Lately, I have run into several books that were written in a style that I can only call distracting. When you have to read and re-read a sentence, paragraph, or even several pages to try and figure out what the author is trying to say, it breaks the flow of what should be a smooth reading experience. Lone Rider is Lauren Bach’s first novel. She may be a novice, but unlike some established authors, Ms Bach certainly knows how to keep a story flowing.

Tess Marsh is from a wealthy family with whom she has a distant relationship. She owns her own small business designing and making jewelry. Tess has been following the craft circuit in the western states and one night in Montana she runs out of gas on an isolated road. Just when Tess thinks she might have to stay in the car all night, up comes a long-haired bad boy on a motorcycle. He is Dallas Haynes and he is followed by the whole gang. They are just what you would figure a motorcycle gang to be – bad to the bone. But Dallas is not who he seems.

Dallas Haynes is really Grey Thomas. He is an FBI agent in deep cover with the gang, which is in cahoots with a mobster named Sanchez. They deal drugs, kidnap women into prostitution, and – to Tess’s horror – casually murder a man in front of her eyes. All the while Tess is a prisoner of the gang, she thinks Grey is Dallas, a member of the gang and her captor. But there is something about him. He is polite, he is solicitious, he does not make lewd remarks to her. Pretty soon Tess has fallen for Grey. The Stockholm Syndrome may be partially responsible, but there is an undeniable heat and attraction between them. One act of unprotected sex leaves Tess pregnant, and then she finds out who Grey really is.

The plot continues with Tess having to testify in a murder trial, the accused gang members escaping, and Tess and Grey having to live together in protective custody where they grow close and get to know each other as real people. And it’s here that the relationship really heats up. There is a nail-biter of a climax and then an epilogue which was a bit of an anti-climax.

As romantic suspense, Lone Rider is excellent. There is a fabulous romance, and I’ll mention again that it is hot. The plot is filled with suspense and so interesting that I hated to put the book down. The characters are terrific; they seem real and act believably, and their anguish is palpable to the reader. There is a stylistic problem that should be mentioned, however. The characters’ inner thoughts and reactions were given in italics throughout the book. A bit of that is fine, but there seemed to be an instance of it on almost every page, which was excessive to me.

Lauren Bach makes a very auspicious debut with Lone Rider. Good romantic suspense is, in my experience, rare. It is hard to get a good balance between the romantic and the suspensful elements in the story and most writers tip way over to one side or the other. Ms Bach manages to juggle these elements so they are nicely balanced, and the result is one of the most enjoyable books I have read in the genre. Those readers who are squeamish about violence need to know up front, though, that while the violence isn’t terribly graphic, it is intense, and Tess spends some real time in peril.

If you are fond of romantic suspense, please look this book up. I can guarantee you will like it very much. As for me, I will be waiting eagerly for Lauren Bach’s second book.