Friday, September 23, 2011

Tunnel Vision by Susan Shaw

It all seemed like an ordinary day. Liza was walking home, as usual. She was walking by the train overpass, as usual. The group of men by the tunnel wasn't usual, but it didn't seem too strange. Then things did start getting strange. Her mother was yelling at her. There was a loud noise. There was blood. Then the police came. It didn't seem possible that her mother could be dead - murdered - in the street in front of her house. The police need Liza as a witness, and in order to keep her safe she and her dad must go into the Witness Protection program. They must leave everything behind, including their names. Everything has happened so fast. Liza isn't sure how to handle everything, or even if she wants to help the police. But she won't have much time to think about it, because every minute puts her deeper into danger.

Witness Protection Program books usually bother me because the characters often make really bad choices for really bad reasons. But I was pleasantly surprised with Tunnel Vision. It's not that Liza didn't make questionable choices, because she does. But I think Susan Shaw grounded her character in a way that I don't usually see, so I could understand Liza a bit more. The action keeps the thriller moving along at a good pace (I read the book in one sitting because I had to know what happened next). It's also an interesting look at how things like 'disappearing' have changed in an internet age. How can you disappear when your picture is on 24 hour news channels and newspaper websites? Can you slip through unnoticed when cell phones and GPS devices are so common? How can you start a new life when reminders of your own life are so easily uncovered?

I received a review copy from Simon & Schuster's GalleyGrab program.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Don't Look Behind You by Lois Duncan
Almost True by Keren David
When I Was Joe by Keren David
61 Hours by Lee Child
Safe by Susan Shaw

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