Hunger Moon (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers, 5) Paperback – October 24, 2017

This is the same series it always been, a sort of fantasy mystery series, with compelling characters who are slightly larger than life. I call it a "fantasy" not because it includes magic or anything like that, but because it is not hyper-realistic series, but that's part of the pleasure of it, in my opinion. Yes, the Huntress is an anomaly--as the book so clearly states. There aren't really female vigilante killers who clear the world of scum, but that's part of the pleasure of the book. Cara is almost a superhero--albeit a deadly one--and that's what makes this series work. It's why some of us love this series, even if there are flaws (but what book doesn't have flaws, and this isn't literary fiction anyway: these books are all compelling in pacing and characterization, and if the characters a bit black and white, well, that's the genre the author is working in, and she works in it expertly).Yes this book is political, but did people who are angry about that now even read the other books? The books were always grounded in the real world and real world politics too: this series has always answered this question: what if women fought back? What if, in particular, one very skilled killer fought back against the men who prey on women and children? For me, a survivor of multiple sexual assaults, this book has been a fantastic series: cathartic and satisfying, and this book just does what the others do: the Huntress cleans up what needs to be cleaned up.And when we live in a world in which more and more men with power are being exposed for the way they have abused women, well, should this author NOT have pointed that out? So for those who say it's too political? Says a lot about those readers, more about them than about the series themselves.This series is entertaining, yes, because they are well plotted and compellingly written. It's also hard to read, because what Sokoloff writes about is an ugly world that too many people like to pretend doesn't exist. This world is all too true, and for people of any gender who have been assaulted, well, maybe you too will feel a bit of relief that at least in the world of these books, someone is paying attention. Someone (several someones in the series!) are trying make a different world. I wish we saw more of that in the real world.Ultimately, that's why I give this entire series five starts. I'm a bit of a literary snob, I admit it, and these are well written genre fiction, but still not lit fiction. I almost gave this book (and the rest) 4 stars for being good but not, say, as good as my literary idols like Jeannette Winterson or Toni Morrison. But I decided to go for five stars instead, because this author is doing something different: she is making a political statement too, and hers is that the lives of women and children are not something to be consumed. The lives of these people matter, and there are too many of them in our world, trafficked from all over. And it occurs to me that the author was quite brilliant in that: genre fiction gets read. Where else best to get her message out? And the sheer number of people giving a well written book a bad review because they don't agree with her politics makes that point perfectly. Sokoloff has done something special here: written a series that is like a super hero series for those who have experienced similiar kinds of horror and want to indulge in some revenge fantasies, but she has also created a readable series that many people who would not read lit. fiction have picked up. No better way to get out more information on the horrors going on in our country. And if she points out the President is part of the problem? Good for her. If she points out the problems on college campuses? I've worked at a University most of my life, and I can tell you what she is writing about is real. (All anyone has to do is look at the news to see the reality of what she's writing too).Much admiration to you, Ms. Sokoloff, for this series, which I am rereading now in preparation for the new book. Thank you for your work and for standing up for those who often can't speak for themselves for a myriad of reasons. You rock and so does this series! Can't wait for the next book!

In the afterwords of Hunger Moon, the author explains her motives as to why presents a very liberal stance in her latest release. I wonder what this book would have been like had President Trump not won the election, because Sexual violence of woman and children has been taking place in EVERY political administration no matter democrat or republican. Sokoloff goes on in her acknowledgment to say that democracy failed in the election of 2016, but that is simply not true, democracy won; it just isn’t what half the populace wanted. We had a peaceful transition of power in a patriarchal society. It is up to the populace not the government to stop sexual violence, it’s how we as parents raise our sons and daughters. It is the values we teach. It is the moral imperative of our world to rise above baser instinct and live moralistic lives. **Off Soap Box**If you want to be politically stimulated and emotionally challenged this a book to read, because the Huntress Carla Lindstrom is a serial killer who only kills sexual predators. This book is full of shades of grey for the victims of the crimes are also the embodiment of evil. In these books for Lindstrom evil isn’t an abstract idea but a true entity that she fights. The criminals depravity is what feeds the evil ‘it’. Yes, Carla is a killer, is she evil? That is up to the reader to decide. There is no interaction between FBI agent Roarke and the Huntress, which was disappointing to me. There are two on going plots which split the focus of the book, that of campus rapist and a trap set for Carla. I didn’t give the book five stars because it was overtly political, which I felt hit over the head with.

I love thrillers, mystery, some horror/fantasy, and any series that captures my attention and keeps me waiting impatiently for the next one. This series and this novel push all of those buttons. Additionally, this novel tackles the issue of an ascendant rape culture head-on in a way most novelists avoid. Yet, Sokoloff's handling of it only enhances the story line, increases the tension, and adds to the suspense rather, than detracting from the story as a less skilled writer may have done. I appreciate Alexandra Sokoloff's bravery, forthrightness, and knowledge in writing about this issue. Clearly, it is one of the most critical issues we need to think about and discuss as a nation, as a world, in this time when we have a man in the White House whose words and behavior signal him as a sociopathic, naricissistic racist and self-admitted sexual predator, and where a candidate accused of molestation of under-age teenage girls is openly running for the Senate and legitimizing it by claiming Jesus had a teenage mother. There can be no doubt that our current president's behavior has encouraged the worst elements of US culture to come out of the woodwork for cabinet positions, for positions in the judiciary, and in law enforcement. His behavior has caused the loss of career law enforcement and diplomatic professionals who have resigned in disgust at his anti-American policies. There is no time like the present to tackle these issues head on, to take a hard look at how the culture of patriarchy influences our daily lives, and to think about legal, positive ways to address the problems. The issues of internet harassment of women, of sex and child trafficking, and of rapists receiving light sentences make our daily headlines. The world created in this series is dystopic, but not so far fetched. This is a quickly unraveling world where laws which were set up to protect us are being dismantled and new laws are being established to further the interests of wealthy patriarchy and hamper the efforts of peaceful protest. In real life, too, this is really happening.In the novel, a fictional feminist group, Bitch, encourages women to rise up and fight rape culture, but their aggression (coupled with previous rapes) pushes a couple of women to violence. Meanwhile, Cara Lindstrom fights for her life as a predator she faced during her childhood, Officer Ortiz, puts a bounty on her head in the dark net, a secretive area of the internet frequented by rapists and child molesters. FBI Special Agent Roarke works to try to get a task force set up to address the backlog of untested rape kits and the ongoing threat to women and children. He continues to try to work within the law even as the FBI appears to be serving the interests of predators. Ultimately, each major character is faced with impossible choices, with a life-changing challenge to their moral center.The series is fast-paced, and this novel breaks all previous pacing records in the series as it hurtles towards its denouement. Yet, the characters are still given in-depth complexity and handling. Sokoloff uses startling imagery and bold language to support the plot and bring the story to fruition.In the afterword, Sokoloff discusses the issues of the rape kit backlog, the mishandling of rape cases on college (and high school) campuses, and the failures of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, and encourages us to be part of the solution.Alexandra Sokoloff has created two of the most interesting characters in modern literature in Roarke and Lindstrom and their unique and evolving relationship. I am anxiously waiting for the next in the series.

love this author and the Moon series

I have just finished Hunger Moon after having read the four previous books one after the other, something I seldom do but I was hooked after Huntress Moon (book 1).The story unfolds through the series as does the "relationship" (for want of a better word) between FBI ASAC Mathew Roarke and the woman he first sees at a murder scene in San Francisco. The writing is tight, atmospheric and creates scenes with just the right balance of descriptive passage and build up to be able to visualise events unfolding without having to wade through endless paragraphs of waffle to get to the action. The characters are well-rounded, interesting and each of the main ones have character traits that make their actions understandable and have the reader sympathising, even when they make be breaking the law. The tangled, difficult emotions that Roarke experiences with regard to Cara are well-written and I was both relieved and happy that the author didn't fall into the trap of going for an easy way out to deal with Roarke's quandary.I would definitely recommend starting the series at the beginning so as to better understand all the many layers of the story, which continue through to the aftermath of the 2016 US elections and how the change in politics and President impact on events and attitudes. There are some pretty disturbing scenes in the book but given one of the main themes, the brutalising, trafficking and forced prostitution of young girls, I was rooting for everyone fighting back and totally sympathetic towards their actions.Roarke and Cara's "relationship" is complicated, many-layered and achingly sad in all that the reader wants for them but realises may never be possible for so many reasons. The author has dealt with this in a sympathetic manner without cloying emotion or unrealistic scenes of crazed passion; instead, she builds the connection between them, teasing the idea, the possibility of...something.The ending to Hunger Moon definitely leaves the way open for another book so you're wondering, hoping that their story hasn't quite finished.but it could just as easily be that Roarke and Cara's story simply ends there, If you want a series to get your teeth into, to make you find a spare half hour in your day to read another chapter or two, look no further than The Huntress/FBI Thriller series.

So this for me was Cara and Roarke, Epps and Singh, all back to their best after (for me) a bit of a miss with Book 4 in the Huntress series.My jury is out on some of the politics in this, which got a bit preachy at times. In the acknowledgements at the tail end, the author discusses why she wrote the politics. The timeline of the book occurs during the Presidential elections that see Donald Trump become president. Many of the underlined passages in the book reflect a common female mindset when the author discusses rape culture/trafficking/prostitution etc. For me, while I am all for the contemporary feel of including recent and real events with the story, it did draw me out of the story at times when I felt the author's politics got pushed to the forefront.All that aside, the book is even more powerful because of the political reality in which it is set. It is very easy to see how a movement such as Bitch could arise.Cara is at her usual lethal best. I'm a bit worried about Jade and her actions in the book, and I'm assuming her character will continue through more of the series.A cracking read.

I was surprised how quickly Sokoloff put together this exciting novel. She managed to use this unique time in politics to give the latest Huntress novel a solid grounding in reality.

It's a good read and unusual story lineMust start with book 1