Wayward

Wayward by Blake Crouch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Ethan Burke, sheriff of Wayward Pines, runs across a body, he's tasked with investigating her murder. But what does the deceased have to do with Burke's ex-partner and former lover? And what will Theresa think about her husband and his old flame spending time together?

I got this from Netgalley.

After the jaw-dropping reveal at the end of Pines, I was pretty sure Wayward would suffer from the sophomore slump. It did not.

Instead of bucking the system, as in the first volume, Wayward sees Ethan trying to keep order in the manufactured reality of Wayward Pines. His investigation leads him to an underground movement of people bent on getting to the bottom of things. It also brings him closer to his wife, Theresa, and son, Ben.

This book had a paranoid tone like the first but the pace wasn't nearly as frantic. I really like how Blake Crouch doesn't maintain the status quo and isn't afraid to shake things up. I also liked that Ethan and Kate didn't get their genitals tangled. Pam and Pilcher both moved a bit higher on the douche bag scale.

I have to say that I didn't quite like this one as much as the first. Trusting Ethan made Pilcher look like an idiot. Mostly, though, I think the first book set the bar a little too high.

3.5 out of 5 stars. Luckily, I have the final volume on deck. Time to poach this pear.

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