Freefall

April 1, 2013
Ranger Hope Banning and her sister, Faith, are about to take a rafting excursion when a plane crashes in California’s Sierra National Park. Hope hikes into the wilderness with the only climbing partner available: Sam Rutherford, with whom she had a one-night stand months before. Hope avoids relationships because of a loss in her past, and Sam feels responsible for his fiancée’s death in a climbing accident, but their attraction smolders. At the crash site, it’s clear that the pilot was murdered. Hope rightly suspects the killer has joined Faith’s rafting tour: Javier Del Norte, fleeing a drug cartel, thinks he’s found the perfect cover in the whitewater trip. The story alternates between Hope’s quest to rescue her sister and Faith’s ordeal as she’s trapped between Javier and his merciless ex-boss. Sorenson (Aftershock) crafts a riveting read with a self-reliant heroine, an emotionally tortured hero, and an interesting bad-guy-gone-good in Javier. Readers who crave sex and suspense will enjoy the pace, but they may be put off by a scene of sexual assault. Agent: Laurie McLean, Larsen/Pomada Literary Agents.

May 1, 2013
Sorenson rushes back into romantic suspense with this tale set in a California wilderness area. Olympic star Sam Rutherford, last seen comatose, clutching his fianc'e's ashes, has regained consciousness but not his memories prior to the freeway collapse in Aftershock (2013). He's become a recluse in Sierra National Park, but unfortunately doesn't know anything that will be helpful to ranger Hope Banning when a plane crashes on a remote mountain top. Hope's sister, Faith, is visiting, and they planned to go whitewater rafting together. Hope is reluctant to let Faith, who isn't an outdoorsy person, go alone on the trip, but she has no choice. When Hope gets to the crash site, she's dismayed to find the pilot shot to death and a stash of drugs. Meanwhile, the rafting group gains a new member. Fearing that this man is the killer, Hope and Sam race to save Faith. Sorenson's latest headlong wilderness adventure will make readers' hearts race again.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)