Out Of Nowhere

by Doris Mortman

Amanda Maxwell, a forensic photographer for the New York City police department, launches her own investigation into the death of her father, the head of a powerful investment firm, and finds her life depends two very different men. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Crime

540 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

I was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico—before it was chic. My family moved to the East when I was three. I grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and went to Skidmore College when it was still an all girl's school.

Being a lifelong wordsmith led me to such jobs as writing copy at ad agencies and doing sales promotions at Mademoiselle magazine. My first book, Circles, was published in 1984 as a paperback original and stayed on The New York Times Bestseller List for three months. Since then, I've published First Born, Rightfully Mine, The Wild Rose, True Colors, The Lucky Ones, Out of Nowhere, Before and Again, Shades of Red, and recently The Nest, the first in a series: Country Club Crimes. With both the hard and soft cover publications, I've resided on Bestseller Lists many times and have nearly twenty million books in print worldwide, with translations in fourteen languages.

I've been married for thirty-one years to a classic Type A personality who works hard, plays hard, sleeps fast, thinks deeply, and believes that commuting is a form of vehicular combat. I have two grown children, a daughter-in-law and two gorgeous grand girls!

My hobbies include golf, bridge and raising funds for breast cancer research.

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book. I just grabbed it from the library just to meet a challenge. This book had you guessing to the very end.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly Excellent. Sad or Erica amd her mom. The mob had a long reach throughout.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amanda Maxwell, known more commonly as Max, entered the witness protection service as a nine-year-old little girl. Years later, trained as a forensic photographer for the NYPD, she risks reconnecting with her father who has thought her dead since the day she and her mother were supposedly killed in an explosion. While this alone could result in exposing her long-buried secret, fate brings two men into her orbit that tempt her to leave behind the safety precautions long instilled in her by her US Marshall handlers.

A mix of unhappy coincidences eventually leads to the very thing Max and her mother have so long feared. The Cartel men her mother's testimony put away get out of prison and, thanks to an ambitious journalist and a grasping politician, soon learn that the explosion was only a cover. With a target on their back, Max is left trying to figure out who she can and can't trust.

This was an okay read for me. The writing style was pleasing enough and the characters revealed in bits and pieces that helped (slowly) build tension. In a way, I'm surprised this one took me an entire month to read. I blame it on the fact that it was a hardcover. I have such a hard time reading a physical book now that I find my Kindle preferable.

[Barbara Dutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on my bookshelf for at least 10 years. Someone gave it to me.

I enjoyed the book .... I was very interested in the main character and her mother and their experiences .... but the financial/crime part of the book was not quite as interesting or engaging to me. I skimmed over some of that.

I guess I like a chick flick better than a thriller story. #CovidBrain

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun mystery. Vacation book.

[ilona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this book. Would rate it a 3.75. A little slow at times, but better near the end.

[Jean Carlton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read long ago when I was not rating books. Not memorable!

[Diane Tidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to get into, thoroughly enjoyable read. Always enjoy Doris Mortman books.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several decades ago loved it. In fact at that time I collected Doris Mortman books. during the pandemic shut down I reread it and enjoyed it again!

[Jolieg G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vond het soms wat langdradig en door namen van de "maffia" raakte ik het spoor wat kwijt.

[Carole Allen-Morley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy read. Interesting premise of witness protection program but excess verbiage and rapid ending.

[Duygu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books written back in the day had more substance and were so satisfying in their development and plot progression. This is one of those books. It has romance, intrigue, murder, and mafia.

[Elaine Chew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story but I must add that there were some things that irritated the heck out of me! Mainly that the protagonist was suppose to be such a smart girl and she just kept on doing the dumbest things! lol

[Paulette]

Corynne recommended. It's a movie currently. Sounded too violent to watch but I'll try reading the book.

[Sherry Beaubriand]

I really liked this book-This is the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to reading her others. Good characters.

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This not usually what I read but I did find that I liked this book even though I thought that plot was hard to believe.

[Toesnorth's mom]

good

[Kathy Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. it really kept me guessing(sometimes not correctly). And I like that I knew right where the title came from.

[sultana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blowing

What a plot. Wonderfully written. Just can't put it down. It gives a good understanding of people living in witsec, how strong you must be and how safety becomes you. A must on your reading list.