Fiction Addict

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Realms

Publication Date: June 2008

Reviewed by Tim George

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.