Trail of Obsession by Valerie Brandy

A camping trip gone wrong. A murderer in the woods. Can Zoe survive?
Zoe doesn’t trust men easily. So when she heads to the remote backwoods of Yosemite on a horse tour with her new boyfriend— Mike— it’s a major step in their relationship.

But when a stalker with a connection to Mike’s past follows them through the wilderness, killing members of their party, the trip suddenly becomes a game of survival. Just when Zoe is ready to press Mike for details about his mysterious past, Mike is kidnapped by the stalker, who leaves behind a series of clues as to his whereabouts.

Zoe must follow the twisted scavenger hunt, which takes her on a death-defying survival journey through the backwoods of Yosemite, forced to rely on no-one— but herself.

Can Zoe survive the wilderness, and rescue Mike? And if she does rescue him… will their relationship survive the secrets of his past? Who is the man she thought she knew?

Review

A thrilling read, the setting and the stakes were well painted by the author.

I do have a but that made my rating go lower—the wolf comparisons. The main character’s inner dialogue occasionally came across as cheesy and odd, which caused me to lose the thrilling mindset that the plot had immersed me in. Also, the mystery aspect of the stalker’s identity was very short-lived; I knew who it was and a general why, but I wanted to see how Zoe got out of this one alive.

I did like the stalkers characterisation though; their reasoning and headspace were great to read—perhaps I would have liked to see more of their thoughts and personality.

I loved the survival aspect, but ultimately, the characterisation made me not enjoy the book enough.