Cathy C. (cathyskye) - , reviewed on 9/12/2014 + 2260 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

A word of warning: I wouldn't advise you to start reading this book unless you have a large block of undisturbed time. When I began reading Don't Look Back, I lost all track of time, was late for an appointment, and the entire time I was gone, I was champing at the bit to get back to Eve Hardaway's story.

Author Gregg Hurwitz wanted to create a character who could be completely outmatched physically, a character who would be forced to survive by wits alone, hence Eve Hardaway, his first female main character. Eve is superb. Yes, Don't Look Back is a lightning-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller, but more than that it's wonderful character study of a woman forced to rediscover her true self in order to survive. One way Hurwitz conveys how far Eve has wandered from the person she used to be is in conversation with others. She'll think what she really wants to say, but her actual response is always something meek and mild. These responses gradually change, and as they do, readers will cheer her on.

This is definitely Eve's show, but her fellow tourists and the owners of the tour company are well-drawn. However, I do have to admit that my interest in them was more along the lines of betting which ones would die. The most controversial character is the man hiding in the jungle. His reasons for originally going there are frightening, and although his political rants are difficult to swallow, they do indeed show how his beliefs and his actions have driven him insane.

If you don't want political extremism or the torture and killing of animals in your fiction, Don't Look Back may not be the book for you. On the other hand, you may well find it just as riveting as I did.

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