Long Time Lost

Former lawyer Kate Sutherland, the heroine of this disappointing thriller from Ewan (Dark Tides), is in witness protection on the Isle of Man, waiting to testify against Russell Lane for murder. Russell’s rich sociopath brother, Connor, would rather see her dead, and he has the resources to find her. She manages to kill the man sent to eliminate her and escape into what she hopes is a more secure hiding place, with the aid of Nick Miller and his skilled crew. Miller himself is one of the vanished, unable even to reappear long enough to clear his name in the killing of his wife and children. Things start to unravel immediately as others under Miller’s protection are exposed and threatened, and he and Kate run from one end of Europe to the other to attempt to protect them. An overabundance of unrealistic scary situations heighten the suspense but make the action hard to follow. The continuous high threat level drains the reader’s emotions, resulting in far too much of what could have been a good thing. Agent: Vivien Green, Sheil Land Associates (U.K.). (Feb.)