Cut and Run [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Ridley Pearson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 2005

A New York Times Bestselling Author

Taut and edge-of-the-seat compelling, Cut and Run is a spellbinding thriller pitting a U.S. federal marshal against the mob's most resourceful killer - in a race to save the woman he loves.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

While Ridley Pearson's Lou Boldt series seems to have run out of steam lately, his new stand-alone thriller shows this perennial best-selling author at the top of his form. It begins with a taut prologue introducing federal marshal Roland Larson and his protected witrness, Hope Stevens, whose testimony will send the Romero crime family to jail if she ever makes it to court. When Hope walks away from the witness protection program, she takes Larson's heart with her; he hesitates just long enough to regret it; and spends the next six years searching for her. Then she surfaces again in connection with the disappearance of another protected witness, a computer expert who holds the safety of everyone in the program in the top secret software program he developed. Noone wants access to that program more than the Romero family, and Hope Stevens is the first and most important target of their wrath. As a member of the elite Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, Larson races the clock to find the man whose knowledge threatens the life of the woman he still loves…and the child he never knew he had. A heart-pounding thriller that's impossible to put down, this is Pearson's best to date. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Crime fiction king Pearson's (The Body of David Hayes) latest fast-paced thriller finds a smitten U.S. marshal and a vengeful killer chasing after the same elusive woman in witness protection. Hope Stevens, a technical consultant for the Justice Department, helped indict the deadly Romero white-collar crime family in a million-dollar fraud investigation. For six years, she's been in the witness protection program, waiting to testify. Now, the Romeros have infiltrated the program's participant list, and she's in grave danger. Roland Larson, a U.S. marshal in St. Louis who met Hope just before she was admitted to the program, still pines for her and is determined to find her. But close behind him is Paolo, a throat-slasher commissioned by Romero and a scarification fetishist, whittling his way through Hope's acquaintances to get to her. Accidental exposures keep Hope on the run as the vigilant Paolo and heart-heavy Roland grow increasingly desperate. Hope and Roland's heated reunion is marred by the kidnapping of Hope's previously well-concealed five-year-old daughter, Penny, a surprise to everyone, especially "new" father Roland. Separately, gutsy mother and daughter try to outsmart Paolo, then chase electronic messages to Florida and onward to the finale in Washington and Seattle, where protection program names are being auctioned off to mob goons. As seasoned heroes and a league of gangland villains lock horns for the busy wrapup, even fans accustomed to Pearson's heart-pounding pacing will find themselves short of breath. Agent, Al Zuckerman. 10-city author tour. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 536 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (June 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786275081
• ISBN-13: 978-0786275083
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,668,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ridley Pearson (www.ridleypearson.com), the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in Detective Fiction at Wadham College, Oxford University, is the bestselling author of over 35 novels including, Peter And the Starcatchers (co-written with Dave Barry), the young adult novel, The Kingdom Keepers, and two dozen crime novels including: Probable Cause, Beyond Recognition and Killer Weekend (July 2007). His novel The Diary Of Ellen Rimbauer, a prequel to a Stephen King miniseries, was a New York Times #1 bestseller, as was Peter and the Shadow Thieves (#1 for 6 weeks). Ridley adapted The Diary Of Ellen Rimbaurer for ABC Television; it aired in 2003.

Peter and the Starcatchers is to open as a stage play, off-Broadway in March 2011, under Disney Theatrical.

Ridley is a founding member of, and plays bass guitar in, the all-author rock band, The Rockbottom Remainders (www.rockbottomremainders.com), with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Scott Turow, Mitch Albom, Amy Tan and Greg Iles. The band has raised over 2.5 million dollars for charities over its 18 year history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pathetic, May 26, 2006

By 

Charles (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cut and Run (Mass Market Paperback)

The plot is mechanical and unoriginal. It has characters of no interest and it manipulates the reader shamelessly, even by the standards of the genre (sweet little girl kidnapped by killer whose MO is to slit people's throats with a straight razor). Did I mention that the killer beats up and rapes his victims before killing them, but can't bring himself to harm little girls?

But what really stands out is how badly Pearson writes: "He didn't speak any of this, didn't voice his concerns, but he clearly wore them on his face, for she grew pale, turning away from the wind and him along with it." And this gem: "A night-light came on unexpectedly. Blinding him. Markowitz's grandson, dressed in cowboy pajamas, cowered. But it was he who'd turned it on."

Don't bother with this piece of trash, for you'll regret it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just okay!, September 18, 2007

By 

sgun73 "Steve" (Carmel, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cut and Run (Mass Market Paperback)

Nothing very special with this book. Publishers Weekly called it one of his best, and I just don't see it. It's a plot that's been done, and characters that were pretty bland for the most part.

19 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars When Hope is Lost ..., May 3, 2005

By 

Gary Griffiths (Los Altos Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cut and Run (Hardcover)

"Cut and Run" is predictable entertainment - the thriller that is decent fun while it lasts but will be forgotten by next month. Ridley Pearson is accomplished in the craft of pop fiction, and true to form he keeps the action moving unencumbered by any in-depth character development or complicated plotting. "Cut and Run" does offer some insight into the Federal Witness Protection program, as we find deputy federal marshal Roland "Lars" Larson falling in love with a protected witness, Hope Stevens. But that was six years in the past, and the program is so successful in hiding its participants that even Larson is unable to track down his lost love. When the massive data base tying protected witnesses with their true identity falls into the wrong hands, all hell breaks loose as Lars rushes to catch the bad guys, while at the same time finding and save poor Hope. Much what follows is formulaic: sadistic criminals, kidnappings, nail-biting cliffhangers, heavy weapons, murder and mayhem enough to fill a couple of hours on the big screen. Pearson fans will no doubt adore this latest installment; others will find "Cut and Run" more than sufficient fill for the long plane ride or lazy afternoon on the beach.