I have a bad habit of peeking at the ending of suspenseful books somewhere around halfway through to see who makes it and who doesn't. By the end of Chapter 4 (page 41) of Those Who Wish Me Dead I was ready to see if 13-year-old Jace Wilson survives. He is being pursued by some seriously evil bad guys--two brothers who epitomize the meaning of psychopath. Brothers Jack and Patrick Blackwell are soulless killers who leave a trail of dead--and frequently tortured--victims who either witnessed their previous crimes or can identify them as they proceed to commit their next one. Only three characters stand between them and their prey: an instructor in wilderness survival skills, his wife, and a fire spotter. Outgunned and outthought at every turn, Ethan Serbin struggles to keep his promise to protect the boy, but first he must find him. Knowing his pursuers are getting closer, Jace, or Connor as he is now called, has run away from the group of troubled teens that he was placed in as part of a witness protection program. He enlists fire spotter Hannah Faber to help him--and they flee deeper into the Montana mountains--and into the teeth of a growing forest fire. How much more hopeless can a boy's chances of survival be?
Admittedly the book requires the reader to suspend belief in a number of plot twists--i.e., how Ethan's wife Allison can leave the hospital where she is recuperating from severe burns and a beating to guide a detective on horseback into the woods towards the fire. Still, this a great book for a day or two at the beach or a camping trip. Come to think of it, students preparing for Outdoor Ed can pick up lots of useful wilderness skills before heading out. Recommended.
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