The Wild Inside: A Novel by Jamey Bradbury

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

“The Wild Inside is an unusual love story and a creepy horror novel — think of the Brontë sisters and Stephen King.” —John Irving

A promising talent makes her electrifying debut with this unforgettable novel, set in the Alaskan wilderness, that is a fusion of psychological thriller and coming-of-age tale in the vein of Jennifer McMahon, Chris Bohjalian, and Mary Kubica.

A natural born trapper and hunter raised in the Alaskan wilderness, Tracy Petrikoff spends her days tracking animals and running with her dogs in the remote forests surrounding her family’s home. Though she feels safe in this untamed land, Tracy still follows her late mother’s rules: Never Lose Sight of the House. Never Come Home with Dirty Hands. And, above all else, Never Make a Person Bleed.

But these precautions aren’t enough to protect Tracy when a stranger attacks her in the woods and knocks her unconscious. The next day, she glimpses an eerily familiar man emerge from the tree line, gravely injured from a vicious knife wound—a wound from a hunting knife similar to the one she carries in her pocket. Was this the man who attacked her and did she almost kill him? With her memories of the events jumbled, Tracy can’t be sure.

Helping her father cope with her mother’s death and prepare for the approaching Iditarod, she doesn’t have time to think about what she may have done. Then a mysterious wanderer appears, looking for a job. Tracy senses that Jesse Goodwin is hiding something, but she can’t warn her father without explaining about the attack—or why she’s kept it to herself.

It soon becomes clear that something dangerous is going on . . . the way Jesse has wormed his way into the family . . . the threatening face of the stranger in a crowd . . . the boot-prints she finds at the forest’s edge.

Her family is in trouble. Will uncovering the truth protect them—or is the threat closer than Tracy suspects?

my thoughts:

A mystery-thriller with a spot of romance and a bit of horror - what more could I want, right? The Wild Inside was a terrifically gripping story that had me from the start. I absolutely loved getting to know Tracy and the Alaskan wilderness through her story.  Born and raised to hunt and trap animals, Tracy knows the forests surrounding her family's home like the back of her hand. She is comfortable in them and familiar with the sounds nature makes.  Plus, she follows the rules her late mother made about staying close to home and never hurting anyone.  Unfortunately, sometimes rules are made to be broken. One day out in the wilderness, Tracy gets attacked and when she comes to she sees a man who has been injured - was she the one to injure him? Unsure of what really happened, she keeps her attack a secret from her father.  However, when a new stranger comes to work for them, she begins to wonder who he really is - was he the man who attacked her? Why is he here in a remote part of the state? What's his motive? So many questions for her to ponder, but not enough time to do so - especially as she's still helping her father cope with the loss of her mother and getting ready for the upcoming Iditarod - ack!

Bradbury has written a fantastically compelling story set in a part of the States that I've always wondered about. The beauty and the vastness of the land spills from the pages. I could smell the clean, crisp air and imagine being surrounded by the wilderness. I felt myself easily caught up in Tracy's life and wondered what she would do to protect her family.  I loved trying to figure out who was responsible for the attack and why. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the book - suspenseful and thrilling at the same time!  This is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone looking for their next great read - you will LOVE this book!

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: The Wild Inside

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!