Iris Johansen On the Run

On the Run

Iris Johansen

Bantam, Jan 2006, $26.00, 352 pp.

ISBN: 0553803433

Ruthless Middle Eastern business mogul Marvot demands the best and will do anything to achieve his objective. Though he hides his full agenda from Grace Archer, he orders the talented horse trainer to train the "Pair", lethal Arabian stallion and mare, but she refuses. He kills her host, the owner of an Alabama horse farm, and plans to abduct her beloved eight-year-old daughter to force her cooperation.

On the run, Grace knows she needs help, but has doubts about turning to her ex-spouse, former CIA commando Jake Kilmer, as she blames him for the death of her father and the end of her career. Jake is willing to die to keep his beloved two females safe while Marvot is more than willing and able to accommodate him.

This action-packed thriller starts at hyperspeed and never stops for a breath, if anything it goes even faster. The second chance at love aspects are deftly imbued into the plot as safety remains the top need of the Kilmer-Archer hierarchy. However, the key to the tale is Marvot, a malevolent villain willing to kill anyone in his way yet plays chess with his beloved son. The schism between Jake and Grace seems off kilter especially when they heat up the sands, but fans of Iris Johansen will appreciate the faster than light-speed ON THE RUN.

Harriet Klausner