I've found a new genre to explore.

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A small town secret erupts in violence

Set in the aptly named fictional town of Dark Hills, Pennsylvania, this novel revolves around the coming home of Joe Saunders, whose nephew Caleb has been attacked by a monster of some sort. The plot involves some violence and gore, as well as a murderous secret kept by the chief of police, Maggie Gill (Joe's former paramour) and her family.

The secret affects the lives of many townsfolk, including Stevie Bauer, a paranoid schizophrenic who may be connected to the disappearances and deaths occurring; Josiah Walker, an older man who cares for Stevie and whose faith Joe admires; and Joe himself, who wonders if the monster is animal or human.

This book is a page-turner and fans of suspense (I love the Preston/Child novels myself) will enjoy it.

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A new voice is on the prowl.

The Hunted has everything needed for a good suspense novel. A hero that has to learn how to be heroic, a small town (Dark Valley) with a mix bagged of characters for residents, a demented villain driven by forces beyond his control, unseen monsters that lurk in the darkness, and a twist ending that hits you out of right field just when you thought all the loose ends had been tied up.

When Joe Saunders' nephew turns up missing Joe is drawn back to a place he would just as soon forget. Called by his sister-in-law, Joe returns to the site of a personal failure that has haunted him for years and the love he walked away from without looking back. To complicate matters, that love is now the Chief of Police. Whether Maggie Gill is friend or foe is a large part of the story. She is fourth generation law enforcement and part of a family that has carried a burden for nearly a hundred years known only as "the Secret."

Something is prowling the woods and back roads of Dark Valley leaving a path of death in its wake. Something that will force Joe Saunders to use every bit of strength and courage he has and then appeal to God for what he does not have. That too is a challenge since Joe hasn't exactly been on speaking terms with God for some time.

Mike Dellosso breaks all the rules in current Christian fiction: his stories are classic horror, he ignores the current rule of intricate pre-plotting before writing, and he is unapologetic is his direct presentation of overt spiritual themes. I can only hope others will follow his example.

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Riveting

Here is an author I want to read more of. Mike Dellosso has written a top notch, tight thriller that is perfect suspense for Christians to read. So much suspense fiction nowadays have such awful language but not here. This book will appeal to the believer and nonbeliever. It is super scary. Powerfully written and Dellosso's first novel is a superb start to a long career if he keeps up the way he has begun.
He dangles clues along and you never catch on completely until the very end. His characters are extremely believable and you feel as if you are in the midst of the action.
Don't miss this author. I predict great things to come from him.

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After learning of the disappearance of his nephew, Joe Saunders returns to his childhood home of Dark Hills to aid in the search effort. When Caleb is found, badly mauled and clinging to life, Joe embarks on a mission to find the beast responsible. But the more Joe delves into the fabric of his old hometown, the more he realizes Dark Hills has a dark secret, shrouded for three generations in a deadly code of silence. As Joe unravels the truth behind a series of unexplained animal attacks, murder, and corruption at the highest level of law enforcement, he is led to a final showdown where he must entrust his very life into God's hands.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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