Perilous [Kindle Edition]

Tamara Hart Heiner (Author)

Book Description

“A young adult thriller filled with non-stop action, PERILOUS grabs hold of you from page one and doesn’t let go until the very end." ~Joyce DiPastena, author, Loyalty’s Web and Illuminations of the Heart

“Terrifying, riveting, and jaw dropping...." ~Unedited

”A story full of suspense, with lots of twists and turns." ~Talli Roland, author, The Hating Game

Jaci Rivera joins her best friends Callie, Sara and Amanda for a night of pizza and shopping. But an evening at the mall turns into a terrifying twist of events that drive Jaci and her friends 2000 miles across the Canadian border. The girls find themselves alone and running from unknown enemies on all sides, and not even the police can be trusted. . . . Detective Carl Hamilton is called out on a homicide case where the partially decayed body of an unidentified teenage girl is found along a remote highway. He is drawn into a life and death race to stop the killers before they strike again.

ALTERCATION, the sequel to PERILOUS, is now available from WiDo Publishing!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Detective Carl Hamilton is called out on a homicide case, where the partially decayed body of an unidentified teenage girl is found along a remote highway...

Weeks before, Jacinta Rivera joined her best friends Callie, Sara and Amanda for a night of pizza and shopping. But an evening at the mall turned into a terrifying twist of events that drove Jaci and her friends 2000 miles across the Canadian border. The girls escaped the kidnapper's lair only to find that he has spies and agents working on both sides.

They are being hunted, and not even the police can be trusted....And Detective Hamilton is in a life and death race to find the three remaining girls before the kidnapper does.

About the Author

Tamara Hart Heiner lives in Arkansas with her husband and three children. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English. She teaches English in the mornings and spends the rest of the day avoiding the laundry and other chores, all in the name of parenting. Sometimes she gets to sit down in front of the computer and write for a few hours. She is also the author of Altercation and Inevitable.

Product Details

• File Size: 584 KB
• Print Length: 265 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: WiDo Publishing (October 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0045JLQCI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,867 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspense & Action All Around - Part I December 2, 2012

By Meks Librarian

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Perilous" starts out innocently enough: a 15-year-old meets a group of friends at the shopping mall for the birthday of one of the girls. They browse the shops and then sit down to have a pizza together. Later, they wait outside the mall for the mother of one of them to pick them up.
So far, so mundane.
But then, the mother they are waiting for does not arrive; all the customers and staff leave the mall, darkness descends, no security guards are to be seen, and while the girls are still unsure about what to do next (strangely enough, not one of them have their mobile phones on them - the only thing I found a bit difficult to believe, especially since earlier, the other girls ring one from the group to remind her about their appointment), a dark van pulls up at one of the security doors to the mall, and the girls - well concealed in the darkness and keeping quiet - witness what very obviously is a robbery.
From then on, things happen very fast: They try to call the police from a payphone while one of them is supposed to keep watch; the watch is spotted, and next thing they know, all four girls find themselves kidnapped in the back of the van.
An action-packed, fast-paced story unfolds, with the girls escaping, being captured again, escaping again, finding unexpected help, but also finding unexpected traps along the way, until the girls (and the reader) can not be sure whom to trust anymore.
One of them is killed, one of them ends up pregnant, one of them apparently sees the entire thing as one big adventure, and one of them finds out something about her father that sets her entire world upside down.
I am not going to tell you more about "Perilous" - you should really find out for yourself, if I managed to capture your interest.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling read November 26, 2010

By Cheree Smith

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Debut author Tamara Hart Heiner has created a chilling tale about a group of girls who have to escape their kidnappers and journey across the country to get home, not knowing who they can trust. The characters in the story are all interesting with unique characteristics that makes them different from each other. The two point of view characters, Jaci and Detective Hamilton, are the perfect characters to tell the story. The reader learns little clues from both sides and makes you want to turn the page.

The fast pace and numerous twists and turns add interest to the story and will keep you on the edge of your seat, hoping that the girls will be able to make it home safely. The ending suggests that a sequel is in progress, or I hope so because I want to know what's going to happen next on the girls journey.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced and intriguing, Perilous explores hard issues in a way that readers of all ages can enjoy. November 1, 2010

By Christy

Format:Kindle Edition

Perilous is the type of adventure book that I like to cozy up with when I want to escape from the world for a while. Fast-paced and intriguing, Perilous explores hard issues in a way that readers of all ages can enjoy.

Food to eat while reading: Pickles in a Pinch [...]

The main character and point of view in Perilous, by Tamara Hart Heiner, is Jacinta Rivera. Heiner successfully alternates the point of view between Jaci and Detective Carl Hamilton, the man who has been given the task of finding Jaci when she is kidnapped by thieves from the local mall. I appreciate knowing both points of view. Somehow it makes me fell smart-knowing information that the character I am reading about hasn't found out yet.

Jaci is Hispanic and I got very interested when I entered her home and interacted with her family. I love that her heritage and background are portrayed here. By the end of the book I was disappointing that her heritage did not come up again or play a role in the story. It would have been neat to see Jaci use her knowledge of her ancestry or ethnicity to her advantage--pushing the story forward and helping her out of the situation.

Detective Carl is a nice contrast to the teen storyline and I love his choice of brain food-pickles. I enjoyed his internal dialogue and his relationship with his wife. The only thing lacking in Carl's storyline is a dynamic change from beginning to end. I did not see how following Jaci's case changed him as a person.

I enjoyed the banter between the girls at the mall before the kidnapping occurs. I could have read a few more chapters of Jaci's life before the capture and felt surprised when the event happened so soon in the story.

There are quite a few teenage females to keep track of in the story and they all started to blend together for me. Because of what happens to Sara, I was able to separate her from the others in the middle of the book. Again, I am disappointed in the lack of change that I saw in the girls. I wanted to get into Jaci's head and really see how the events affected and changed her by the end of the story.

The twin boys, Neal and Ricky, add another layer to the story and introduce a bit of romance. Because Neal is introduced first, I became quite attached to him and I saw Ricky as immature and irresponsible. Later in the story I found it confusing when Jaci began to vacillate in her interest between the two boys.

Some of the scenes felt contrived to me, such as Jaci's rescue at the river. And yet other scenes that might have felt artificial (including their ultimate rescue in the end) made me want to believe in miracles.

The ending felt abrupt and I didn't get a sense of completion. There is a sequel coming out to Perilous and I realize that there needs to be a few loose ends, but I still wanted that missing catharsis.

I am impressed with the way Heiner is able to write a story about harsh topics that face teens today, such as murder and rape, but in a way that any parent would want them presented to their teen. The events that happen in the book are dealt with, but not played out in detail or dwelt upon in a way that would make a reader uncomfortable.

More About the Author

I live in Arkansas with my husband and three children, two crazy boys and one pretty little princess. I used to spend a lot of time writing until I had a baby and discovered Facebook. Now you'll often find me on there pretending to have a social life.

I am the author of three young adult suspense novels, PERILOUS, ALTERCATION, and INEVITABLE. You can find out more about what I'm writing and catch deleted scenes from my books on my blog at http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com.

I love hearing from readers! Feel free to start a discussion or leave a comment!