Kathleen Karr (Children's Literature)
The new mystery series “Hunted” gets off to a ripping start with adult thriller-writer Walter Sorrells’s first teen novel. Sixteen-year-old Chastity Pureheart--no, that is not her real name, but she is stuck with it--has been on the run with her mom since birth. New town, new name. But now they have landed in High Hopes, Alabama, and Chass is tired of running. When her mother disappears, she has got to start piecing clues together at last, and fast. But all Chass really knows is that she has got a way with music, which Mom has always forbidden. Sorrells has fun taking on an alternative to the tired Witness Protection plot. Along the way, he manages to badly shake up a slumbering Southern town, and brings the reader to the verge of nail-biting suspense. As the list of villains builds, Chass escapes mortal peril--more or less believably--time after time, but it is murder on her social life. Chass is a strong, well-developed heroine, and the reader will be rooting for her as the tension builds, and builds. 2005, Sleuth/Dutton/Penguin, $10.99. Ages 14 up.

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, July 2005 (Vol. 39, No. 4))
It's fun to have a good mystery to offer YA readers; this one is written by an Edgar Award-winning author of mysteries for adults. It has a strong attractive cover, which always helps. The plot involves a mother and daughter who change their identities every few years, traveling across the country. The daughter Chass doesn't know why. She is 16, now, and after three years in High Hopes, Alabama, she is more questioning of her mother's rules for their lives, especially her mother's ban on music of any kind. Secretly, Chass has been writing songs and learning to play the guitar; when on her birthday she reveals this talent to her mother, it serves as a catalyst for her mother's disappearance. For a few days, Chass is on her own, helped by a few friends, pursued by unknown men who demand she hand over a tape she knows nothing about. Her courage and intelligence, plus the skills she has picked up from her mother, drive her to locate her mother and find out the truth about her own identity. A suspenseful, tight plot and interesting characters make this ideal YA popular literature. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005, Penguin, Sleuth/Dutton, 313p., $10.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2005)
Chass's life of frequent moves and fake names ends when her mother disappears in the unwelcoming town of High Hopes, Alabama. Dodging assassins, sheriffs, social workers, and shady entertainment moguls, Chass researches her mother's mysterious past. Despite predictable villains and a formulaic plot, Sorrells maintains enough suspense to make the book an absorbing, if not lingering, experience. (Hunted series). Category: Older Fiction. 2005, Dutton/Sleuth, 313pp, 10.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Alyssa Lambert (The Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2006)
Chastity and her mother have been on the run since Chastity was a baby, assuming new identities and names in every new town they've traveled to. The strange thing, though, is that Chastity doesn't know why they are on the run or who her real father is. On the night of her sixteenth birthday, Chastity's mother never returns home after going out for a while. When Chastity calls the police, they report that they found her mother's car abandoned in a wooded area along with DNA matching her mother. Her purse was also found with six fake IDs in it. Chastity now only has six days to find her mother or she will go into foster care. Chastity might never see the woman she once knew again, that is, if her mother is still alive. This adventurous and thrilling novel is a great mystery that keeps you on your feet at all times and wondering what is going to happen next. I think that the author really captured the characteristics of each character and noted what Chastity and her mother's lives were like while they were on the run. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure, mystery, and suspense in the same book. Category: Mystery. 2005, Penguin Group, $10.99. Ages 12 to 15.

Deborah Fisher (VOYA, August 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 3))
Sorrells, author of mysteries and legal thrillers for adults, including Proof of Intent (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's, 2002), writes his first suspense novel for a young adult audience. Sixteen-year-old Chastity Pureheart ("Chass") does not know her real name, because her mother, who has kept them on the run since Chass was a baby, refuses to share the secret that keeps them moving from place to place. Each time they move, Chass assumes a new identity. On the night of her sixteenth birthday, her mother disappears from their home in High Hopes, Alabama. As she searches for clues to her mother's disappearance, Chastity finds herself in dangerous situations, encountering unexpected enemies and surprising allies. The suspense is heightened by the strange reactions of the townspeople to her mother's disappearance, and the resurfacing of a twenty-year-old murder case that might offer clues to the larger mystery of Chass and her mother's real identities. It is difficult to believe that a teenager with Chastity's intelligence and abilities would not have pressed her mother for more information about her true identity or tried earlier to find the truth on her own. The quality of the writing is uneven, but the riveting action and appealing protagonist will keep readers engrossed. The subplot involving Chastity's not-quite-a-boyfriend Ben and popular teen-queen Brittany offers enough depth and surprises to elevate this story above average suspense-thriller fare. Overall the resolution is satisfying, with the stage set for a sequel. Reluctant readers and fans of mystery-thrillers will welcome this offering, which is recommended for public library YA collections. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P J S (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, SLEUTH/Dutton, 256p., $10.99. Ages 12 to 18.