Nowhere to Run

by Valerie Hansen

"Run and don't stop!"

Those were her former boyfriend's last words. Before the thugs he associated with murdered him in cold blood. Now they're after Marie Parnell. She flees with her five-year-old daughter—until car trouble strands her in Serenity, Arkansas. The handsome mechanic who promises to get her back on the road is suspicious—and purposely slow. With nowhere to turn and nowhere left to run, Marie tells Seth Whitfield everything. About her past, about finding faith, about how safe she feels with him. He vows to protect her and her child. But Seth isn't exactly who he says he is….

Genres: Love Inspired, Love Inspired Suspense, Romantic Suspense, Christian, Romance, Mystery Thriller

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 20, 2008

About the author

Valerie Hansen is the pen name of Valerie Whisenand.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Although I have been a published author since the mid 1980s, I have been writing women's Christian fiction almost exclusively since 1999.

There is a longer, more detailed bio on my website so there's no need for me to repeat all that here. Right now, I write for all three Love Inspired lines, Romance, Suspense and Historical. I'm delighted to have been included that broadly and besides, it keeps me so busy that I stay out of trouble. Well, mostly.

You'll find me on the LI Historical blog as well as other LI features. If I try to do much more I won't have time to write my books!

Reviews

[Mendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

So predictable, so boring, no magic... just plain blah, even blander than vanilla.

[Becki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not horrible, but completely predictable and slower than molasses in winter. Good thing it's short or I might never have finished it.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

As best I can tell, the cover has nothing to do with the plot at all. I think the cover is a bit creepy, especially as there's nothing about a doll being lost in the rain that I remember being in the book.

Both Marie and Seth are hiding things from others. Seth's probably better at it than Marie since it was part of what he did at work prior to moving to Serenity, Arkansas. Neither trusts many people--given that, it seems odd that they'd bond with each other or that love would grow between two distrustful people.

I had a harder time caring about the characters in this book than I have for other books. The suspense wasn't overly compelling and the romance wasn't as believable as some are. I gave it 3 stars only because I did actually finish it and I usually reserve 1 and 2 star ratings for books I have trouble finishing or ones that I have arguments with.

[Brittani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most boring pros ever. The characters spoke in complete sentences and had about zero personality. I felt like they were sort of robots instead of real people.

And nothing really happened on most pages. The few moments of real suspense were good but far and few between.

The pastor's son was called little Timmy. Just let the ridiculousness of that sink in for a second. If I were the author, that'd be a little joke that I'd giggle to myself about because it was so cliche.

I was able to read this book over a period of several months- very easy to put down.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

1. A heroine who suffers from Too Stupid To Live syndrome, from not wanting to let anyone help her to driving her car into a waist deep river crossing (but somehow the guy’s pickup truck makes it across??)

2. A hero who recklessly mixes up known dangerous personal business with a woman already in the run

3. A story line that contradicts itself

Since this is a known reliable author, I’m going with “crammed on a deadline and skipped the editor” on this one.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like a good Inspirational Romantic Suspense and this one ticked a lot of boxes for me. Despite my usual scepticism about “real” love springing up super quickly between the lead characters (especially when they meet as “very wary of everyone” strangers who, each, are hiding very big secrets), but this author pulled it off and made me believe in her characters and their rapidly developed deep regard for each other. It has got to be because of the author’s clear underlying spiritual message that God is in control even of our seemingly woeful circumstances. I really liked the fact that the author gave both of her lead characters suspenseful back-stories and wove them together into a good story. The bonus for me in this book was a charming little girl and a loveable dog included as minor characters.

[Donna Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read with likable characters

[Grace]

Romantic-suspense Christian fiction. Wow!

[IrenesBookReviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good characters. Fast read.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been good except the author gives away all the twists upfront, taking away the mystery, and making it rather predictable. An easy read though.