The ferocious action of Hunting Time starts immediately. Jeffery Deaver (The October List; The Kill Room) melds high-tech maneuverings with believable characters in his fourth exciting thriller starring professional reward seeker Colter Shaw. Entrepreneur Marty Harmon hires Shaw to find a stolen portable nuclear power plant that Harmon's firm developed, which would allow emerging countries reliable sources of energy and improve residents' lives. Through a cunning bit of trickery Shaw retrieves the device, called the Pocket Sun, from a greedy employee and his accomplices. Then Harmon has a second job for Shaw: find and protect the device's inventor, Allison Parker, and her 16-year-old daughter, Hannah. Allison's ex-husband, former cop Jon Merritt, has been released early from prison, and they fear for their lives. Merritt, convicted of attempting to murder Allison, swore he would kill her when he was released. Mother and daughter have gone off the grid, but one of Shaw's skills is finding those who don't want to be found. With the help of Harmon's security chief, Sonja Nilsson, Shaw traces Allison and Hannah, trying to stay ahead of Merritt and two other killers also on the trail.
Deaver's elaborate narrative in Hunting Time doles out well-timed surprises for full impact while delving into Shaw's background, which includes his upbringing by a survivalist. Shaw, an engaging hero, constantly evaluates how to survive a situation, assessing the odds for which methods work best--and he's right at least 99% of the time. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer