REVIEW OF OUT OF HIDING: Catherine Sue Morgan

 Suspense / Romance

Date Published: April 25, 2016  

When one more look-alike woman bearing her name is murdered
just blocks away Genevieve Gordon flees Witness Protection to hide in the isolated woods of northeastern Oklahoma where she spent her childhood summers. There she encounters the best friend of her youth and her teenage sweetheart, JD Burke, a boy she’s never forgotten.

Back from war, tormented by flashbacks and knowing he is a danger
to everyone he loves, JD Burke seeks solitude and sanctuary
in the deep woods of his youth.

While the shadows of the past gather, and Genevieve fights to survive,
JD vows to protect her from the obsessed stalker who draws
ever closer. But as JD wrestles with his private demons,
who will protect her from him?

REVIEW

Solid Suspenseful Read – Very Original Story

The intrusive stare of a man undoes Melissa Johnson’s lazy Saturday morning spent at Starbucks. While the face of the stranger is unfamiliar, it doesn’t mean hers is unfamiliar to him, but then, Melissa isn’t who people think she is. She’s actually Genevieve Gordon, a girl whose parents were murdered when she was a child, but there’s more. Over the past few years, three women matching what Geneveive Gordon’s computer-enhanced grown-up features might look like have been murdered. It’s why the real Genevieve is in the Witness Protection Program with a new name and identity—and with U.S. Marshall Sam Jacobson watching over her. Jacobson is the person who placed her in the program, and when he tells her there’s been a fourth murder, she makes a rash decision and bolts. On the road and free, there’s still that killer to contend with. He’ll never give up and all she wants to do is hide and figure out what to do next. She heads to the one spot she’ll feel safe, and runs headlong into her old love, but he’s changed and not the person she once knew. Will JD be part of the solution or the problem?

This is the premise of Catherine Sue Morgan’s very enjoyable book OUT OF HIDING. It’s romantic suspense and holds our attention throughout. The characters are very easy to bond with. Genevieve is likable and the appropriate mix of vulnerability and feistiness. JD Burke is her love interest. The war veteran is enigmatic and suffering from PTSD. The many sides to his personality add to the complexity of the story.

Ms. Morgan is an interesting writer. Her style is quirky and unique, both of which are fine by me! It took me a moment to fall backwards and let her catch me, but once I trusted her to get me to end, I sank into the story and enjoyed it all the more. There’s a nice flow that carries us along to that explosive ending we yearn for.

The plot is totally original and never goes in the direction you expect it to. It’s another huge plus for me. I hate predictable tales and this is not one of them. The two lead characters are also not cookie cutter. Genevieve and JD are originals and the interplay between them is good and adds to the uncertainty of what’s going on. You’re never sure where the two are going or how far JD is implicated in her past—or future. There are also fleeting glances into the mind of this serial killer. It’s a nice touch, and they amp up the element of danger surrounding Genevieve by letting us see through the killer’s eyes.

The tension is good, the suspense kept high. Ms. Morgan does a good job at not letting either flag. And as for romance, while we root for it to happen, we’re never sure it’s a good idea that it does. It’s yet another layer of uncertainty.

Definitely liked this story and writer. I’m giving it a solid 3.9 and recommending it to those liking their suspense on the romantic side.