Cover Your Tracks

This book kept me guessing until the very end! When an avalanche puts two survivors on a journey into the wilderness, numerous twists and turns keep this story moving unexpectedly. A very pregnant doctor and a veteran reflect on their lives as they fight to stay alive! If you're looking for a good mystery, this is a great one to keep you guessing!

This story certainly kept me enraptured. You read up the 2 main characters and how their childhood growing up was like. You are drawn in to feel sympathy for both characters they brave a train wreck and avalanche. They both brave the cold snowy mountainous ares to get to civilization. The surprising shift at the end is a bit jarring because as a reader you always wish that eve8ends on a happy note.
In any event, I enjoyed listening to this book as it keep my interest. Thank you #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for this free.copy.

I just reviewed Cover Your Tracks by Daco Auffenorde. #DreamscapeMedia #NetGalley

This was for sure a 4.5 stars for me! The twists and turns the constant drama! I couldn’t stop listening! I loved the narrator in this story, as well.


Margot has the strength and courage of a superhero.

When on holiday to visit family during her 8month of pregnancy, Margot and her fellow passengers on a train are taken by surprise when an avalanche booms towards them from above. There isn’t much time to react, and Margot is unsure what to do; a fellow passenger Nick is all too eager to help everyone by telling them to head to the back of the train; nobody follows but Margot. Nick saves their lives while the lives of her fellow passengers perish. From then, Margot knows she needs Nicks to help her to survive and her baby to survive. But along the way, she starts to wonder who this man is, and can she trust him?


Every step of the way, I wanted more and more. The author did a fantastic job of giving enough details and leaving us wanting more. This story was a stunning piece of thrills and action. I thought I saw where this might go, and then the ending was not what I had expected in the beginning. I wish I knew more of the conclusion of Margot and her baby’s life after everything unfolded; that’s probably my only negative. This was an easy, enjoyable, thrilling, compelling read.

The back and forth between Nick's past and Margot's past, and the present was perfectly written. I never had the feeling of confusion. It was perfectly detailed to understand each character but not the point of boredom.

I was on the edge of my seat multiple times!! It seemed long, and I don’t know how long the page count is, but I burned through this one pretty quickly.

There are multiple trigger warnings regarding pregnancy, babies, war, and cruelty towards animals.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to listen to "Cover Your Tracks", but the story just DID NOT do anything for me. The narrator was also no to my liking, rather dull. Hard for me to believe that an 8 month pregnant, educated doctor would travel by train by train across half the country..The novel was bizarre and and unbelievable at times.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for my Advance Listeners Copy of Cover Your Tracks in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had a hard time getting in to the story with this one. I am honestly not sure if it was the actual story or the narration though that didn't work for me. The story felt slow and the narration was very stiff and lack emotion, and between those two things I just had a hard time with it. Unfortunately, I have stopped listening to it at 32% after several attempts to listen to it.

I will not be sharing my view of this one beyond my review here on NetGalley for this Audiobook.

3.5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscapes Media for this exciting character-driven adventure/survival tale. I listened to the audiobook.

Margo is an ER doctor who is eight months pregnant. She is travelling through the Rocky Mountains by train to attend a family wedding. She is estranged from most family members, so she is already uneasy about the trip. The train stops suddenly and unexpectedly in its tracks. The passengers are ordered to remain seated. A stranger, Nick, a former Army Ranger and expert survivalist, contradicts this order, telling the passengers to move quickly to the last train car. An avalanche is hurtling down the mountainside towards the tracks. Only Margo believes Nick and follows him to the more luxurious last car. Nick bravely uncouples this car from the rest of the train. They watch in horror as the avalanche hurls the main section of the train down the mountainside, burying it and killing its passengers.

Margo, heavy with her unborn baby, now depends on the domineering, gruff Nick to survive. He has saved her life a couple of times and reminds her that she must listen to him to save her baby. She finds him rude, and he asks intrusive personal questions. Nick has injured a leg, and although he is aware she is a doctor, he will not allow her to examine or attend to his leg injury. Nick ignores any idea Margo expresses that might help them.

As the blizzard worsens, their shelter is in danger from further avalanches. They must flee in the deep snow into the cold forest. They need to forage for food and are at risk of freezing. Fortunately, Nick is a skilled hunter, but they are in peril from hungry coyote packs.

I felt there were far too many flashbacks to Nick and Margo's former lives detracting from their survival story. Later, I found these backstories were essential to the plot, which concluded with an unexpected, brutal, frenzied ending. It became doubtful whether Nick, Margo and her baby had any hopes for surviving the weather, the wild animals, or each other.

Cover Your Tracks
Daco S Auffenorde
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was a landslide from the start to the end! Literally it starts off with an avalanche and all hell breaks lose along the way. This book is told from two perspectives, Margo and Nick, and while you are in real time, they both have memory flashes that walk you thru who they are in present day and how they got there.

There is a lot of survival themes in this book, and all that it entails. I don’t want to give anything away, but want you to know they are in survival mode. This book is chilling in both weather, read while sitting by the fire it helps, and in a sense of thrilling and sometimes eerie.

I love thrillers and survival books, so this was totally my jam! This book isn’t for the faint hearted. So bundle up and get ready for an adventure thru the snow covered mountains of Washington, as well as Nick and Margo’s pasts, all while they are trying to survive the elements and each other’s wrath!

I really enjoyed this audiobook the narration is good too! I was given an ALC on @netgalley, from the publisher @dreamscapemedia.

I feel as if I need to add a warning to this review. There is some stereotyping and language in this book that I found culturally insensitive and offensive and though I recognize the author was referencing times when certain language may have been used and even acceptable, a few changes would have still had us understand what she was portraying without come off as racist, and ignorant to the harm and ill will her words and at the very least unaware, thoughtless and or uncaring.

So two people are traveling on a train… sounds like the opening line to a joke, but it isn’t. It is the beginning of a well crafted journey that is fraught with suspense, peril, imminent life and death weather and some incredibly deep secrets. We are who were are based on our personal journey. Every experience takes us to where we are in every moment. We also have the ability to make conscious decisions about how we process those experiences. When I first started listening the movie “The Mountain Between Us” came to mind. Then it veered off to an entirely different creepy direction. Margo is on her way to her nieces wedding. There will see her family, who are a horrible group of people. Mean, judgmental hypocrites at best so we understand somewhat why Margo was who she was…mostly. Then there is Nick, an Army Ranger, on a personal mission that we discover later in the story. He was military through and through and desperately in need of some help for his PTSD. He manages to save them, but has an agenda. There are times when I liked them and then couldn’t stand them. Neither of them are stellar people and at times you root for one then the other and the neither! Its a hard book to review as I don’t want to give anything away, but know you’ll be left feeling quite unsettled when it ends, which I believe was truly the point. It isn’t a HEA romance after all. I can say that I probably would have given a higher rating if the language had been more sensitive and kind.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this. Told in 2 POV and well done. Well developed characters, I loved Margo. Loved the ups snd downs and the ending. Will definitely read more by this author

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the gifted audiobook.

I really loved the dual perspective and the present and past points of view. Margo did annoy me at first but by the end I learned to love her. Nick intrigued me. First you’re captured by the train crash, then you’re taken into a survival mode, then you’re captured by these characters and their histories. It was an easy listen.

8 months pregnant, Margo Fletcher finds herself stranded in the wilderness after an avalanche destroyed her train, with only one other survivor, Nick Eliot, a former Army Ranger The two must endure the snow, wild animals, and hunger, if they want to stay alive.
'Cover Your Tracks' captures your attention from the very first chapter. Auffenorde weaves the high stakes survival story with the complicated pasts of the lead characters in a way I've never read before. You can feel the desperation of Margo as she wills herself to survive for her unborn child.
Allyson Ryan does a fantastic job narrating, keeping the flow of the story steady yet attention grabbing. She captures the different voices of the characters while keeping the tone of the story.
With the heart stopping survival scenes and dark secrets, 'Cover Your Tracks' has something in it for every reader.

This review of the audio is a bit of a struggle for me. When I read this story, I was so busy turning pages and caught up in the mystery and suspense that I hopped over things that now concern me. And to be clear, they bothered me then too, but I ignore them.

The fast-paced story again grabbed my attention as I listened to the audio. It begins quickly. Immediately it leaves you asking what will happen next. Two people are up against the forces of nature. And to make it even more interesting, one is pregnant and due to deliver any time. Will they survive? Will a search party locate them? It’s hard to find a place to turn the story off.

Nick, one of the two survivors is a former Army Ranger, so far so good. But then, of course, we have Margo, 8 and a half months pregnant and not in any condition to traverse snow and freezing weather. But will she and Nick become great friends? After all, Margo is going to be a single parent. Or is Nick a bit shady? Again, the audio keeps rolling. Gotta have some answers.

But the story doesn’t keep going at break-neck speed for too long. Interspersed between what is happening on the mountain to the two are flashbacks. So little by little, we do get to know more about these survivors.

This thriller goes from this direction to that. Parts of it, especially the last of the book, are not for the weak. It is graphic and some might call it a bit over-the-top gross. It’s a tale that’s hard to stop listening to, but at the same time, I had concerns.

My Concerns
The part I was referring to earlier, regarding my first read and listening to the audio, is the fact that the reference to Margo being pregnant felt completely overdone. Most readers will find pregnancy hard to ever forget since it adds such a concern to what they are going through. And if I had been reading a Kindle I would have counted how many times the word belly was used. But since I can’t, I will just say way too many times.

Though she was easy to understand, I really can’t say that I cared too much for Ryan as the narrator. Something about her voice didn’t quite click with me, and the variance in female voices was minimal, only a higher pitch. I’m sure it is nothing more than personal preference, however. Her voice was very easy to understand.

What I Liked
I loved the fact that this audio kept me listening almost from the minute I started it. The story captured my attention and wouldn’t let up.

My thanks to #DreamscapeMedia and #NetGalley for this audiobook. My review was not influenced by this review copy.

If I were rating this on the action, I would give it four stars. The action kept coming. There is something intense about listening to a story about two people escaping an avalanche that hits the train they were on while listening to a thunder snow storm, The mood was perfect.

If I were rating this on the story it would be a three star book. I liked parts of it but it got more and more ridiculous as time went on. Neither of these people had a great backstory so it is no wonder they would be messed up people, but I did a lot of eyeballing over the actions of the characters throughout.

If I were rating on the narrator, I would have gone with a 2 star review. I found she took me out of the story with her over-acting choices. Very distracting.

Cover Your Tracks was intense at the start. It immediately places the reader in a situation of discomfort right from the beginning. However, it transitions into more of a slow burn, character driven story rather than an edge of your seat thriller I was hoping for.

The story flashes back and forth between the present perilous situation and the past of each of the main characters. The present involves two strangers, Margo and Nick, who are stranded in the snow in the middle of nowhere...with hungry coyotes. Scary, right?! Well, let’s just add in the fact that Margo is super pregnant and Nick is is shady AF. Fun stuff 😬

I felt like this story had a ton of potential and it did deliver in some aspects. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the author’s writing style and felt like there were some redundancy issues that didn’t feel natural while reading. This book does get pretty dark at times, so beware.

I enjoyed the suspense. I knew that the parallel of their lives was going to intersect at some point, but didn’t realize it would be so diabolical. I listened to this book and found the descriptions very graphic, sometimes too much so.

I loved this book! There was a lot of suspense in it and I was constantly worried about Margo and Nick. Theres definitely some cliff hangers and parts of the book near the end that I would have loved a tad more follow up about what happened and reactions to certain events. I listed to the audio book version. The narrator was good and her voice was fine.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my advance copy of the audiobook. This story is told from the perspectives of Margo and Nick, the only survivors of a train crash. These characters are fighting for survival in more ways than one. Suspenseful, unpredictable and adventurous perfectly describe this well paced mystery.

Okay, there is no doubt about it - this book is intense!

--about
Margo Fletcher, eight months pregnant, is traveling by train from Chicago to Spokane, her childhood home. While passing through an isolated portion of the Rockies in blizzard conditions, the train unexpectedly brakes. Up ahead, deadly snow from a massive avalanche plummets down the mountain. Despite the conductor’s order for the passengers to stay seated, former Army Ranger Nick Eliot insists that survival depends on moving to the back of the train.
--
Right off the bat, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy listening to this book. The narrator is very echoey at the start of the book, but the sound dampens as the book goes on so don't let that discourage you. I will be recommending this book to folks who are looking for a suspenseful read.

Cover Your Tracks had me placed on the train with the character from the very start of the book. I enjoyed how the author weaved both Margo and Nick's stories together. This was a book I couldn't figure out as I was listening. I kept waiting for the "shoe to drop" and with how short this book is (less than 300 pages), I felt like a lot of the "good stuff" didn't happen until the very end.. Each perspective of this story is wildly important to the book.

Read if you like:
Suspense
Strong female characters
Multiple POVs

Trigger warnings:
Army/PTSD, animal mutilation, forced adoption/birth

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I was pleasantly surprised by this audiobook! The beginning seemed to drag a little and I wasn't sure if I would eventually get into the story or not, but once the narration began to switch between the two main characters, I was hooked and could not stop listening, Fantastic twist at the end. Not too long and just enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The premise of survival in the snowy wilderness while eight months pregnant was gripping. I wanted to know more right away. The book is packed with plot twists and suspense. This book was in duel perspectives- Margo and Nick are two passengers traveling on a train to Washington State. The two of them end up trying to survive in the snowy wilderness, while the book uses many timelines to help the reader learn more about them and their past.

The narrator does a good job of conveying appropriate emotion and is easy to listen to.

In today’s age of awareness and appropriateness, the book might be offensive to readers and could contain triggers for some (reference to Native Americans as “Indians”, teenage pregnancy, forced adoption, child abuse, and animal cruelty). I’d definitely recommend the book to people that can see past these triggers, but I’d recommend a hard pass for anyone that may be offended.

Cover Your Tracks by Daco S. Auffenorde - 2.75/5

S U M M A R Y
Margo Fletcher and Nick Eliot are on a train from Chicago to Spokane when a devastating avalanche hits the train while it is passing through the Rockies. Nick, a former special forces soldier, has the foresight to know the back of the train is safest, but Margo, 8 months pregnant, is the only one who listens to him, and thus they are the only 2 to presumably survive the calamity. But as they struggle in the wilderness afterward, nothing is really as it initially appeared, and Margo starts to have paranoid thoughts surrounding the man who saved her life.

C H A R A C T E R S
For all they seem to be fleshed out, they still felt somewhat superficial to me. I never really connected in any way to either of them. There was always a feeling of distance and remoteness even as you learned about some of the dark secrets of their respective pasts. We were repeatedly hit over the head that Margo is a doctor, Margo is a doctor, she's pregnant, she's pregnant, and those were her defining characteristics as a person. For Nick, it was that he was a soldier, a soldier, he had to know what he was doing, right? I never particularly liked either of them, though I did admire Margo in the end. 

I also feel that there were various threads having to do with mental health were left dangling but never resolved or addressed in any way. The word crazy was thrown around a few times, but truly, I don't think it was truly accurate or appropriately used. Nick was truly disturbed, but it was never truly touched on - despite Margo BEING A DOCTOR. Ahem. 

P L O T
Honestly, I feel like most of this book was an exercise in the suspension of disbelief. I can buy that there are coyotes in the Rockies - but to have a random, rabid one show up? In the middle of a blizzard? Honestly, I don't buy that. And then to have an otherwise intelligent woman like Margo buy that there was a leopard stalking them? Excuse me, we don't have leopards of any size that far north. Literally almost any other predator could have been named.

Too, I found it hard to swallow that no one had ever caught on to how disturbed Nick was? Since childhood? He was never caught, no one ever suspected, even in the military? Really? Pretty sure special forces has psych evals that would have turned something up.

Leaving aside those things, I suppose it was decent book, if a little overfilled with ingrained misogyny that you would think a single woman doctor like Margo would have overcome at least partially. I mean, I understand hormones, but ... sheesh, lady, you're supposedly a put together, confident doctor. 

Those things aside, there was rarely a dull moment, things kept moving forward, and I really enjoyed the last 10% or so as it climaxed and things fell into place. 

N A R R A T I O N
The narration was good, I have no issues with the narrator or how things were voiced. Good job.

O V E R A L L
If the first two thirds had been as well edited and paced as the last 10% or so, this would have been a really good read. As it stands, though, my above nitpicks kept nagging at me and throwing me out of the story, and I kept going "really?!" at Margo. But if you're good at suspending your disbelief, I'd say you would quite enjoy this thriller.

Cover Your Tracks is a fast paced thriller.

Margo, 8.5 months pregnant, is traveling across country on a train, when an avalanche is encountered. Nick, retired army ranger persuades her to move to the back of the train, and she and Nick are the only survivors.

Lost out in the wilderness with only their own skills for survival, there is a lot of tension between these 2 characters. Through flash backs from both of them, we learn of their complicated lives and the reasons that they are both on this train. They both encounter several terrifying moments, and have to figure out ways to survive in the freezing environment.

The first part of the book had me on the edge of my seat, and the action was well done. As we headed towards the end of the book however, I found some of the behavior of the two, particularly Nick, just hard to fathom. There was a lot of focus on the actions of one of Nick's childhood 'friends' and I wasn't quite sure why we needed so much focus on that part of his life.

Some of the actions attributed to both character, in their past and in the current situation, just didn't sit right with me. There was something just 'off'. All is wrapped up well at the end, but the book didn't fulfill the promise of the opening sections for me.

I listened to the book, and the narrator did a great job with the characters and plot. It was easy for me to determine when we were in flashback and when we were in current time - something that doesn't always translate well in an audio book.

This book jumps right into the action on page one and doesn’t stop!

I listened to this one as an audiobook and I never wanted to pause it! I listen on my way to work, while I was doing my office work, on my lunch break, walking my dog.... it just hooks your attention and won’t let it go! I loved how it alternated between the current survival situation the main characters find themselves in and their separate backstories, it really fleshed out a great story.

I was a little shocked by the fact that the story took a pretty dark turn toward the end. Part of that plot was a little unbelievable for me..... but it wasn’t enough to sour my opinion of the story as a whole.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio version of Cover Your Tracks by Daco Auffenorde.

Margo is heavily pregnant and visiting her family by train. But her trip comes to a dangerous halt when a heavy snow fall endangers the train. After a devastating avalanche, Margo is alone with her rescuer, Nick, a man she just met.

Nick seems like a strong, and capable man, but how well does she really know him? And can he actually save her and the life of her unborn baby?

This is a very fast paced adventure about two strangers who have to survive impossible conditions. But through flashbacks of their lives before the accident, we learn exactly who they really are, and how their experiences shape their behavior now.

I got a bit of whiplash reading this, and I think that was the author's intent, but maybe it was too choppy for me? I couldn't quite nail down what it was, but the theme of the story kept morphing, making it feel too inconsistent. However, for a wild, and COLD survival adventure novel, this was very readable.

Having just gotten back from a trip to Montana, I was really excited to learn this book takes place just outside of Glacier National Park! A good, snowy, atmospheric story to carry me into the winter months. Cover Your Tracks is told through alternating perspectives of Margot and Nick, two passengers on a train who escaped a deadly avalanche, only to be left to find for themselves in the sub-zero wilderness. It took some time for me to get into this one, as I'm not too keen on survival books. I could've done without the broken bones, coyote attacks, pheasant hunting, etc., but I know the author was just painting the realistic picture of survival in the forest. I became more intrigued as the character backgrounds, particularly Nick's, further developed. Though I found the ending twist to be a bit unrealistic, I did like how the plot lines finally merged. I wouldn't necessarily have categorized this book as a thriller, but more of a slow burn character study, exploring the depths of motherhood, family, the military and PTSD.

Many thanks to Keylight Books, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy of this audiobook!

I picked up this novel because it’s set in Glacier Park, one of my favorite places, but the plot is so engrossing that it was hard to stop reading. Margo is crossing the Park by train when an avalanche causes a derailment and the death of every single passenger except for her and her savior, Nick. A retired Army Ranger, Nick knows how to survive in the wilderness. Margo is an ER doctor, so she is smart and resourceful but she is also eight months pregnant which makes everything, even walking, harder. They will have to rely on each other to survive, but they are both hiding secrets and nothing is what it seems. Big trigger warning to animal lovers: I had to skip some parts with explicit animal cruelty. The characters are complex and their evolution compelling. The twists are unpredictable and the pace frenetic. Allyson Ryan does an excellent job with the audiobook narration and all the characters are distinctive and easily identifiable.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Dreamscape Media!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Keylight for my audiobook of Cover Your Tracks by Daco Auffenorde, Narrated by Allyson Ryan in exchange for an honest review. It published October 20, 2020.
This is your quintessential mystery/thriller! I was initially drawn to two things about the premise: Spokane, WA, and the main character being pregnant. I don't think I've read many books where the main character is pregnant, so I was glad for something fresh. Also, I spent lots of time in Spokane growing up, and wasn't disappointed about the landmarks being mentioned.
I don't want to give anything away, but I will say, the multiple points of view served this story well, and there were many twists and turns I didn't see coming. I also predicted a lot of twists that didn't happen--that's exactly what I want! I want to guess wrong!
The narration was done very well and convincingly. Allyson Ryan is skilled and did this book justice! I would choose more books narrated by Ryan.

Very well written character driven suspense story! The ending may be slightly predictable but the ride to the end more than makes up for the predictability. Highly recommended and the narration in the audiobook is amazing!

COVER YOUR TRACKS by Daco S. Auffenorde is an action packed thriller that keeps you on edge from beginning to end. There is no slow burn to get this story going; it immediately launches you into action and suspense.

The characters, Margo Fletcher and Nick Eliot, are at odds with one another as they battle a life or death situation. Margo is driven by her maternal instincts while Nick is driven by his combat experience and an unnaturally keen interest in Margo’s safety.

There is a constant, palpable thread of tension between Margo and Nick the whole story. Margo, 8 months pregnant, must rely on Nick to navigate their dire situation. However, Nick’s demeanor and impersonal behavior keeps Margo at odds between trusting her maternal instincts or meeting her immediate physical needs. Something feels off. But Margo can’t put her finger on what.

Nick and Margo have tortured pasts and that influence their present state of mind. The narrative alternates between the past and present telling the reader about their life experiences that make the characters who they are today.

In addition to the narrative being an intense read, the scenery is also a gripping experience. Auffenorde describes the mountainous terrain, avalanche destruction, and blizzard conditions in such detail that it almost feels like you’re there, and it’s very, very cold.

There is a moment, a specific dialogue, about halfway into the story that makes you think you’ve figured out what Nick’s deal is. But the narrative is written carefully as to not give anything away and keep the reader guessing. The book is written in short chapters and reads very quickly.

Thank you, Daco S. Auffenorde,, Dreamscape Media, Turner Publishing and NetGalley, for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book!

Possible triggers: pregnancy, abortion, adoption, war, combat, animal abuse and mutilation.

This book is the ultimate horrifying, claustrophobic tale of survival.

There's nothing like a train breaking down in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard. But that's the least of the problems faced by the characters in this book. Margo, who finds herself on the train while traveling to her childhood home, is eight months pregnent; there is an avalanche coming that could kill all passensers. Ultimately, that's what happens and the only survivors are Margo and Nick, an army ranger who tried to warn everybody to move to the back of the train.

Now, normally this would be it. I can easily imagine this tale as a movie where the climax is when everyone dies but the two characters miraculously survives. Hold your horses! This is only the beginning for Margo and Nick.. So how will the two survive all alone without food, water or heat in the middle of a blizzard?

Boy, was this a wild ride. And as I had the great pleasure to listen to Cover Your Tracks via audiobook, I experienced the emotions and events times three. The narrator is excellent and I just couldn't shake the feeling that something is very wrong. Perfect thriller experience which I'm so glad I've listened to. The only thing keeping me from a five-star rating is that I didn't like Margo's flashbacks, which were quite prominent in the story.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Just before Christmas, Margo, at 8-mos pregnant, travels by train across the Rockies to Spokane for her niece's wedding. But, the train is about to be engulfed by an avalanche and Nick, an Army veteran recognizes this. He tries to get others to go to the last car of the train so he can uncouple it and keep them safe from what's ahead. Only Margo agrees to follow him. This is the story of their attempts at survival, with reflections into each of their past experiences. The story will keep you riveted, but be prepared for some graphic and violent details, and a rather abrupt ending. I could have done without some of the graphic descriptions, so I'm not rating it as high as I might have otherwise.

While the premise of this book had me really intrigued, the execution didn't really work for me, I'm sorry to say. Somehow, it just strained credulity one too many times and I didn't feel very absorbed. That being said, it is an interesting and creative idea.

After reading the synopsis for this one, I was thrilled when Dreamscape Media granted my wish on NetGalley so that I could listen to this audiobook.
Margo Fletcher is an ER nurse, traveling by train from Chicago to Spokane. Eight months pregnant, she is on the way to her childhood home to reunite with her estranged family.
The train suddently begins braking, as it travels through a remote area of the Rockies in blizzard conditions.
The conductor order them to remain seated as a treacherous avalanche begins up ahead of them.
Former Army Ranger NIck Elliot defies the instructions and tells the passengers that the only means for survival is to head to the back of the train.
Only Margo trusts his instincts and she joins him in the last train car, which he uncouples so they avoid the on-rushing snow.
The rest of the train is lost in a crush of snow.
As the weather worsens, they must head into the wilderness, fighting for survival.
Besides contending with the hazardous weather, they must face the threat of wild animals.
Eventually Nick guides Margo to a shelter atop a mountain.
But now Margo must confront Nick, and the secrets between them.
This was a dark, crazy and suspenseful thriller that kept me highly entertained.
I felt it was a bit over the top at times, but it was exciting and fun to listen to.
The narrator did an excellent job and I enjoyed the way the story flashed back from Margo and Nick's pasts as it led up to their final conflict.
Thank you Dreamscape Media Keylight for the audiobook via NetGalley.

In her debut novel Daco S. Auffenorde takes readers to a train, where two strangers are going to have to trust each other to survive:

Margo Fletcher is heading from Chicago to Spokane in the middle of winter, back to a family that she has been distant from for many years now. But she is eight months pregnant and there are some things that need to be said and put behind them. While passing through the Rocky Mountains, something triggers an avalanche. A stranger comes up to Margo and tells her they have to get to the back of the train if she and her baby are to survive. Margo ends up listening to him and it save their lives. However, now they are stranded in the wilderness with nothing to survive. Luckily for Margo Nick is an ex-army Ranger and a hunter and knows his way around the outdoors. He promises to help her and the baby. But should Margo trust him? He did just save her life, but he is a stranger, and some things just don't add up. Everyone has secrets and some are just more deadly than others.

I was drawn to this story for the premise of the book. It idea of having to survive in the winter with a stranger but also being extremely pregnant, I can read that, I haven't read a survivalist story in a long time but this is where the premise kind of steers you wrong.

This book tries to do too much. I think that the book should have been separated into two different parts with the the first being used to describe how Margo ends up taking the train. In the second part there could be more of a focus on the survival aspect and then had Nick's flashbacks in there as well. There are quite a few flashbacks throughout the book, and this muddles down the survival book aspects that the premise offers readers. Personally, I enjoyed the flashback aspects of how and why these two people ended up being on the train, more than the survival aspect, as once again it did not seem like this was the true focus of the book.

I also think that having the flashbacks with Nick throughout the book instead of a second part that I was able to figure everything out and the "big" twists that she had planned throughout the book.There was no shocker there for me. Don't get me wrong I was invested in both the characters throughout the story I just wish I would not have been able to figure the whole situation out. Trust me the flashbacks are extremely interesting and you get to know the characters from when they are children and has shaped them to be the people are now. If you like character development, Auffenorde gives it to you in spades.

The is one aspect within the book, that did not make since to me. Nick who is an Army Ranger, hunter, he knows his wilderness yet he states to Margo that there are Snow Leopards out there. Ummm nope, there are not, Snow Leopards do not live in North America, they live in a small region in Asia. I think Auffenorde meant Puma, mountain Lion or Cougar and none of those are refered to as a Snow Leopard. I realize it is a small detail but it goes against Nick as a character and I wonder how did the author or editor not catch this flaw.

This is such a catch-22 book for me, I loved the idea of the premise, it's not fully achieved until the end of the book, so i was disappointed by that. Yet i could not put this book down as I really enjoyed discovering who the characters were and what lead each of them to take a train across the country in the middle of winter. I think that this a is a good debut novel, and that Auffenorde story telling ability will get better the more she writes. There are great bones here and interesting twists that would knock people out if they were executed in a different way. I look forward to seeing what Auffenorde comes out with next.

Enjoy!!!

Cover Your Tracks is an intense and twisty thriller with tons of suspense and surprises.
I really enjoyed the complex characters and thought the narrators did a fantastic job portraying them. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advance copy.

This book was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it via audio book on my way to work. The unexpected twist at the end was a great turn of events and one I wasn't expecting.

I love a good psychological thriller. This one is fast paced and builds the suspense as the main characters' secrets are revealed. I do wish it was more believable though.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

That twist, though! Cover Your Tracks by Daco Auffenorde, is set mostly in present day on a cross country train and in the wilderness somewhere in the Rockies. It also has flashbacks to the main character's back stories. This book starts off and you are immediately in the suspense and action. To the point that it is almost a let down when the author starts going back to the main characters history's and upbringings. But, as I read, I started enjoying those parts too. It was a great suspense-background-suspense push and pull that ended up keeping me reading; wanting to know more and more as the characters developed and the present day situation unfolded. I don't want to give too much away but I was truly not expecting that twist at the end. If you enjoy suspense, read this book! 4 stars.

This was a fun, quick thriller that is perfect for a fast winter read. You can feel the cold and setting of the Rockies. Margo is pregnant and traveling by train, when an avalanche hits and she escapes with a fellow passenger, a former Army Ranger. The two try to find safety but encounter obstacles along their way. This was a fun thriller.

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read/listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
It started very promising and got me hooked, but by the ending reveal it became apparent that the reason behind all that build-up is quite silly. The narration was pretty good non the less.

A train crashes in the wintry, mountainous middle of nowhere and two strangers—Margo, a heavily pregnant doctor traveling alone, and Nick, a mysterious man with a wealth of wilderness survival skills—manage to survive, only to then have to battle the elements until they are rescued.

This frigid winter psychological thriller had me completely absorbed—I could not stop listening. Right from the beginning scenes, the action and suspense didn’t stop. I was horrified by Nick's increasingly controlling and misogynistic behaviour as the story progressed, and dismayed at Margo’s growing self-doubt as he led her to question whether her hormones were making her illogical and incapable of decision-making. The concluding chapters were equally engrossing, and I teetered on the edge of my seat with fearful anticipation before it all came to a close.

I tend to feel some psychological elements like gaslighting in a pretty visceral way. The entire time I listened to this audiobook I kept thinking back to Robert C. O’Brien’s 1974 tome "Z for Zacharia”. In both cases, the reader increasingly finds themself wondering whether the guy’s controlling behaviour and gaslighting are rooted in good intentions or in something sinister. In both books, there’s no one else around to check the woman’s perspective nor to help her out of the situation, forcing her to “play nice" with the potentially dangerous, possibly unhinged strange man with whom she is isolated in order to survive, and it seems more and more like he does not have her best interest at heart. Perhaps the one thing worse than being the only survivor is not being the only survivor.

Whew! This one is suspenseful from the very beginning until the end. The book begins as a crowded train is traveling through very snowy mountains, and a gigantic avalanche is spotted coming right for them. Nick and Margo are the only survivors, and the scenes with the avalanche set up the story really well in terms of survival and suspense. There is a frantic feel throughout that really works because of the high level of suspense. As he and Margo traveled through the remote, snowy forest toward safety, Nick used his advanced military skills to save a very pregnant Margo time and time again. I never fully trusted Nick, and I think this made the story more suspenseful for me. I absolutely loved the descriptions of weather and nature and snowy conditions.

Audiobook Notes: I chose to listen to this audiobook because of the narrator, who I have heard before and I'm a big fan. Another of my favorite audiobooks with narration by Allyson Ryan is a survival thriller, so I was extra excited to see what her performance would bring to Cover Your Tracks. I was pleased that I listened to the audio format of this book because Ms. Ryan narrated wonderfully, and I would love to recommend that readers listen to this story on audio because the level of suspense is just so much fun.

Title: Cover Your Tracks by Daco Auffenorde
Narrator: Allyson Ryan
Length: 7 hours, 50 minutes, Unabridged
Publisher: Dreamscape Media

I would like to thank Dreamscape Media for sending me a free copy of this audiobook for review via NetGalley!

This is a good psychological suspense.

Margo, an ER doctor, is eight months pregnant but has an important reason to travel to her childhood home. She had struggles with family as a young woman and hopes this visit may be a time for reconciliation. As the train travels through the Rockies a blizzard brings an avalanche threatening the train.

Rejecting the conductor’s orders to remain seated, Nick, a former Army Ranger, insists that the passengers must move to the back of the train to survive. Margo is the only one to listen and they are the only survivors when the train is caught in the avalanche.

Margo rushed off without even her purse or phone, although it is unlikely there would be cell service. The pair are stranded with no rescue expected soon. Nick seems to have a plan for shelter and survival and Margo has little choice but to follow. Although Nick is reticent about his own past and plans, he seems to want to help Margo and protect her unborn child.

Nick helps fend off wild animals, provides game for food, and finds alternate shelter. But as the days pass with more storms and no apparent effort to get to civilization, Margo becomes more stressed and concerned. Margo has secrets from her past but hers may not be as strange and intense as Nick’s secrets.

I was impressed with the tense and chilling (not cold, but fearful) atmosphere that the author creates. The story is told with flashbacks to develop the damaged and determined characters. There are hints of issues in the personalities and it was interesting to see how these played out. I suspected trouble and was gripped as the past history was revealed and the collision course of the characters explained. I recommend this to fans of psychological thrillers.

Audio Notes: Allyson Ryan does a fairly good job with the narration. She made an effort to provide distinct voices although it seemed a bit of a strain to get the male voices. Still, I appreciated that she conveyed the chilling tone of the story and the story moved quickly for me as an audio presentation.

Source: Received from NetGalley.

I did not get to listen to this book before it was archived. I was really excited about this book. I will wait until it comes out in paperback.

I was excited when I saw this book and read about the author. The author is a hometown girl and I wanted to support local talent. I wasn't disappointed. The story opens with a very pregnant Margo on a train traveling to see her estranged family in Washington for the holidays. What she wasn't expecting was the train to be derailed by an avalanche. Or that a handsome stranger, Nick, would save both her and her unborn child. That's when things take a dramatic turn. Nick, who started out acting like a hero, but then there is something about him that just doesn't seem right. The story unfolds with both characters giving their stories through flashbacks. Will they survive the snow storm? Will they be rescued? Will they fall in love like a Hallmark movie? Stick around until the end because you have to read it to believe it.