Product Description

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Final Target, Iris Johansen raises the stakes and the heart rate with this relentless new thriller that follows the harrowing trail of a ruthless killer on the hunt—and the woman who is determined to hunt him down.

He is the most terrifying of killers: ruthless, cunning, charismatic. And he has the means to get whatever he wants. And what Rico Chavez wants most is Elena Kyler—and he wants her dead. Trained as an assassin, Elena didn’t need anyone to survive. But now she finds herself on the run from one dangerous man and turning for help to another.

Sean Galen was a man without illusions. He knew it was only desperation that caused Elena to accept his help—a mother’s desperation to save her young son from a psychopath father who would raise their son in his own chilling image. And yet he was determined to get this woman who had never been able to trust anyone or anything in her whole life to accept him as her ally. But both Galen and Elena know that Chavez’s power and wealth mean there is no place they can be safe and no one they can trust—not even each other. Already Chavez’s assassins and connections to those in the highest positions of power have turned this into a war with no rules.

With two shocking acts of brutal violence, Chavez shows he will stop at nothing and that nothing will stop him. Soon a trail of horrifying murders will follow Galen and Elena across country to a last stand and a shattering showdown. For Chavez is a master of control and he wants more than just to take Elena’s life. He wants her alive long enough to see him destroy every reason she has for living. He wants her to turn against everything and everyone she ever believed in. He wants her to commit the ultimate act of betrayal. And by the time he is through, he wants her to beg him to take the only thing she’ll have left to give: her life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #135923 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-26
• Released on: 2003-08-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Think Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 and a jaded James Bond, and you've got the principals down pat for crowd-pleaser Johansen's (Body of Lies) latest romantic suspenser. Elena Kyler was born in Colombia and raised by her rebel fighter father, formerly an American mercenary. After her father dies and her rebel comrades sell out to druglord Rico Chavez, Elena, now in her mid-20s, concocts a desperate plan to save herself and her five-year-old son Barry from Chavez, who also happens to be Barry's father. She contacts the DEA, who call in the Bondian Sean Galen, a debonair maverick. The plan is to bring Elena and Barry to the U.S., then capture Chavez when he comes for his son. After a daring air-lift escape, Sean, Elena and Barry make it to California, but an ambush by Chavez's men leaves them running for their lives. Unaccustomed to relying on the kindness of strangers, Elena finds herself forced to lean on Sean as the two zigzag across the U.S., falling in love along the way. In the current climate, the threat of drug cartels feels dated and Chavez is such an over-the-top nasty that he's downright silly. Add to that a melodramatic anti-heroine, who's also a cliched assassin-with-a-heart-of-gold seeking spiritual redemption, and a Southeastern climax that's as '80s as Miami Vice, and the sum total becomes a derivative stew. Johansen has delivered better in the past and hopefully will again in the future.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
One assassin is after another in this latest from the author of Final Target.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Murder, mayhem, and one psychotic drug lord leave Elena Kyler and her young son, Barry, in the extremely capable hands of Sean Galen, a mercenary operative from the Body of Lies. Sean becomes involved with Elena at the behest of the DEA and Logan, a wealthy entrepreneur (and recurring character). Sean engineers a complicated rescue of the young but far from innocent mother from Colombia, followed by her conveyance to California. Elena, who has been trained to survive in the jungles of Colombia by her mercenary father, is willing to become bait in order to trap drug lord Chavez, who raped her and now wants custody of her son. She wants Chavez dead, preferably by her own hand, but things get out of hand at the DEA safe house, and Elena has no one to turn to but Galen. He recognizes her as a kindred soul, but they don't know whom else they can trust because Chavez controls an extensive drug empire, and has enormous wealth at his disposal. What with its taut plot and complex characters, this is vintage, fan-pleasing Johansen. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A GOOD ACTION ADVENTURE READ
Elena Kyler is a mercenary assassin who was trained by her own father, and now she's on the run from drug lord Rico Chavez. She's made a deal with DEA agent Forbes to get her out of Columbia with safe haven in the United States and her bargaining chip is the one thing Chavez will risk everything for---even setting foot in the US where he could be captured. What Elena has is his five-year-old son, Barry. He wants little Barry who was not born out of love, but of rape, and he wants Elena dead. Chavez is used to getting what he wants.

Elena insisted Forbes come by himself, but he has enlisted the help of soldier of fortune, Sean Galen, despite her protests, and it's a good thing. Chavez's men kill Forbes, leaving Elena depending upon Galen to get her to the States. After a harrowing escape from Columbia they go into hiding along with the former priest who helped raise Barry. But Chavez is on their trail, just as Elena suspected he would be. At first he sends his men, but when Galen and Elena outsmart them, Chavez comes after her himself. That's when it gets wild.

After being discovered at a safe house, Galen hides Elena and Barry at a ranch he owns. Although they try to resist it, Galen and Elena fall into an affair and in the process fall in love. Meanwhile, Barry is bonding with Galen's ranch foreman, Judd. Chavez has offered a ransom of millions of dollars for Barry, but Elena turns him down. Then Barry disappears and the chase is on. They think Chavez has taken him but then matters get worse when it's revealed that Judd snatched him to collect the reward. Will Chavez get his son and kill Elena and Galen? Will Barry try to escape from Judd to get back to his mom, or is he perfectly content going on an adventure with his new friend?

I personally liked the end better than the very beginning. Once they settled into the cat and dog game I found myself really pushing on to find out what happens, and I won't spoil the ending for you. I thought Barry seemed pretty smart for a five year old, but then there are kids like that. I would say it's worth the read.

[...]

Are you serious?
There are certain authors that continue to amaze me as to the loyalty of their fans; Dan Brown comes to mind, and now Iris Johansen can be added to my list. Both authors attempt to develop nerve racking suspense in their stories, but their lack of sophistication and skill ruins any potential for an enjoyable story.

While reading this book, I was continually trying to determine what aspect of this book bothered me so much. Was it the fact that the author makes only the most amateur attempt at developing the story outside of the monotonous dialog? Maybe it was the continual peaks inside of Elena Kyler's thoughts as she relentlessly tried to convince herself that she was not weak. On the other hand, maybe I was irritated with the lame attempt at conveying setting and emotion, or maybe it was just the fact that the chemistry between the main protagonists was virtually non-existent.

Personally, I tired almost immediately of the dialog between Elena and Sean Galen as they clumsily tried to relate to each other. I mean seriously, Elena says "I want you to screw me"? This is how the author finally resolves the clichéd sexual tension between the woman who wants to remain independent, and the utterly unrealistic, invulnerable macho machine she is forced to rely upon.

There are several points in the book that the author handles as if she just isn't up to the task of finishing the story properly. For instance, Elena does not immediately try to kill the man who betrayed her at the end of the book, but instead the desire for revenge is just forgotten. In another part, one of the secondary villains confronts the mother of a lawyer who knows Sean Galen, they torture her, and then all of a sudden the bad guys know exactly where Sean and Elena are hidden. The story would have been greatly improved with the removal of this sloppy revelation.

The character of Berry is dull and unrealistic, and he is never shown to have the curiosity and uncertainty that 5 year old children do. He never questions what's going on around him with any serious effort. When he does begin to question his mother about his circumstances, it is short lived and shallow. Again, it appears that the author could not be inconvenienced to follow through on this crucial point.

Overall, I felt this story could have been written by a talented 8th grader. Given that this story is written by an adult for mostly adults, I am just shocked at the praise I have seen heaped on this book. I guess I'm going to have to pester my wife to write some good stories so the abundance of horrible literature out there doesn't ruin the world!

Johansen Writes Another Killer Thriller!
In No One to Trust, Iris Johansen gives us a gritty, military sniper in the form of a woman who endures sadistic torture at the hands of someone close to her. But Elena Kyler survives, with only one person on her mind--her son, Barry.

After she escapes, she hooks up with Sean Galen, a man of mystery (as most of Johansen's heroes seem to be) and as they flee, they leave behind a trail of vicious murders. And soon Elena must face her past...and destroy it¯before it destroys her.

With a cast of intriguing and somewhat complicated characters, Johansen gives us the right mix of romance, danger, murder, and run-for-your-life suspense. This was an easy read, one that will entertain you whether on a sunny beach in Bermuda or in a plane over Toronto.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of The River