COLD PURSUIT by Toni Anderson

COLD PURSUIT

by Toni Anderson

ARC Review

Release: June 2, 2014

My rating: 5 of 5 ⭐️







After coming to Minneapolis to see yet another specialist, Vivi Vincent is browsing the toystore with her eight-year old son Micheal in the mall, when suddenly explosions and gunfire erupts around them. She manages to keep her son hidden and find help in the form of an off duty FBI agent, who is unwittingly thrown in the centre of the action. Both Vivi and her son come away physically unharmed, but many aren't so lucky.

On a forced 'vacation', FBI special agent Jed Brennan happens to be in the mall doing some Christmas shopping when all hell breaks out around him. Unarmed and ill-prepared for what is obviously a well-planned and executed attack, he does what he can to help as many as possible to escape the gunfire. So too the fiery redhead whose son may have seen and heard more than is safe for him. Even mute, the information the boy holds is a danger to the terrorist group and potentially invaluable to authorities.

When the safe house where Vivi and her son are being guarded is compromised and once again, they both narrowly escape with their lives, Jed decides to take matters into his own hands. He hides them away on a family property in a cabin where they can try and figure out how to get through to the now severly traumatized child. From the start there has been a strong attraction between Vivi and Jed that circumstances would not permit exploration, but in close quarters in a cabin, their chemistry seems impossible to suppress.

Yet somehow, even far off the beaten path, deep in the woods, they were nowhere near as safe as they thought they were. Someone was able to find them. A plot had been set in motion that was so much bigger than anyone suspected and the key was locked inside the head of a little eight-year old boy.

*****

OMG!! Once again, Toni Anderson completely blows me away!! The intricate plot-weaving is just amazing. Combine that with a slightly fallible, hotter than Hades leading man and a somewhat bruised but not quite beaten, kick-ass heroine, and throw in a vulnerable, smart as sin, little boy...... you have me sold!

The characters are phenomenal. I actually particularly enjoyed Michael, the little boy, who may seem like a victim and vulnerable from the outside, but in fact is much stronger and in control than we give him credit for, as you will see when the story plays out.

Vivi has wrapped herself and her son in a protective cloak after a very negative experience, and has found security in keeping the two of them teamed up 'against the world', so to speak. Trust is a prized commodity and she doesn't give it easily, hasn't really given anyone her trust since her divorce. Until Jed. 

Growing up with rather non-conformist parents, it probably isn't a surprise that Jed seems to skim the edges of the rule book of the FBI. Fighting hard not to break yet another rule, he tries to keep from getting involved with Vivi, a witness, but it seems a futile battle. Both her and her son have already worked their way under his skin. Something he didn't ever think could happen again.

This story gave me chills. It reminded me of the chaos theory; When a butterfly beats its wings in Central Park...... etcetera...... You've heard it before, the ripple effect. Something relatively small happens in the grand scope of the world, yet it warps and distorts the entire structure, threatening the very foundation. It's a terrifying concept, but so well handled by Toni Anderson, who manages to bridge the gap between the small town events in the north of Minnesota to the large arena of world politics. 

Honestly?? I think I'm actually a little afraid of Toni Anderson now!! What a wicked, wicked mind she has! Good thing she knows her way around swoon-worthy he-men and writes a mean sex scene as well. Fast becoming one of my go-to writers!!

✨A vivid, imaginative and sinister game of international manipulation.✨ 

**Copy provided in return for an honest review.**

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