When a couple travel to Africa together for a job, they realize that another couple is also going to follow their travel schedule and plans.
Stevie and her boyfriend, Jacob, fly to Africa and on their first night, Stevie is spooked in the bathroom. She confides in Jacob and they change their plans. However, the other couple, Tasmin and Leo follow them. Stevie becomes more and more uncomfortable around Leo as his behavior towards her is aggressive and frightening. She has never recovered from the death of her best friend 8 years earlier, and begins taking comfort in a friendship with Tasmin, who looks similar. Things take a sudden turn for the worse and Stevie is in danger. Told from the perspective of Stevie and Leo.
You'll be surprised! ( )

The Hunted is the first book I have read by Roz Nay. I found it to be an ok read. The story started off interesting but I really detested all of the main characters. There were twists and turns that did keep me intrigued enough to read to the end but I honestly didn't care too much about the characters or what happened to them. That being said, I really like the author's style of writing and how scenes are so vividly described. I am planning to try another book by this author. ( )

Oh Roz Nay, you had me hooked right from the first chapter! If you're a suspense reader, you're going to want to pickup Nay's just released novel, The Hunted!

Stevie and her boyfriend Jacob decide to leave their small town and go on an adventure. They're headed to a secluded island where they'll work at a dive camp. (#1Beware of secluded islands!) On their way to Rafiki, they stay at a hostel that's a bit iffy. (#2) Stevie feels like someone is watching her. But then they meet Leo and Tamsin, a pair of seasoned travelers that make them feel a bit more settled. And guess what! Yes, they're headed to Rafiki as well. (#3) Oh, the stage is set. (And there's one little detail in the opening chapters that I thought was perfect - take note of what book one of the other hostel guests is reading...)

We see the trip through Stevie's eyes and are privy to her worries, her doubts - and her fears. And who else has a point of view? Leo does. I'm not going to say more, but Leo's inner thoughts and dialogue are more than a little scary. The reader is aware of the overall picture - and the danger. I love that 'watching a scary movie with a pillow, ready to yell 'Don't go in the basement' feeling. And Nay has nailed it!

The tension builds with every chapter, ensuring a 'can't put it down read.' Which I didn't - it was done in a day. There's a nice twist as the end comes closer - I had my suspicions that this twist might transpire, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. Perfect for back porch, beach chair reading! ( )

Where do I start? With a tile like “the Hunted”, this book is everything you’d expect it to be - and more.

Creepy, claustrophobic, obsessive - the atmosphere in this book is so thick and cloying that it can’t help but stick with you, hours after you put the book down. The author brilliantly applies devices like the ‘Hitchcockian’ train with no other passengers and the incredibly vivid strangeness of the remotest reaches of Africa, wild with animals screeching in the “oil-deep blackness”, to islands accessible only by creaky rustic boats, captained by taciturn strangers.

It all adds up to one of the most darkly delicious and compelling settings for a book that I have read in some time.

And as for the characters, the story revolves around two couples , who although on the surface at first seem relatively transparent, are of course, anything but.

Stevie, (blond Scandinavian, struggling with her past)
Jacob, (Stevie’s sensitive, soulful boyfriend and protector)
Tamsin, (a beautiful girl who loves and is “best friends with her life”)
Leo, (movie-star handsome, strange and as we learn, hiding something ).

The chemistry between the couples and the tight and tense plotting that follows leads to a wild and twisty ride, no spoiler here, you will need to read the book to uncover the details. Enough to say that each of their lives is changed forever by the events that transpire.

I also loved the authors wonderful turn of phrase. Here are a few of my absolute favorites:

“Blood begins to fizz in my head like a foam”

“Soft rain tapping at the windowpanes like the ghosts of old fingertips”

“Noise hits me like the flat blade of a shovel”

“I squeezed myself into an easier shape for him.”

And finally:

“But there’s something else in the memory, something darker that’s starting to rise now, like some kind of monster creeping out of a cave”

I love, loved this book.

5 “bright, bright, burning bright” stars, and i can’t wait to read more from this author.

A very big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher,Simon and Schuster Canada, and the author, Roz Nay, for an advance review copy of this book. All thoughts presented here are my own. ( )