The Passenger

The Passenger
by Lisa Lutz
Published March, 2016

Sometimes, a good book can tear out your heart and leave you in tears. Sometimes it can make you think about social issues from a completely new perspective. Sometimes it will even leave you pondering the very meaning of life. And then there are the books that don't do any of these things, but are fabulous nonetheless because they are just such fun. A fast-paced ride from start to finish, The Passenger is one of these books.

In the opening pages of The Passenger, Tanya Dubois has been freshly widowed, husband Frank having taken an accidental tumble down the stairs. While apparently blameless in Frank's death: "In case you were wondering, I didn't do it. I didn't have anything to do with Frank's death. I don't have an alibi, so you're going to have to take my word for it", Tanya is not at all keen to stick around and instead, she flees the scene. Within forty-eight hours, she's assumed a new look, new name and new identity - but it's not so simple to get away and she's pursued across the country by mysterious figures from a mysterious past.

Presumably, Tanya's disguise was very convincing. Much like this. 

The Passenger starts with a bang and just keeps going from there at break-neck speed - it's perfectly paced so that just when you're about ready to put the book down for the night, something else happens and you just need to read a bit more. It's like the book version of a fantastic-if-slightly-trashy TV series that you can't stop binge-watching.
The book is certainly not perfect (the supporting characters are a little flat and there are a few plot holes that are never really explained), you don't really notice any of the flaws because you're so caught up in the story itself to concern yourself with minor details.

Narrated by Tanya, The Passenger carries a wry note of dark humour, right from the first sentence: "When I found my husband at the bottom of the stairs, I tried to resuscitate him before I ever considered disposing of his body. I pumped his barrel chest and blew into his purple lips. It was the first time in years that our lips had touched and I didn't recoil". While the other characters in The Passenger are arguably a  bit thinly drawn, Tanya herself is given a unique voice, her character well developed throughout the book as we learn more about her past and better understand her motivations. There are an awful lot of half-decent suspense novels out there with similar stories, but one of the things that sets The Passenger apart is this wonderful, humorous tone - it's a book that doesn't take itself too seriously, which just makes it even more fun. 

Entertaining, well-written and perfectly paced, The Passenger is a great ride.

8/10