Out Of Reach
Grade : C+

Out of Reach immediately hooked me with a gripping prologue. Lewin's latest offers quick reading, but not enough in terms of characterization, and many of the book's twists turn out to be less than surprising. Still she hooks the reader right away away by somewhat devious means: she uses children in need of rescue.

CIA agent Erin Baker worked hard to get where she is. But that hard work is based on an unhealthy obsession that has ruled her world since she was 12. Erin was supposed to be watching her younger sister Claire when her sister disappeared. Years later, Claire was found alive, but the years of torture she endured at the hands of her captive took their toll; she has spent most of her adult life in and out of mental institutions. This past tragedy is what has made both Claire and Erin the women they are at present.

Even as an adult with a successful career and the custody of her sister’s daughter Janie, Erin still lets the guilt she feels over her sister’s abduction rule her life. Then one day the past comes back full force when Erin least expects it. While running in the park, Erin notices an ice-cream vendor doing magic tricks for the children. She is amused at first, but suddenly something seems very wrong. Although she cannot place him, the man seems strangely familiar. It is only when a short time later that a child from the same park comes up missing that she suddenly realizes where she had last seen the ice-cream vendor: almost two decades prior at the park where her sister disappeared.

Alec Donovan is an FBI agent looking for a boy who has disappeared. With time running out and little to go on, things are looking grim. And then another child comes up missing. Although there is no reason to think the two cases are related, he goes to the scene anyway. This is when he meets Erin. Erin knows her story of a magician ice-cream vendor from years ago sounds ridiculous, but Alec seems to believe her. In fact, there is good reason for Alec to believe her, Erin later finds out. The ice-cream vendor is called "the Magician" by law enforcement agents. Although they have named the man, they seem to think he is a mythical figure. The facts are worse than what Erin could have imagined, for Alec soon tells Erin a horror story of children being sold into slavery. And the man responsible just may be a wealthy official with the German Embassy, a man virtually untouchable.

What follows is a fast-paced story in which Erin and Alec have limited time to find not only a man responsible for the kidnapping of children but also a member of the embassy responsible for enslaving them. Erin immediately turns her attention to bringing these two men down. Yet, what she doesn't realize until later is that these two men want to bring her and her family down.

Although the book is fast-paced and relatively intriguing, it suffers from several problems. For one, Alec is flat as a character. We become more emotionally involved with Erin, whose guilt over her sister’s abduction draws us to her. Although billed as a supense novel and not romantic suspense, flirtatious quotes dropped here and there hint at a budding romance, but are so random as to not be believable. The book is about suspense more than anything else, and secondly about the human emotions that can rule our lives. But even where the suspense is concerned there are problems; two supposed twists at the end will shock only the inattentive reader. And those looking for great detective work won't find it here. Alec and Erin do not solve any great mysteries or conduct feats of daring-do. It is more through common sense and the help of one of the villain's employees that they win in the end rather than by their own means of attack.

While Out of Reach isn't an awe-inspiring read, I did keep turning the pages - but mostly because I wanted to make sure that the poor little kids survived. My recommendation? If you have to read this one, I suggest waiting for the paperback.

Reviewed by Lori Sowell
Grade : C+
Book Type: Suspense

Sensuality: N/A

Review Date : February 16, 2004

Publication Date: 2005

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Lori Sowell

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