Pines by Blake Crouch book review

Pines by Blake Crouch

My rating: 5 of 5 stars ★★★★★
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Horror
Source: Purchased

And the base emotion underlying it all that was getting harder and harder to ignore.

Terror.

The strengthening sense that something was very, very wrong.

Secret Service agent Ethan Burke wakes up in a hospital in Wayward Pines, Idaho, after a terrible car accident. His phone and wallet are missing and despite his injuries, he attempts to contact his boss and family. All of his attempts fail and right away, he feels like something very wrong is happening in Wayward Pines. Everyone is friendly, but the town is eerily quiet and picturesque. Danger amps up around every corner, along with an endless number of confusion. And far more questions than answers.

Imagine being stuck in a small town where you know no one. All the people in positions of authority are unhelpful. You have no wallet and no phone. Where would you sleep? How would you find food? What if you needed medicine? The terror and helplessness of Ethan’s situation is very real.

Of course, there’s one thing: Ethan Burke is a butthole. He’s not exactly the white knight readers might normally latch onto. He’s no hero. He isn’t kind, he’s not a good husband, and so on. But his situation is so frightening, it doesn’t even matter.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat with my heart racing. Think the movie “The Village” or a really good episode of “The X-Files.” I had to know how Ethan was going to get out of this creepy town, or if he was even going to be able to.

Was I totally satisfied with the Big Why of it all? Umm. Mostly.

But like I said, it doesn’t even matter. Any time I would pick up this book, I would be transported to an idyllic, but terrifying, town in Idaho, where I’d be running alongside a very injured, determined, and frightened man.

And I loved every minute of it.