Alone with a Tasman Tiger: A high stakes race, a missing friend and a search for the impossible

A Very Entertaining Read

Dollycas�s Thoughts

A contest in the Tasmanian wilderness pits contestants against the elements each on their own. A yacht race has its contestants battling each other and the elements too. A fashion designer finds herself in the middle of an investigation that could have deadly consequences. Hang on tight . . .

I have not read the first book in this series where a few of the characters were introduced but that did not hinder my understanding or enjoyment of this story. The author provides a list of the main characters at the beginning of the mystery. Sebastian Ward (Seb) had some time to kill before participating in a yacht race so he signed up to be a contestant on a reality show, held in the Western Tasmanian wilderness. The object is to survive the longest before giving up or being taken out of the game for medical reasons.

The show is called Alone. It started with 20 contenders but was quickly cut to 6 contestants who were each delivered to their own plot of land where they must wear a tracker, film for at least 5 hours a day, not kill any bandicoots, Tasmanian devils, platypuses or eastern quolls, and try not to kill any snakes even if they are poisonous. They also can�t travel away from their plot of land or try to communicate with other contestants. They could only have clothes, a first aid kit, and 10 items selected from the things the show has provided like a blanket and cooking pot.

The first half of the book follows the contestants day-by-day in their quest. Part 2 takes readers along on a yacht race adventure where dangerous things happen. Part 3 takes readers to London where clues come together to explain what happened earlier and also takes us back to the wilderness. Some days overlap and I didn�t catch that at first but quickly caught on.

Ms. Ellyson has written a very compelling fast-paced story. I liked that it was told continually without jumping back and forth between times and places. I completely immersed myself in the day-to-day adventure in the wilderness. The pages just flew as I was not only entertained but learned things about animals, fishing, setting traps, making camp with accommodations to sleep, and storing food. Each contestant had different strengths and weaknesses. That could have been a book on its own.

Then readers are on the yacht observing everything it and the sailors encounter to reach the end, hopefully, to win a prize. The pages were still flying.

Then Part 3 brings everything together. People work together to find a missing person and find answers. Again the pages flew. Because of the length of this book, I allotted 3 days for it. but I stayed up late and read the whole thing in one night. Yes, I had a book hangover the next morning but I couldn�t put it down. It would make a great movie.

Alone with a Tasman Tiger was a very entertaining read with interesting characters in unique settings that grabbed me from page 1. This being the first book I have read by this author I am looking forward to more of her work, maybe the next book in her Chic Charlie Series.