Comments:: Sandrine, a young Swiss woman with a new born baby, is back home after a trek around the world. Things went bad and she had to rush home, but now she's met Scott and he seems to be the perfect man. The first few chapters of The Beaten Track are a bit flat, but then chapter 4 begins, and wham! we're off on a twisty, fascinating trip across the globe and through this novel. Sandrine doesn't realize it, but at her first stop in San Francisco, Jake sees her, and he stalks her the rest of the trip. The chapters alternate between the two, and the reader gets insights into a uber creepy man who follows her through New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, and Nepal. The Beaten Track is well written and the plot is tight.

Louise Mangos is a Brit who has lived over half her life in Switzerland, and has a Kiwi husband. I suspect she's traveled to the places she writes about here because she captured the feel of each location -- the ones I too know (San Fran, Hawaii, Sydney) and there is a vividness to the others that I haven't made it to yet.

How I Discovered This: Not sure, probably from one of the Switzerland accounts I follow. I'm always looking for popular fiction from Europe.

Why I Read This Now: I had this along on my trip the last few weeks to Switzerland, but didn't get very far. I read 80% of this yesterday when I was lying on my sofa with a cold.

Recommended for: Anyone who wants to read a quality thriller

Rating: 4.5 stars. There are only 4 copies of this in LT, and that's just sad. This was a terrific novel that a wide audience would love. It even has a blurb by Ian Rankin ("I really enjoyed this. A touch of Highsmith about it.") ( )