On the Run

Hollywood's action-film formula insists on an explosive shoot-'em-up sequence within the first two minutes, and Iris Johansen obliges. This action/romance, tailor-made for the movies, starts with a bang and doesn't let up until its predictable conclusion. It tells the story of Grace Archer, ex-CIA operative and horse whisperer, and her 8-year-old daughter, on the run from a malevolent force named Marvot. Nicely read by Jennifer Van Dyck, the novel unfolds as believably as possible, given the book's dependence on coincidence and improbability. Still, Van Dyck's lively narration makes kidnapping, sandstorms, buried treasure, murder, and mayhem unfold like an escapist's dream matinee at the local Bijou. Not great literature, but still great fun. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

October 24, 2005
A single mom and gifted horse handler, Grace Archer goes on the lam with her equally exceptional eight-year-old daughter, Frankie, after a Middle Eastern magnate named Marvot kills the owner of the Alabama horse farm where they have been hiding under the watchful eye of Grace's former employer, the CIA. Johansen (Firestorm
, etc.) blends action, suspense and family values as Frankie's father, ex-CIA commando Jake Kilmer, comes back into Grace's life to protect her and the child he has never known. Grace blames Jake for her father's death and the end of her career, but there's no one else she trusts against Marvot, who wants her to train his lethal blue-eyed Arabian stallion and mare, known as the Pair, to lead him to treasure buried somewhere in the Moroccan desert. The novel starts off with guns blazing and doesn't slow down for murder, kidnapping, blackmail, sex or sandstorm. Johansen borrows openly from the movies Hollywood thinks women love (Grace talks to horses, though she balks at being called a horse whisperer), crafts family scenes (Marvot playing chess with his son; the Pair with their colt) and offers a mother and father who defend the world from criminals while yearning for domestic tranquillity. The Johansen formula works so well in this novel that readers may expect a sequel.

Eight years earlier, ex-CIA operative Grace Archer narrowly escaped death at the hands of Marvot, and went into hiding. Now she's been found and must rely on mercenary Jake Kilmer to keep her and her daughter, Frankie, alive. Jennifer Van Dyck's warm, throaty voice has an intangible quality that draws in the listener. Her interpretation of Grace is rich with myriad emotions, but her terse, staccato delivery of Jake's dialogue and thoughts is evocative, as well. Van Dyck has fun with the accents of the supporting characters, giving a silky menace to the evil Marvot. It's a memorable counterpoint to Frankie's bubbly innocence. The only sour note is the music, which seems pedestrian. C.E.W. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine