No Escape - Softcover

Lowell, Heather

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060542144 ISBN 13: 9780060542146

Publisher: HarperTorch, 2004

Synopsis

Death is the only exit ....

Kelly Martin is a frightened teenage runaway who made ascandalous accusation, then vanished, leaving Los Angeles prosecutor Tessa Jacobi with a ticking time bomb of a case on her hands. When the investigation leads her to chic nightclubs, shadowy business deals and whispers of sexual slavery, Tessa understands that she's out of her league. So she asks for help from a man whose contacts and experience can help her bring Kelly home.

Burned by the system in the past, private investigator LukeNovak plays by his own rules -- and he's not about to change them to accommodate a smart, classy blonde from the D.A.'s office. But when a killer strikes frighteningly close to home, Tessa has nowhere to turn -- except to Luke. Because somewhere in a neon underworld, a young girl is running for her life. And Tessa is determined to get her out, even if it means placing her own life in the hands of a renegade she has no choice but to trust ...

About this title

About the Author

Heather Lowell was born and raised in Southern California. She attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she began her love affair with foreign languages, international politics, and off-the-beaten-path travel. She's journeyed by bus, train, and boat throughout the developing world, meeting local people and practicing her language skills -- the occasional face-to-face encounter with livestock was an added bonus. While her "list of things to do before settling down" is still quite long, Heather has already crossed off hiking the Andes, going up the Amazon River, backpacking through Australia and New Zealand, SCUBA diving, bungee jumping, white-water rafting, caving, and jumping out of an airplane.

In the 1990s, Heather studied in Brazil, volunteered as an English teacher in Hungary, and earned a Master's degree in International Development. She briefly considered becoming a professional traveler before deciding that defaulting on her student loans wasn't a lofty career goal. Instead, she served her time in a cubicle as a project manager in Information Technology, where her life closely paralleled that of the comic strip Dilbert. When the tech bubble burst and the stock market plummeted, Heather took it as a sign that she should get out of the corporate world and follow her dream of writing. She hasn't looked back since that day.

Despite an adventurous past, Heather Lowell now considers herself to be a dedicated homebody -- with a car, mortgage, and dog to prove it. She currently lives in Arizona, where she is working on her next book.

From Publishers Weekly

Those expecting this book to be as thrilling and romantic as the tales spun by Lowell's mother, Elizabeth Lowell, will be sorely disappointed by this uninspired effort. None of the characters possesses a distinct voice or much depth, so it's difficult to be drawn in by the plight of Los Angeles assistant DA Tessa Jacobi, who has just taken on a high profile date rape case. Aspiring singer Kelly Martin claims that a popular pro quarterback raped her, but there's little physical evidence to support her story. Determined to override the he-said/she-said stalemate of most celebrity cases, Tessa enlists the aid of handsome PI Luke Novak. Their investigation leads them to Club Red, a private salon that serves as a stable for "Thoroughbreds," innocent young girls who are trained for sexual pleasure. As Tessa and Luke dig deeper, the attraction between them builds, but their sex scenes lack passion. A suspenseful attempt on Tessa's life gives readers momentary hope that the author has hit her stride, but the scene quickly gives way to more tedious narration. Lowell (When the Storm Breaks) has yet to master the skill of telling a story through action rather than passive narration and dialogue, and it is this handicap that prevents the novel from fully engaging the reader.
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTorch
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0060542144
• ISBN 13: 9780060542146
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 432