The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

Summary:
Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It’s not the first time. She meets Blue, a female bartender who recognizes the hunted look in a fugitive’s eyes and offers her a place to stay. With dwindling choices, Tanya-now-Amelia accepts. An uneasy―and dangerous―alliance is born. It’s almost impossible to live off the grid today, but Amelia-now-Debra and Blue have the courage, the ingenuity, and the desperation, to try. Hopscotching from city to city, Debra especially is chased by a very dark secret…can she outrun her past?

My take: 5 looks

One of my favorite authors, Lisa Lutz has ventured out of the realm of the Spellman family and tried her hand at an honest-to-goodness thriller/mystery. And she succeeds.

At first, the reader has no idea who this woman is, what her role will be in the book, and whether she truly is innocent of anything. One thing is for sure, Tanya Dubois seems to know how to run, how to change her looks, and how to use her wits to survive. Enter Ryan, who seems to be a love interest from the past. Enter Blue, who seems to be much more than a barkeep. Enter Oliver, who seems to be a very bad guy somehow connected to Tanya's mother.

The story is propelled forward by Tanya's running from relentless pursuers. She manages to stay one step ahead of them by using her skills at identity theft and knowing just how long she can impersonate someone. Blue turns out to be more than a secondary character, and I fluctuated almost the entire book on whether or not to trust her. Turns out, I still don't know.

What we have here is very good, very tight writing. The story was wound up nicely, but with long threads left loose, perhaps for a sequel. I can only hope.

Highly recommended when published March, 2016.

Many thanks to NetGalley for this Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.