IN A RACE AGAINST TIME, WHAT IF THE GREATEST THREAT WAS YOUR OWN CHILD?
It’s a week before the presidential elections when a bomb goes off in an LA shopping mall…
In London, armed police storm Heathrow Airport and arrest Sajid Khan. His daughter Aliyah entered the USA with the suicide bomber, and now she’s missing, potentially plotting another attack.
But then a mysterious woman called Carrie turns up at Sajid’s door after travelling halfway across the world. She claims Aliyah is with her son Greg, and she knows where they could be.
Back in the US, Agent Shreya Mistry is closing in on the two fugitives. But the more she investigates, the more she realises this case is far from as simple as it seems.
Hunted by the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to find their kids before the FBI does and stop a catastrophe that will bring the world to its knees.
Book Info: Print length: 468 pages. Publishers: Vintage Digital. Publication Date: 9 May 2024
My Thoughts:
This is my first Murkerjee book despite knowing Abir for years and being a regular contributor on his brilliant PodCast with Vaseem Khan. Link here if you haven’t already listened to it or subscribed: Red Hot Chilli Writers on Apple Podcasts
For those who don’t know Abir Murkerjee, he’s the author of the very successful Sam Wyndham series about a former Scotland Yard detective who arrives in Calcutta desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War. There are currently 5 books in this series.
Back to Hunted. This is the authors first standalone novel and has been described by Lee Child as “A pretty much flawless thriller” and Sunday Times said “Hunted is a phenomenal achievement, with its sizeable cast of memorable characters, flawless juggling of multiple storylines, and a political dimension that makes it more than pacey entertainment”
I read this book together with my online book club last month. Normally we read psychological thrillers so this was the first action/political thriller for most of us and judging from the feedback of the other 80 members it definitely won’t be the last.
Set in present day UK and USA, the story starts with a bang (literally), when a bomb goes off in a LA shopping mall killing innocent victims including many women and children. Meanwhile in the UK, Sajid Khan is on his way to work at Heathrow Airport when armed police arrest him on suspicion of terrorism.
His daughter Aliyah had entered the USA with the suspected suicide bomber and is now missing. The intel suggests she’s involved and plotting another deadly attack and Agent Shreya Mistry is on the case.
The plot thickens when an American woman called Carrie turns up at Sajid’s home claiming her son Greg is also missing and she has good reason to believe their children are together and mixed up in the terrorist attacks.
The story then follows these two, very different, parents who team up to find and rescue their children in a frantic and dangerous race against time before another bomb is detonated.
As I mentioned before, I’m not normally a political thriller fan, but WOW Hunted kept me glued to my kindle and devouring each chapter to find out what, how, why and where. It’s highly topical with an excellent cast of believable and relatable characters. The tension is tight, the pace is fast and the action is non-stop.
If you are looking for a highly intelligent, thought-provoking action thriller, then I would strongly recommend HUNTED as your next read.
