Pines by Blake Crouch

This was definitely an interesting (and quick) read. As a huge fan of the X-Files and dystopian novels, this was right up my alley! This was the ultimate page-turner because I truly couldn't read it fast enough trying to figure out what was going to happen next. In fact, sometimes my eyes raced ahead and then I forced myself to stop and go back to reading the current section.

I don't want to give anything away, since the main character is trying to figure what is going on for most of the book. But, the premise is that Ethan Burke, an agent for the Secret Service, wakes up with significant injuries after being involved in a car accident that happened when he and his partner were arriving in the small town of Wayward Pines. He initially doesn't remember who he is, where he is, or what happened. His memory starts to return, but this doesn't clear up the confusion in his head. He knows that he came to town with another agent to see what happened to two other agents that disappeared in this same town over 10 days previously. The agent he arrived with was killed in the car accident. Ethan doesn't know where his wallet, phone, or ID is and no one seems to know where his things are. He can't get a hold of his wife or his boss.

So, Ethan is injured, tired, hungry and without any resources. Most people don't want to take him at his word that he will pay for food and a hotel room the next day, but he does manage to finagle a hotel room for one night and a meal. Ethan knows that something is wrong with this weird little town and the always "happy" residents. Then he finds one of the agents he was sent to find brutally murdered in an abandoned house (that he was directed to by a mysterious person, whom no one seems to know after the fact). Soon after that, he sees the other agent (who he had had an affair with that nearly destroyed his marriage), but she is substantially older. He pursues her, and she acknowledges who she is, but tells him she just needs to keep living her new life.

I was fascinated by this storyline and all the twists and turns as Ethan tries to figure out who he can trust and how to escape this town. I'm also impressed by Ethan's ability to keep going despite his injuries, which he continues to receive for various reasons! I knew it was a trilogy when I started this book, but at one point I had to stop and make sure Ethan was even in the second book! What a survivalist! I enjoyed this "ride" very much!

Wendy's Rating: ****