Warning Signs

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.

I loved Tracy Sierra’s previous book, Nightwatching, which I thought was a tense, nerve-wracking, fast-paced, unputdownable read.

I guess part of the issue with this book is a ‘me’ problem, because from the synopsis, I was thinking it would be a similarly fast-paced survival thriller, and that’s what I was in the mood for when I picked this up. Unfortunately, I found this one quite slow and just not that interesting, despite a good premise and a good ending.

The story dragged on and was so detailed about avalanche survival and skiing, and never really felt like a thriller to me until right at the end.