The Passenger

January 11, 2016
Tanya Dubois, the enigmatic heroine of this enjoyable standalone from Lutz (How to Start a Fire), is the unhappy wife of the deceased Frank Dubois, who took a fatal—and unassisted—header down the basement stairs of their Waterloo, Wis., home. Since she fears the police will think she pushed Frank, Tanya decides to get out of Waterloo as fast as possible, and she holes up in a sleazy motel, the first of many she’ll stay in, to call the mysterious Mr. Oliver, who grudgingly agrees to supply her with a new identity and some starter cash: it’s clear he’s done it before. Tanya becomes Amelia Keen in Austin, Tex., where she meets the beguiling but dangerous bartender Blue. It’s soon clear that Amelia and Blue both have unsavory pasts, and the agreement the women reach sends both of them off with new names. While the pacing falters in places and some of the final reveals lack wallop, Lutz’s complex web of finely honed characters will keep readers turning the pages. Agent: Stephanie Rostan, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.

Madeleine Maby's wry delivery is the perfect match for the start of this audiobook. When Tania Dubois finds her husband dead at the foot of the stairs, rather than call the police, she decides to go on the run. She's been through this before. Most of the story is in the first person, and Maby excels at characterizing the desperate Tania. The first few hours of the audiobook are exciting and unpredictable, but the plot soon gets bogged down in the practical difficulties of living under the radar. Midway through, listeners will be as desperate as Tania for some sort of resolution, and if the narration were not so engaging, many might not go the distance. However, Maby's delivery, especially at the beginning and ending, make this mystery engaging. C.A.T. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Starred review from June 1, 2016

Tanya Dubois, as she's initially introduced, is not the woman her husband believed her to be. He's dead--she didn't do it--but Tanya runs anyway, shedding her name and recent past yet again and taking on another identity. In another town, another bar, she meets Blue, who recognizes a kindred imposter and shelters Tanya-now-Amelia--at least for a while. The two will need to reinvent themselves once (twice, thrice...) more to escape their ghosts and the law and to stay alive. With a motley crew of abusive husbands, wealthy criminals, old boyfriends, desperate cops, and jealous brothers, men don't fare particularly well here. The body count grows, although who actually kills whom is tough to pinpoint when no one is who they claim to be. The latest from Lutz ("Spellman Files" series) is taut, serious, shocking, and undeniably addictive. Madeline Maby's excellent narration keeps the energy high, mimicking the characters' nerve-racking life on the run. VERDICT Libraries stocking up on summer reading will surely want to pick up this Passenger. ["[If] fans [of Lutz's beloved "Spellman Files" series] are open to...a darker energy and intensity, they will find her trademark independent narrator, smart writing, and rapid pace delivered here": LJ 11/15/15 starred review of the S. & S. hc.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

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