You can look for danger. And danger can look for you: Warning Signs by Tracy Sierra #bookreview #WarningSigns #NetGalley

The heart-stopping second novel from the author of Nightwatching, in which a father-son ski weekend becomes a desperate fight for survival.
Twelve-year-old Zach is cautiously optimistic. His father Bram, whose business is in dire need of cash, has put together a father-son backcountry ski weekend to wine and dine his biggest investors. Schooled in outdoor survival by his mother, Zach is eager to prove himself to the hypercritical Bram. Maybe if Zach shows how useful he is, he can earn his father’s love.
But Zach knows to be on high alert around Bram, and he sees the way the group ignores the increasingly threatening conditions. For the first time in his beloved mountains, he is faced with the unknown, convinced that something watches their cabin from the treeline. Something that leaves behind strange tracks and picks its prey clean.
As the adults recklessly test the limits of the outdoors, Zach worries he might be in even more danger than he realized. Could the men around him prove more violent than the unforgiving weather, and the strange creature lurking in the dark? Zach will have to rely on his wits if he hopes to make it home safely. But he knows all too well that the wilderness can be unpredictable even at the best of times. And at the worst? Deadly.

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Hi and welcome to my review of Warning Signs!

I, like many other readers, was a huge fan of Tracy Sierra’s debut, Nightwatching, it was a tough act to follow. But in my most humble opinion, she nailed it. I had high hopes for Warning Signs but I’d already resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be getting that claustrophobic feeling that wowed me so much when reading Nightwatching.

Boy, was I wrong! I can’t figure out how she managed to make the wide Colorado wilderness seem claustrophobic, but she sure did! And I loved every second of it.

I absolutely loved Zach. He’s a great kid, smart and very knowledgeable about survival, but not in a way that makes you feel like you’re reading about a thirty-year-old bloke instead of a twelve-year-old boy. The more I learnt about him and his past, the more I felt for him, the more I rooted for him. His story, both past and present, hooked me and reeled me in further the more I read.

Warning Signs is such an atmospheric story, and so vividly written. As I said above, I never expected it to feel claustrophobic, but it did. I’m not sure that anyone conveys a looming sense of doom as aptly as this author. Zach’s fears at one point add to that feeling, as for a minute there I wasn’t sure either what posed the biggest danger, a creature, an animal, or a man. I had a bad feeling about one person from the start, but the truth turned out to be quite a bit darker than I’d anticipated.

Warning Signs does have a few action scenes, but most of the story is more quiet, understated. Quite frankly, it doesn’t need bold, high-octane action-packed pages to grab its reader by the throat and keep them captivated. It really got under my skin and I couldn’t stop reading. I would happily recommend it, especially to readers who enjoy a survival element in their stories.

Warning Signs is out in hardcover, digital formats and audio on 12 February.

Massive thanks to Viking and NetGalley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.