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Without A Trace
Police sketch artist Jane Russo, unable to use her special ability to delve into the minds of victims and witnesses due to a traumatic event she cannot remember, teams up with a wary FBI agent who helps her confront the past in order to catch a serial rapist and killer who is terrorizing young girls. Original.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 4, 2003
2 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Erickson
64 books30 followersAbout Lynn Erickson
Molly Swanton and Carla Peltonen were born in in Aspen, Colorado, U.S.A. on January 22 and September 12. In the late 60s, both newly returned from bumming around the world, they met in Aspen in the Red Onion, an Old West saloon. They were both new brides, wet behind the ears. It was several years later that they dreamed up Lynn Erickson, the pseudonym a combination of their husbands' names. They had read every romance put out in the early 70s and started saying, "We can do better than this." Well, they couldn't, but what the heck? The wrote two fat novels before we chanced onto an agent and made a sale. His first words to them: "The manuscript is flawed, but..."
They published their first novel as Lynn Erickson in 1980. Their early books were historical romances, full of blood and guts and murder, then they turned to contemporary women's suspense. "We've set almost all of our books in Colorado, especially in Aspen, a town where the truth is usually stranger than fiction. Aspen is a character in our books, not just a setting. We love to drop inside jokes about the quirks and fancies of our hometown. The scenery truly is glorious, the mountains magnificent, the skiing and hiking and fishing and horseback riding legendary. We cover the arts, too - the world-renowned music festival, the shops full of museum-quality paintings and sculptures. Southwestern art is big, of course: paintings and pottery and Navajo rugs."
Molly Swanton and Carla Peltonen were born in in Aspen, Colorado, U.S.A. on January 22 and September 12. In the late 60s, both newly returned from bumming around the world, they met in Aspen in the Red Onion, an Old West saloon. They were both new brides, wet behind the ears. It was several years later that they dreamed up Lynn Erickson, the pseudonym a combination of their husbands' names. They had read every romance put out in the early 70s and started saying, "We can do better than this." Well, they couldn't, but what the heck? The wrote two fat novels before we chanced onto an agent and made a sale. His first words to them: "The manuscript is flawed, but..."
They published their first novel as Lynn Erickson in 1980. Their early books were historical romances, full of blood and guts and murder, then they turned to contemporary women's suspense. "We've set almost all of our books in Colorado, especially in Aspen, a town where the truth is usually stranger than fiction. Aspen is a character in our books, not just a setting. We love to drop inside jokes about the quirks and fancies of our hometown. The scenery truly is glorious, the mountains magnificent, the skiing and hiking and fishing and horseback riding legendary. We cover the arts, too - the world-renowned music festival, the shops full of museum-quality paintings and sculptures. Southwestern art is big, of course: paintings and pottery and Navajo rugs."
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 1, 2021
Romantic suspense...interesting characters.
November 12, 2024
I love a simple mystery romance book.
May 13, 2010
In Denver police sketch artist Jane Russo needs to get away from the pressure of failure that could mean the death of an innocent. Her last case has destroyed her psyche as she has failed to obtain a drawing of a serial rapist-killer from the survivors. Jane does not follow the book and is usually able to coax the information so that she can sketch a portrait, but this time she has failed though the culprit has struck several times.
FBI Special Agent Caroline Deutch and survivor rights advocate Alan Gallagher pressure Jane to try one more time. The rapist abducted twelve-year old Aspen resident Kirsten Lemke from the Snowmass slopes. Reluctantly, Jane works with skeptic Ray Vanover to save the life of Kirsten and bring a nasty felon to justice. As they struggle with the case and Jane with Aspen being the home of her somewhat estranged family, they fall in love, but the preadolescent's safety comes first.
Fans of police procedural romances will enjoy WITHOUT A TRACE, a solid suspense thriller. The story line is action-packed in a low key level as Jane and Ray interview witnesses in an attempt to save a life. The estrangement with her mother seems off kilter especially when Jane is easily coaxed into dinner. Her sister's cavalier attitude towards Jane's work feels too selfish for a mom. Still the investigation is top rate and the romance as good.
FBI Special Agent Caroline Deutch and survivor rights advocate Alan Gallagher pressure Jane to try one more time. The rapist abducted twelve-year old Aspen resident Kirsten Lemke from the Snowmass slopes. Reluctantly, Jane works with skeptic Ray Vanover to save the life of Kirsten and bring a nasty felon to justice. As they struggle with the case and Jane with Aspen being the home of her somewhat estranged family, they fall in love, but the preadolescent's safety comes first.
Fans of police procedural romances will enjoy WITHOUT A TRACE, a solid suspense thriller. The story line is action-packed in a low key level as Jane and Ray interview witnesses in an attempt to save a life. The estrangement with her mother seems off kilter especially when Jane is easily coaxed into dinner. Her sister's cavalier attitude towards Jane's work feels too selfish for a mom. Still the investigation is top rate and the romance as good.
September 10, 2014
2.5 stars--ok mystery, but not nearly as exciting as it could have been. Forensic sketch artist seeking missing girls.
December 27, 2012
It was a pretty good read. Kept me going, and I had to finish it all in one day!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews