This must've been written before Iris Johansen really got her game on. Her Eve Duncan series is more familiar, and definitely shows how she has come with suspense/thriller writing."On the Run" was read in less than 24 hours, it's a very fast, not-too-deep thinking read. If you like Iris Johansen and are familiar with her work, go ahead. Nothing lost, not a bad story, just good for waiting at the doctor's office, or waiting for your husband to get out of Lowe's. If you aren't familiar with Iris Johansen, please don't start with this book. Find the Eve Duncan series. Grace Archer owns a horse ranch in Alabama. Her daughter, Frankie, is a child music prodigy and loves horses. Everyone who knows Grace knows she is good with horses and can "speak" to them. She has a mysterious past. For the past 8 years she has worked on her ranch and raised her daughter, but her life before then is a mystery.I was confused early on in the story, because Robert is this olderish judo/karate/black belt teacher in town who has been Grace's friend for years. He wouldn't mind being more than that but he's in the Friend Zone, and that is absolutely not pertinent to the story and honestly I don't know why Robert is even *IN* the story because he is a pretty two-dimensional, boring character. Robert also is CIA and was hired to "watch out" for Grace for 8 years. Grace is, as predicted, very stubborn and doesn't want to accept help or protection from bad evil hitmen from ANYONE, not even her good friend Robert. My confusion happens because....when she finds out, very early on, that Robert isn't who he has claimed to be for 8 years, and he's really a CIA agent...she doesn't even care. Or acknowledge that. Or say "Woah woah woah WHAT IS GOING ON." Johansen then kills off some interesting characters who barely had a chance to get going, introduces the *real* love interest, and gives us page after page after page of dialogue. There are entire scenes of talk talk talk. What's most annoying is the 8 year old girl, Frankie, who remember is a kid-genius, and is treated like a miniature adult, with adult phrases, conversations, and thoughts. She is actually most annoying. (I'm also a very difficult reader to please with child-characters...most are spoiled, lispy, bratty, or come across as so sugar-and-spice that they are unbelievable. Frankie is no exception.)There is enough action to keep the story afloat. Grace isn't above killing people by slashing their throats. I like that. Her chemistry with Kilmer (the real love interest; not Robert) is good, even though Kilmer wasn't given enough background or information or anything really, to make me like him. I'd say her characters aren't well developed, but again, fast read, easy story to follow, and two interesting horses all make for a not-so-bad story.
This is just a romantic novel/drama--good beach read for Hawaii. If you like horses, you will especially like this book. I would read another book by this author, but not too many at a time. I think I am ready for a little more meat.Here is the official summary:For eight years, single mother Grace Archer has been living a picture-perfect life raising her daughter on a horse farm in the small town of Tallanville, Alabama. Watching Frankie grow into a talented and confident young girl has made Grace as happy as any mother could hope to be. Happy enough, even, to forget the past. But the past never quite goes away. Which is why a certain charismatic man also moved to Tallanville eight years ago to watch over her. But when violence threatens to shatter Grace and Frankie's idyllic home, the waiting is over. The ghosts of the past have returned. And they're hungry for blood. Now Grace must resume an identity she thought she had cast off forever, and match wits with an opponent as deadly as he is cunning. The prize: an extraordinary secret that only she can unfold. The forfeit: losing the thing more precious to her than life itself.
What do You think about On The Run (2005)?
This book felt like it was written by editors. The man's hands were scratchy and the woman's were soft - how overused it that? If they had said "the pair" (to refer to a pair of horses that were talked about like they had magic powers) one more time, I was going to scream. There was also a huge cast of characters that I couldn't keep straight at all. Someone had worked for someone else, but now they were on the other side of things because someone else made something go bad. There's the obligatory child to make everything heightened. And nobody would ever consider speaking to the person they blame for everything, especially if that would have solved everything.If you love horses and want a book that hits all the required plot points for a romantic story with a child in danger, this is it. Otherwise, I would skip it.
—Eli
The picture was a warning, They hope this day would have never come but they found her, Gracie;s daughter Frankie was taken from farm house,A man was out to kill her, Gracie had never run from anything in her life, As a mother Gracie would do what ever she had to so her daughter would be safe, Someone Gracie knows from 8 years ago and doesn’t fuly trust him wants Gracie and Frankie had to run from the man who to help her, Gracie and Frankie have to run from this nan who eight years ago betrayed her,
—Fred Arshoff
I've been reading her more recent books lately and I've been finding myself disappointed. The aspects I really liked in her books were the action, the suspense, the thrill. It all felt so real, I found myself catching my breath. In this book, I felt the action was there, the suspense visible, but the thrill faded very quickly. I found the beginning pretty exciting because there was this unknown past and who knew what Grace had done before raising a child? But after finding out, the whole book just slowed down its pace and it was more focused on the sexual relationship between Grace and Jake. All I read was 'sex in a barn' for the next few chapters.. It was disappointing and the ending didn't satisfy my hunger for more suspense either. It felt like everything just worked and that was that.
—Kelley Nguyen
