The Passenger - Lisa Lutz

I've read Lisa Lutz's Spellman series in the past. They're award winning light-hearted whodunits à la Janet Evanovich.

Her latest book, The Passenger, is a bit of departure from her previous books. I loved the cover of the book and was curious to see the change in tone.

Tanya Dubois is on the run after her husband accidentally dies. Now, why wouldn't she stick around - it was an accidental fall after all? But Tanya was someone else before and now that she's on the run - again - she'll be another new someone. Tanya's past is alluded to - the original reason she left her childhood town and took off - and as the story progresses, we are privy to emails that slowly point us in the final direction.

As Tanya flees, she crosses paths with Blue - another woman on the run. The two join forces for a while - with deadly repercussions. And their identities change again. And again.

I thought this was a great premise. But sadly, I found it just didn't deliver the punch I was hoping for. After awhile, the constant reinvention just became expected and somewhat tiresome. I found some plot points a bit far fetched. (For anyone else who has read it - the school? Really?) I never really bought into this deadly duo. While their actions are murderous, I never felt the frisson of fear I would have expected from them. And honestly, I just didn't like either of them. But, I really wanted to know what the original impetus was for Tanya's flight, so I saw the book through to the end. But, I was let down by the somewhat pedestrian reason- and the last plot 'twist' was just unbelievable.

The publisher uses 'blistering thriller' and "amazing psychological thriller" as descriptors for The Passenger. For this reader, they're a bit ambitious. This was just an okay read for me. I think I'm in the minority on this one, but see for yourself - read an excerpt of The Passenger.