Product Description

While Ridley Pearson's Lou Boldt series seems to have run out of steam lately, his new stand-alone thriller shows this perennial best-selling author at the top of his form. It begins with a taut prologue introducing federal marshal Roland Larson and his protected witrness, Hope Stevens, whose testimony will send the Romero crime family to jail if she ever makes it to court. When Hope walks away from the witness protection program, she takes Larson's heart with her; he hesitates just long enough to regret it; and spends the next six years searching for her. Then she surfaces again in connection with the disappearance of another protected witness, a computer expert who holds the safety of everyone in the program in the top secret software program he developed. Noone wants access to that program more than the Romero family, and Hope Stevens is the first and most important target of their wrath. As a member of the elite Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, Larson races the clock to find the man whose knowledge threatens the life of the woman he still loves…and the child he never knew he had. A heart-pounding thriller that's impossible to put down, this is Pearson's best to date. --Jane Adams

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #460864 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780786890026
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
While Ridley Pearson's Lou Boldt series seems to have run out of steam lately, his new stand-alone thriller shows this perennial best-selling author at the top of his form. It begins with a taut prologue introducing federal marshal Roland Larson and his protected witrness, Hope Stevens, whose testimony will send the Romero crime family to jail if she ever makes it to court. When Hope walks away from the witness protection program, she takes Larson's heart with her; he hesitates just long enough to regret it; and spends the next six years searching for her. Then she surfaces again in connection with the disappearance of another protected witness, a computer expert who holds the safety of everyone in the program in the top secret software program he developed. Noone wants access to that program more than the Romero family, and Hope Stevens is the first and most important target of their wrath. As a member of the elite Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, Larson races the clock to find the man whose knowledge threatens the life of the woman he still loves…and the child he never knew he had. A heart-pounding thriller that's impossible to put down, this is Pearson's best to date. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
Crime fiction king Pearson's (The Body of David Hayes) latest fast-paced thriller finds a smitten U.S. marshal and a vengeful killer chasing after the same elusive woman in witness protection. Hope Stevens, a technical consultant for the Justice Department, helped indict the deadly Romero white-collar crime family in a million-dollar fraud investigation. For six years, she's been in the witness protection program, waiting to testify. Now, the Romeros have infiltrated the program's participant list, and she's in grave danger. Roland Larson, a U.S. marshal in St. Louis who met Hope just before she was admitted to the program, still pines for her and is determined to find her. But close behind him is Paolo, a throat-slasher commissioned by Romero and a scarification fetishist, whittling his way through Hope's acquaintances to get to her. Accidental exposures keep Hope on the run as the vigilant Paolo and heart-heavy Roland grow increasingly desperate. Hope and Roland's heated reunion is marred by the kidnapping of Hope's previously well-concealed five-year-old daughter, Penny, a surprise to everyone, especially "new" father Roland. Separately, gutsy mother and daughter try to outsmart Paolo, then chase electronic messages to Florida and onward to the finale in Washington and Seattle, where protection program names are being auctioned off to mob goons. As seasoned heroes and a league of gangland villains lock horns for the busy wrapup, even fans accustomed to Pearson's heart-pounding pacing will find themselves short of breath. Agent, Al Zuckerman. 10-city author tour. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Pearson's Lou Boldt series brilliantly jumps between subtle interpersonal dynamics and high-voltage suspense, with the resulting shifts in narrative drive somehow never stripping the gears. In his stand-alone thrillers, however, there is hardly any gear shifting; the pedal crunches the metal from start to finish. So it is here, in a classic chase novel that pits a federal agent with the Fugitive Apprehension Task Force (FATV) against a psychotic, razor-wielding killer and his Mob bosses. When the Romero crime family abducts a computer genius and forces him to decrypt the government's witness-protection database, Roland Larson knows that Hope Stevens--prepared to testify against the family--is at risk. Larson's assignment is to find the computer nerd, but his real concern is Hope--their against-the-rules love affair while she was being relocated in the witness-protection plan ended badly, and he has been pining for her ever since. But will he find her before the Romero's henchman does? Throw in Hope's daughter--Is Larson the father?--and all the pieces are in place for a nerve-jangling locomotive ride that just keeps gaining speed. Pure action fans will prefer Pearson in his full-throttle, stand-alone mode--Parallel Lies (2001) and Hard Fall (1991) are other examples--but the wide range of his talent is better displayed in the Boldt novels, where the varying tempo and complex underpinning produce a more deeply satisfying brand of crime fiction. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Pathetic
The plot is mechanical and unoriginal. It has characters of no interest and it manipulates the reader shamelessly, even by the standards of the genre (sweet little girl kidnapped by killer whose MO is to slit people's throats with a straight razor). Did I mention that the killer beats up and rapes his victims before killing them, but can't bring himself to harm little girls?

But what really stands out is how badly Pearson writes: "He didn't speak any of this, didn't voice his concerns, but he clearly wore them on his face, for she grew pale, turning away from the wind and him along with it." And this gem: "A night-light came on unexpectedly. Blinding him. Markowitz's grandson, dressed in cowboy pajamas, cowered. But it was he who'd turned it on."

Don't bother with this piece of trash, for you'll regret it.

Just okay!
Nothing very special with this book. Publishers Weekly called it one of his best, and I just don't see it. It's a plot that's been done, and characters that were pretty bland for the most part.

Less Tech, More Thrills
'Cut and Run' is a different type of novel for Ridley Pearson. Many of his novels feature Lou Boldt and Daphne Matthews, both of the Seattle Police Department. The Boldt series focuses a great deal of the investigation on forensic science and psyhchological clues. Those novels also tend to delve deeply into the troubled relationships of the main characters.

Many readers of Pearson's work have felt that the Boldt series has fallen into a bit of a rut. Not surprisingly, 'Cut and Run' focuses on a new set of characters (with a cameo by a few characters from the Boldt series). The change is refreshing, and the result is one of Pearson's better novels of late.

Roland Larson of the witness protection program is frantically trying to find a witness, Hope Stevens, that has left the program. To compound his problems, he was romantically involved with her. Further complicating matters, the database of protected witnesses has become compromised when its creator goes missing and is feared to be hacking the list for the criminal element. And last but not least, a mob family has sent a vicious assasin after Hope.

Overall, this novel is quite enjoyable. It has many short action filled pages that keep you reading. Cliff hangers abound. It is a bit light on detective work or mystery though. This novel thrives on being a thriller less than it does being a crime story or a detective story.

Pearson's fans will undoubtedly love this novel. I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good thriller. If you are looking for a good novel featuring police work, I'd recommend some of Pearson's other novels.

Overall Grade: 4 stars.