Book Review: The Hunted by Gabriel Bergmoser
Frank’s granddaughter is sent to stay with him at his out of the way roadhouse on a little-used stretch of highway. They don’t really talk much, but their quiet life turns upside down when a strange woman turns up, injured, insisting on no police involvement and no hospitals. Maggie is on the run, escaping from violent men determined to complete their hunt.
The Hunted is tense, action-packed, and gory. It flies, drawing us straight in and keeping at a fast pace throughout. Even the slow moments feel quick, the brief periods when we get to know more about these characters and why, exactly, this is happening to them.
And it’s a compliment that we actually care about these people. There are a lot of names to remember in this one, but Bergmoser lets us see at least a little of them all, lets us get under their skin so we’re not indifferent to their lives. The book starts with us meeting Frank and Allie, Allie being a teenage girl sent to stay with her quiet, reserved grandfather. Neither know how to interact with the other, with Frank making small attempts to care for the granddaughter he doesn’t really know.
The focus shifts to Simon, a young man trying to find the ‘real Australia’ by travelling in the rural areas. He meets Maggie, and the pair travel together, ending up in a strange, run-down town with the type of people who see Simon as a pathetic city boy.
The people here are creepy and unnerving, but that’s largely because we see them through Simon’s eyes. Are they really leering at Maggie, or is Simon perhaps a little possessive? Are they truly a threat, or is Simon a touch out of his depth when confronted with the ‘real Australia’ he so desperately wanted to find?
One thing that struck me, and which I appreciated, was that with young, female characters, the book could have gone in a slightly different direction. A lesser author would have used sexual assault to propel at least one woman into ‘revenge’ mode, but that doesn’t happen here. Instead, it truly feels like the events could have happened to anyone, and the strength of the characters doesn’t come from being sexually assaulted, although they are characters with dark pasts. Maggie is strong and determined, desperate to find any sign of the mother who left her years before. And it’s that connection between characters which keeps them going, whether it’s Maggie to her mother, or Frank to his granddaughter,
Perception is used really well throughout. I usually dislike head hopping in novels, but I’ve found if it can be used anywhere, it’s horror. And it’s used really well here. We see things through the eyes of the characters, and purely through their eyes, but in such a way the reader can understand what is actually happening, without it being spelled out, and without the POV being broken.
This was a solid read for me, but not quite top tier. Mainly due to my own personal preference. But this is the kind of book easy to visualise, and one I think would honestly make a fantastic film. Beneath the action, there is a valuable message about the sort of communities left behind in this modern world, and the sort of toxicity – especially toxic masculinity – that can breed when left unchecked.
Grade: B
Review by Elle Turpitt
I received this e-book from the publisher Faber & Faber via NetGalley for review consideration.
