Leave No Trace by Tim Mulholland
Leave No Trace by Tim Mulholland bills itself as a mystery thriller revolving around a seasoned backpacker who, in the middle of the Sierra Nevada mountains, stumbles upon a woman who, of all things and of all places, has fled kidnappers who have held her captive.
But as much as this is a book of the mystery genre, Leave No Trace is a literary anthem to the great outdoors and the mystical and magical joys of backpacking. So much so, in fact, that Kim, the abducted computer scientist whose security systems have obstructed the ability of an international group of hackers to do their deeds, seems more taken with the air, scenery and outdoor experience than the reality that her life might be in danger.
A DARING ESCAPE AND AN UNLIKELY ALLIANCE
Mulholland’s book is an ode to freedom, covering all the bases of the haves, the havenots and the wannabes. The protagonist, Fred, is a happy family man with a good job and satisfying life. But he has the need when he can to pursue his passion – a rigorous backpacking expedition to be on his own, at one with the elements, and rejuvenate his senses and his being. It is the most healthy of endeavors that his family fully supports.
On the other hand, freedom has different connotations for Kim, a city girl who, upon returning to who apartment after a morning walk for coffee, is taken by unknown assailants and whisked off to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Her abductors explain that her work is restricting their ability to do their work, however evil or ethical it might be, and she is given an invitation to join them, which she declines.
When the cabin no longer provides a safe spot for her captors, they transport her to a remote location in the Sierra Nevada. She is treated very well, politely and with respect – it’s hard to imagine harm coming to her. And the juxtaposition of her freedom being taken away with her entrancement with the open and free setting she is experiencing makes her an interesting and unusual character to figure.
When a bear attack provides the optimum moment, Kim flees her captors – and eventually meets up with Fred. The game of cat and mouse is on.
AN IMMERSIVE JOURNEY INTO NATURE
Backpackers have a value system and set of ethical principles called “Leave No Trace,” which commonly refers to preserving the beauty of the land the way you found it, cleaning up after an experience, protecting the environment, and leaving no litter or anything else that could endanger the animals. The expression certainly takes on a double meaning in this adventure, as the experienced hiker Fred and the savvy computer scientist Kim take every precaution and think through every detail so that their paths to escape cannot be tracked.
The author writes of a world and activity with which he is intimately familiar. Backpacking fanatics will marvel at his descriptions of activities, procedures and descriptions of the backpacking life. The journey in the book is amplified by illustrated maps plotting the course.
Those not familiar with this outdoor experience will be taken in by its sheer magnificence – the morning sunrises, the stillness of the late afternoon lakes, and the exhilarating activity of navigating the terrain. It’s all there in Mulholland’s work – and perhaps readers, much like the character Kim, will fall in love.
Mulholland has captured a beautiful slice of life and added a plot twist sure to entice. “For all the possible difficulties that Fred had imagined and prepared for, running into a kidnapping victim hadn’t entered his calculus before. None of the articles that he’d read about other backpackers’ terrifying experiences mentioned kidnapping victims.”
Leave it to this author to blaze a new trail.
Buy this Book!
Amazon
