Alias

Rebecca wakes up to find herself in a smashed up car with a dead woman. She’s not sure how it happened, where she is or who she is. Detective Bronwen Pryce is first on the scene and once she’s been taken to hospital, Rebecca has a sense she can trust her even though she has an uneasiness about everything else.

This is a riveting mystery and suspense novel set in Wales and Manchester. Rebecca’s journey of recovery, with her fragmented and intermittent memory, is hampered by the overriding feeling that she’s in danger. Romance took a backseat for most of the novel and I was okay with that because the rest of the story was engaging and powerful enough without it. In fact, for me, there was a much greater sense of realism in portraying someone who has just been in a crash, resulting in broken bones and stitches, as more interested in recovering their memories and staying alive than falling in love.

Reviewed by Joc Adamson

An entertaining and engaging mystery. From the beginning, this read pulled me in with the car crash and a women that did not survive and another badly injured. Detective Bronwen Pryce is articulated as a no nonsense police officer that is intriguing and someone the reader wants to know more about and Hunter does a good job of providing the information bit-by-bit. "Rebecca" does not know who she is and it was interesting to read how Hunter eases the reader in on who she is. The supporting characters were also nicely presented.

Reviewed by Kennedy O

...This is mostly a mystery/thriller story, definitely not a romance but as usual in Ms. Hunter's books there is an intense emotional connection between the main characters. Even though the romance doesn't take too much space in the plot, it has a strong presence and the chemistry between the mains works very well.

...Overall, another excellent book by Ms. Hunter. A real treat for lesfic mystery fans. 5 stars.

Reviewed by Gaby Maurino

Alias is an excellent story. This is my first Book of Hunters that I read and loved it. I’ll definitely be checking out more of her books. I loved Rebecca and how she processes everything in regards to finding out who she really is and how she comes to trust Pryce. I devoured this in a day and was shocked in at the ending. I think it goes to show you that you may never know who to trust and those that you find yourself trusting the most in might backfire.

I like how Pryce helped Alis find the answers that she was looking for about herself even when she was unsure about her story. How she struggles to do the “right” thing or be by the book.

I highly recommend checking out Alias.

Reviewed by Terry Decker

“Alias” is a wonderful new crime thriller from Cari Hunter, but one that I find doesn’t easily slot into a specific genre. It does have crime, and medical drama, and intrigue it’s true, but it also has a slow but real romantic storyline that is integral to the story.

Ms. Hunter’s books remained on our “to read” list for far too long I’m ashamed to say, but they have all become real favourites and each novel has brought her closer to the top of the favourites list. I found the story of “Rebecca” and Pryce to be entirely satisfying and entertaining, and after reading Alias I will have no hesitation in seeking out any of her books in the future.

There are so many good things I could say. I will praise the skilled use of character observation and the vivid location descriptions. There is a great contrast between the beautiful and wild country around Snowdonia, and the deprived post-industrial heartland of Manchester and its surroundings. I will praise the carefully crafted plotline and the way recovered memories are suddenly but carefully introduced, resolving one snippet of the mystery but revealing another. And as much as anything else I will praise Cari Hunter’s mastery of the vernacular! Being a Brit abroad and having spent some considerable time in both Manchester and Snowdonia, I truly enjoyed the use of language and I could hear the voices of the whole cast of characters clearly in my head.

...I have no hesitation in highly recommending this book.

Reviewed by Sam Forbes