Getaway by Zoje Stage (2021) We couldn't miss this author's latest thriller, since we held a few fond memories of her last book, the killer child hair-raiser "Baby Teeth" (a fairly entertaining variation of all the 'Bad Seed' tropes. Fine nasty stuff but with a mundane finish - see our 8/27/18 post on it....)
'Getaway's a much more ambitious exercise in nail-biting suspense, a big-as-all-outdoors adventure that feels like an updated, feminist take on James Dickey's harrowing novel 'Deliverance' (later made into the equally unsettling film we all know and love....)
Three lifelong friends, each with deep, unresolved issues with each other and within themselves, embark on a back-packing camping hike through the Grand Canyon. The Blum sisters, Imogen and Beck are the experienced outdoorswomen here, and they've brought along their pal Tilda, a popular social influencer unprepared for the rigors of such an excursion.
Imogen's the primary focus of the unfolding events.. A successful author, she's still dominated by her take-charge sister, a doctor.....and she's also still coping with the nightmares of no less than two terrible past traumas in her life, one going back to her teen years. And yet for herself, her sister and Tilda, the worst is yet to come.
In the course of their arduous trek through the stunning landscapes of the Canyon, the trio discover some person or persons unknown stealing their food and supplies. When they attempt to seek out and directly confront the culprit, a sustained, excruciating reign of terror befalls the women, pushing them to the limits of what they're capable of, and who they really are to each other.
As per our standard policy with thrillers like this, you'll hear no further details from us.... you just need to take the ride and hold on for dear life. True, this kind of story's been done many times before in novels and films, but Zoje Stage knows how to dial up the tension and dread so you'll race through the final chapters. (Unlike "Baby Teeth", her finale here delivers a powerful, satisfying punch.)
Our one and only quibble was the author's tendency to indulge a little too much in that literary fiction internal monologue blah-blah-blah which we so loathe and despise in suspense novels......we wish thriller writers would start to realize that's the kind of pace-slowing gunk we invariably skim through.
Fortunately, there's not enough of it to get in the way of "Getaway" being a well done page-turner.....3 & 1/2 stars (***1/2)
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