Angela Haynes is a thirty-something biologist who has spent the last fifteen years tagging penguins in Patagonia. Her social life consists of making eyes at her twenty-something male assistant and keeping tabs on penguins, until one day a mysterious stranger with a questionable past literally washes up on the island’s shores and Angela makes a bold decision to harbor him.
What might this have to do with Robert Porter, an FBI agent on a mission to track down a wanted eco-terrorist he once let get away, or with Ethan Downes, a lovesick computer geek? Yunker manages to interweave the stories of these disparate (and sometimes desperate) characters in a seamless manner, leaving the reader both surprised and delighted as the paths converge, part, and then reunite in a suspenseful denouement.
“The Tourist Trail” will challenge your perceptions of villains and innocent victims, and make you question whose side you’re on as each character grapples with his or her own authenticity, with what’s worth fighting for, and faces the realization that no matter how fast you run, you can never escape from yourself. From Argentina to Antarctica, from fishing trawlers and penguin nests to whaling ships, icebergs and Zodiacs soaring over waves, this eco-thriller is a plausible and entertaining page-turner that offers romance, engaging characters and a fascinating plot.
Reviewed by Kathryn Livingston for IndieReader