Peril, by Suzanne Hartmann (OakTara Publishers, 2011)
Danger, intrigue, faith and racing… what’s not to like? Lady Anne is a private bodyguard, medically enhanced to possess super-human strength and speed. Her security, and that of her family, comes from utter secrecy. If terrorists or foreign powers discovered her abilities and tracked her location, how far would they go to learn how to create an army just like her?
Lady Anne operates in the shadows until a high-profile assignment to guard a foreign diplomat exposes her to the world. That’s also when she meets Stuart Jackson, champion NASCAR driver.
Stuart and Lady Anne meet a few times, and he can’t stop thinking about her. Eventually he plots to meet her through her friend Joanne.
Stuart also can’t stop thinking about how empty he feels despite his successful life. His growing relationship with Joanne and her husband, Neil, lets him work through his questions and find his way to faith.
I enjoyed the racing aspects, although I confess I was hoping for some behind-the-wheel scenes. Instead we stick with the characters touring the grounds and watching the cars on-track. The author includes enough detail to make it feel real and to orient readers with no NASCAR background, but it’s not over-done. Non-racing fans can still enjoy the book.
I also appreciated the way Peril isn’t told as a romance. Stuart is attracted to Lady Anne, but she’s in a committed relationship. Although she feels a pull to him, she’s committed to her faith and her family. It adds an extra dimension to the story.
Author Suzanne Hartmann writes “fiction with a twist.” Click here to read an excerpt from Peril and to learn more about the author and her other work. Book 2 in the Fast Track Thrillers series, Conspiracy, is now available.
[Review copy from my personal library.]