Wow. Fate Is A Hunter by author by Susan Wuthrich surprised me. I have read my fair share of thrillers before but this one is special.

It starts simple enough with Lydia presenting herself to the reader as a well-adjusted, happily married mother of two meeting up with friends. The façade quickly disappears as Lydia’s husband, Doug, leaves her without a word, taking with him their children. Lydia attempts suicide and ends up in a psychiatric clinic.

Forced to deal with the reality of her shattered life, her failed marriage, Lydia learns that her husband was not who she thought he was and has left the country with her kids and one of her friends. She suspects they went to Dolore’s homeland, Cuba, or to Doug’s homeland, South Africa.

Local police advise her to contact Child Rescue Alert who begin to make inquiries. This leads to deeper intrigue as Lydia learns a great deal about Apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation hearings, and Cuban-supported communist forces that operated at the border between Namibia and Angola.

Lydia, after getting her financial situation in order, heads for South Africa.

All the characters are deep and believable. It is sad and tragic as stories of torture and arrests are explored including the death of one Phineas Motholo.

I highly recommend this book. Once I got a few chapters in and the unraveling of where the children had been taken began to become clearer, I couldn’t put the book down. 5 stars.