SILENT RUN
Barbara Freethy
NAL – Onyx
ISBN: 978-0-451-41253-9
March 2008
Romantic Suspense

This thriller by the popular author Barbara Freethy is the story of a woman who wakes up in a hospital bed with no idea of her identity. Her car goes over an embankment in the mountains of California and she has a car seat in the back, no purse, no identification, no registration for the vehicle. Her only feeling is that she is in danger but she cannot pinpoint what or who might represent this danger.

In the middle of this muddle walks Jake Sanders, a handsome young architect from San Francisco who had seen the news pictures of the mysterious woman who didn’t know who she was. He is convinced that this person is Sarah, the young woman who abruptly took their baby and left him seven months prior with no warning and no way of finding her. He has searched for her and his infant daughter everywhere.

Jake is appalled that the baby is not with Sarah, who hasn’t got a clue who he is or what he meant to her in the past. When an intruder attempts to smother Sarah in the hospital, Jake realizes that the only way to find his baby is to join with Sarah and try to solve the mystery of her disappearance, her lies, and her complicated past. The book moves on from there.

This was a well done romantic suspense. All of the people in this story, with the exception of Jake and his brother Dylan, have lived elaborate lies with assumed names and identities. Much of this started with their early years in the foster care system. As the novel unfolds the reader is taken farther and farther into the web of deceit that characterized Sarah’s life.

To tell more of this story would be to give it away. The plot tends to drag slightly in the middle but readers are kept entertained by the layers of secrets each page begins to uncover. Jake’s brother Dylan is slated to be featured in the next novel and I think he might present a very fascinating character. Fans of Freethy will love this book.

Reviewed by Jeri Neal
Rating: 4