Saturday, November 30, 2013

Book Tour: Hitchhiker by Audra Middleton




Title: Hitchhiker

Author: Audra Middleton

Genre: Humorous Paranormal Thriller

Length: 178 pages approx

Publisher: Burst Books ( a division of Champagne Books)

Synopsis:
Supernatural abilities haunt her. Brainiac students taunt her. The FBI "Freak Squad" wants her. Will she abandon her extra sensory talents in favor of freedom, or will she hone them to help catch crooks?

Former army brat, Ainsley Benton, may have finally found her place in this world, and it’s among the freaks. This small town art teacher has the ability to see, hear, and feel what other people are experiencing, and now the FBI’s freak squad wants to use her “human bug” abilities to catch bad guys. Despite her fear of commitment, failure, and responsibility, Ainsley temporarily agrees to join this team of misfits, and ends up risking her life to investigate a conspiracy that may only be one of her schizophrenic coworker’s paranoid delusions.

My Review:
★★★★☆

This was one of those books that I decided to read based solely on the cover. I am glad I did. It was completely different than I thought it would be, not that I thought it wouldn't be good or anything! It's just that when I hear the word hitchhiker I always think of crazy serial killer people that are either picking up harmless hitchhikers or are hitchhikers themselves. This book has nothing to do with that!

Imagine if you could see through another's eyes by 'hitchhiking' in their body through some sort of bodily fluid exchange. That is what the main character, Ainsley, can do. She inherited the gene from her never around mother and has always hidden what she could do. One day she decides to donate blood and the next think you know a practically defunct branch of the FBI show up wanting to run tests on her.

This gutsy, funny art teacher seems to take everything in stride. I love her sense of humor and the way she tends to worry and stress out over things if she has time to. It makes her a really believable character. I really liked all the characters she worked with as well, Dylan being my favorite. I mean, what's not to love about a paranoid schizophrenic genius?

Although Ainsley gets to use her 'gift' to help solve cases for the FBI, the story seems to focus more on the characters than on the cases themselves. I did not find this to be too big of a problem, as I really enjoyed reading about them. I do wish it focused a little more on the cases, but I still will give this book a solid four star rating. I hope that the author will revisit these characters in another book or three! I would love to read more about them.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good thriller that is strongly character driven and includes nifty powers such as clairvoyance, empathy and the unique hitchhiker ability.

Author Bio:

Audra's love of writing began in the third grade, when she was chosen to go to a young author’s conference based on her story, "The Dragon Cookie,” which is about a giant cookie that comes to life. She continued writing, and was sometimes asked to write stories for friends as birthday gifts.

Audra went to college thinking she would go into journalism, but opted to go into publishing instead, and even took an internship at Yale University Press. She married right after college and was unable to find a publishing job where they were living in Seattle. Audra took an office job. After helping put her husband through law school, she went back to school and got her teaching degree. Audra enjoyed teaching, but once her oldest was born, she chose to stay home. At the encouragement of friends she started writing again, the result being her first novel, Watcher, which was released in January of 2013.

Audra and her husband now live in a small town in Eastern Washington with their three boys. They also have a black Lab named Benji who eats shoes, gophers and packages left on her front porch (thanks Fed-Ex). She recently went back to work as a Kindergarten teacher, but she still writes, dabbles in on-line shopping and plays Texas Hold ‘Em with her friends as often she can.

Author Links:

Follow the tour:

Schedule
11/25- http://www.christyscozycorners.com/ - Book Review
11/26- http://StressedRach.co.uk - Book Review
11/27- http://www.fictiondreams.com - Author Interview
11/28- http://beingtillysmummy.blogspot.co.uk/ - Book Review
11/29- http://tyrneathem.com/ - Book Review
11/30- http://mytangledskeinsbookreviews.blogspot.com - Book Review
12/1- http://pinkmamasplace.com - Book Review
12/2- http://sparkling4books.blogspot.com - Book Review
12/3- http://curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.in/ Book Review & Author Interview
12/4- http://ashabutterflys.com - Book Review
12/5- http://all-things-books.blogspot.com - Author Interview
12/6- http://jandcswallow.blogspot.com - Book Review
12/7- http://bookcrazyreviews.com - Book Review
12/8- http://www.singlemommywarrior.com - Book Review & Author Interview


Disclaimer: I received the ebook free for review purposes. Regardless, all opinions are my own. I was not required to leave a positive review.
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