Ethan Decker is a specialized “Hunter” for the most secretive agency of the U.S. government, tracking down ruthless international fugitives. But when a renegade assassin kills Decker’s young son, he leaves his unsuspecting wife—to save her from the madman’s threats—and exiles himself to a remote desert in New Mexico. Then one searing day, a former member of Decker’s covert team arrives at his door, shepherding two children. She entrusts them to his protection and leaves without explanation—only to turn up dead a few miles down the road, killed by the man who murdered Decker’s son.Suddenly the race is on: to reach his ex-wife before the ruthless assassin finds her, and to unlock the mystery behind the two children—innocents who end up as pawns in a dark conspiracy so evil that even this former spy cannot imagine the peril that lies directly in his path.From Publishers WeeklyLewin makes a shaky debut with this suspense novel that combines romance, rogue assassins and children in jeopardy with a dash of futuristic science. It's been three years since ex-CIA covert operative Ethan Decker's five-year-old son was murdered by a mysterious assassin. Decker has abandoned his wife, Sydney, and his job to hole up in a trailer in the New Mexico desert. He takes refuge in booze and self-pity until two children are unexpectedly dumped in his lap by Anna Kelsey, a former member of his elite investigative team. Danny and Callie are preteen siblings on the run from the Keepers, a secretive scientific institution specializing in genetic experimentation. After Kelsey is murdered by Marco Ramirez, the same man Decker believes is responsible for his son's death, he reluctantly goes on the road with the two children forced to solve the mystery behind Anna's murder, investigate the suspicious doings of the Keepers and protect Sydney, who seems to be the assassin's next target. Despite the fast pace, abundant action and ambitious premise, there are few surprises here. The plot turns feel like a composite of television action dramas and suspense novels of yore. The characters are thin, and the dialogue could use some vitamin supplements as well ("Opportunity knocked, I acted"). The implausible feel-good ending, involving 25 children on a boat bound for Canada, adds little to this uneven effort.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistEthan Decker is living in an old trailer in the New Mexico desert, wallowing in self-pity and pain. His job as an operative for a very secret government agency is directly to blame for the death of his young son and his abandoning of his ex-wife. A member of the old team visits him with two young children in tow, and shortly thereafter she is killed in a murder that has all the markings of the assassin who killed his son. Now Ethan is desperate to protect his ex-wife, Sydney, and to find out who these children are, and why someone would be killed because of them. After Ethan rescues Sydney, they all embark on a cross-country odyssey that leads them from Champaign, Illinois, to Seattle, Washington, and finally to the island the children call home, all the while relentlessly pursued by men most likely from Ethan's old agency. Lewin's taut thriller is filled with hair-raising car chases and complex double crosses. Patty EngelmannCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

In her acclaimed debut Blind Run, Patricia Lewin proved her brilliant command of heart-stopping tales of suspense—and the staggering human emotions that go with them. Now in Out of Reach, Lewin returns with a gripping new thriller—a beguiling story of a man and a woman entering a battle against an unseen evil . . . the kind that targets the most innocent among us.A rising star in the CIA, Erin Baker is driven by a tragedy from her past. When she was a child, her eight-year-old sister, Claire, was kidnapped. Though Claire was miraculously found, she was changed forever. As was Erin, who now just might get what she’s always wanted most: the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. But she must be willing to risk everything she holds dear.A covert officer overseas, Erin now works stateside in the world’s most sophisticated intelligence-gathering organization. But her life takes an unexpected turn when she spots an ice cream vendor performing magic tricks for kids. She has seen this man before—the day her sister disappeared. Obtaining access to records few are allowed to see, Erin pries open her sister’s cold kidnapping case. With her arsenal of data banks and espionage techniques, Erin hopes to finally bring the criminal to justice. When a boy disappears near her home, Erin is certain there is a link between the two cases. She meets Alec Donovan, an FBI agent on the hunt to find the missing child, whose record for locating missing children is unquestioned. Suddenly Alec and Erin find themselves on a desperate pursuit—from the streets of America’s most peaceful neighborhoods to a horrifying underworld where children are stolen and trafficked. And as they get closer to the truth, they make their own lives, and the lives of everyone they love, into perfect targets for a killer.With its deeply-drawn characters, relentless pace, and powerful depiction of human courage in the face of danger, Out of Reach is a gritty, terrifying novel of a nerve-wracking race against time. With echoes of today’s most shocking headlines, this is fiction at its most passionate and suspenseful.From the Hardcover edition.From Publishers WeeklySpunky kids at the mercy of bad guys are once again the focus of this second suspense novel by Lewin (Blind Run), in which a covert CIA operative and martial arts expert goes up against a child kidnapping ring. Erin Baker is on assignment in D.C., keeping an eye on the city's embassies, when she spots a magician she saw the day her seven-year-old sister, Claire, was snatched 19 years before. Convinced that she can help find a boy who was recently kidnapped, Erin joins FBI agent Alec Donovan, working with him to dismantle an international child-slavery ring operating under diplomatic immunity. Meanwhile, the story shifts focus to follow the kidnapper as he dons disguises to match wits with his pursuers, and describes abuse through the eyes of Ryan, a boy imprisoned on a German diplomat's Middleburg, Va., estate. Tension builds as Erin confronts the kidnapper on a jogging path and the evil German at an embassy ball, coming to a head when Alec's team storms the Virginia mansion. There is no shortage of twists and surprises, but the fast-paced plot can't make up for the cardboard-cutout characters (pretty Erin is a single parent and demonstrates martial arts to CIA recruits in her spare time; tough yet sensitive Alec falls for her right away; the evil German loves his guard dogs) or the uninspired prose ("The following ten days were particularly intense"). An action movie in print, this thriller offers recognizable characters, a few surprises, a little romance and the chance for the heroine to wear a variety of outfits to face down the villains. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistErin Baker's life changed drastically the day her sister Claire was kidnapped. Even though her sister was found four years later, Erin has always blamed herself for not looking after her. Now, years later, Erin has become a CIA agent, and cares for Claire, who has been committed to a mental institution, and Claire's young daughter. Working in Washington, D.C., Erin reads about a child's abduction in Baltimore, and all her painful memories resurface, especially after she sees an ice cream seller performing magic for children in the park. She then realizes that she saw the same man before her sister disappeared, and contacts the FBI. Special agent Alec Donovan believes Erin's far-fetched theory because he's heard rumors about a magician who kidnaps children. The two become rogue agents searching for a kidnapping ring that leads them to a high-ranking diplomat. Fans of Lewin's first book, Blind Run [BKL Ja 1&15 03], will find this white-knuckle chase through a murky world where children are the prey of adult monsters a worthy successor. Patty EngelmannCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved