Freefall

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. (June)