Three women plan an excursion backpacking through the Grand Canyon National Park. Only bringing the supplies they will need and leaving their phones behind in their vehicle, they set off to have a seven-day adventure. Sounds like a recipe for a good thriller, am I right? Well, it is. Made better by the complex characters and the literary nature of this book.
Two of the women are sisters and the third, Tilda, is a friend of theirs from high school. In taking this trip the eldest of the sisters, Beck, is hoping to clear the air about something: the younger sister, Imogen (the narrator of this novel) was raped by a boyfriend of Tilda's back in high school, but Tilda never seemed to believe it. Beck brings up this issue a couple days into the trip but then something completely unexpected happens: their food bag gets robbed when the women are sleeping. This is unheard of - the sisters are experienced backpackers and believe there is a code amongst all outdoor enthusiasts to respect other people's supplies. When their backpacks are also robbed the next day their inner alarm bells are definitely going off.
The women are right to be concerned and soon are confronting an interloper. This proves to be a possibly deadly mistake. Kidnapping, mayhem, and heroics ensue but the novel stands out amongst this familiar-seeming scenario in how the antagonist, Gale, is portrayed: humanized (although a terrible villain), the reader sees him in a sympathetic light. Imogen thinks of herself as passive because of her reaction to the rape in her past and also because of a recent shooting that took place in her synagogue during which she was forced to hide to save her own life. The beauty of the Grand Canyon and the strength and intelligence of Imogen's companions come together to empower her to attempt to take back control of their dangerous situation. Writing more at this point will create spoilers so I'll just say that this is a smart and inspiring spine-tingler!
Comments