Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer, Don’t Look Down

Don't Look Down

Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer

St. Martin's, Apr 2006, $24.95, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0312348126

Television director Lucy Armstrong has a perfectly happy life working with animals; she has no desire to go south to film action scenes for four days. The pleadings of her sister fail to persuade her, but she cannot refuse the blandishments of her niece Pepper.

Lucy arrives on location near the Eugene Tallmadge Memorial Bridge, where the action includes a helicopter and a hero trying to defeat the villains. However, the previous director died of a heart attack, and the support staff walked out while her despicable ex-husband is the stunt director. All Lucy could think of is cut.

Bryce, who is switching from comedic roles to macho hero parts hires Green Beret Captain J.T. Wilder as his stunt double and adviser. The CIA orders Wilder to watch for James Finnegan, who has invested four million dirty dollars in the movie that he plans to launder in order to fund various terrorist organizations. Finnegan is also meeting a Russian Mafiosi to return art objects that he stole from him. The CIA want Travis to find out the location of their meeting, because since the Russian is so close to American soil they can arrest him. He does not expect to fall in love with Lucy, or that his beloved and Pepper will be in danger from various factions willing to kill to gain what they want.

The team of Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer prove a delightful collaboration because their writing styles blend smoothly together, so much so that the audience will not know who wrote what, but will enjoy reading a tense romantic thriller. There is plenty of intrigue, adventure and peril in this action thriller, but the authors do not neglect their characters. Heroes, villains, and innocent victims are fully developed, with everyone containing some degrees of humanity. Some of the scenes include humor while the romance is red hot.