It’s a mystery, yet so much more as you get multiple stories being told from different points of view that leave the reader with so many questions and a need to know more.
The main focus of the story is an investigation into multiple strange murders, which is told from a few different points of view on and off. There’s the agent investigating it; Harper, the woman acting as his guide through the wilderness to find the murderer; and Lucas, the only suspect they have at the moment who is a “wild man” living in said wilderness with no prior contact with the human inhabited world. This was super interesting as there is the investigation itself and trying to uncover the culprit as well as the reason behind the murders in the first place, as well as this equally mysterious environment it takes place in. Exploring and uncovering both sides of the story were enthralling and I found myself hooked by a need to know more about the setting, as well as desperately wanting to know how the deaths tied together and the strange circumstances surrounding them.
On the other hand there is Jak’s story. A young boy who is stranded in the wilderness for reasons he doesn’t understand and which lends an almost, post-apocalyptic, dystopian feel to the book that was both spooky and so enthralling. Once again, there is this mystery of how he got there and why, what is going on, and this desperate fight for survival as he is forced to endure the elements on his own with only the resources he can find himself. For me it leant such a creepy air to the book that had me paranoid and spooked, never knowing what dangers might be lurking or what was truly going on.
I really enjoyed each of the characters and the perspectives they brought to both the story and the mystery of who was behind the murders. Lucas and Harper were both interesting characters to read from perspective-wise, and played a major role in unraveling the plot present events and past alike. I really liked how seemingly irrelevant events became tied together in the present and took on a whole new meaning the further along the story goes and thought it came together very nicely. Even Jak’s story was super interesting and I found myself looking forward to each chapter from his point of view, despite being uncertain I would like it considering he’s a child. But watching him survive all alone in the wilderness and how this tied into the rest of the story was very satisfying and intriguing.
This is the first book in a series and I’m super looking forward to seeing where any other books will go because I honestly have no idea. But I’m so there for whatever it is, especially if it somehow delves deeper into the survivalist stuff that Unwanted introduced. Regardless, I will be picking the next one up as soon as I can.
