Rescuing Olivia [Hardcover]

Julie Compton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2010

Anders Erickson has fallen for Olivia, who likes to live in the moment and doesn’t want to talk about her past. That’s fine with Anders—who has his own memories he’d like to forget—until a car runs their motorcycle off the road and causes an accident that puts Olivia in a coma.

Olivia’s estranged father blames Anders and denies his pleas to see her. When she mysteriously disappears from the hospital and Anders tries to learn what happened, her father stops at nothing to prevent him from discovering the truth.

But Anders refuses to accept that she’s gone for good. Determined to find answers, he sets out on a dangerous path that exposes Olivia’s traumatic past and places him squarely in the way of her father’s plans. When he discovers her very life is threatened, his search for answers becomes a race against time, and he is forced to finally confront his own past if he is to have any chance of rescuing Olivia from hers.

Pitched at the intersection of suspense and family drama, Rescuing Olivia is another gripping read from Julie Compton, a talented new author who never fails to mine the most compelling emotional terrain.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Compton's intense, entertaining second novel involves a horrifying coverup and a powerful new drug. A hit-and-run motorcycle accident in a Florida forest leaves Olivia Mayfield in a coma in intensive care and her live-in boyfriend, 29-year-old Anders Erickson, feeling guilty. I was going to ask her to marry me, Anders confesses to Olivia's sympathetic nurse. Was the theft of the couple's helmets from their parked bikes shortly before the crash just a coincidence? Had a car really been following them, as Olivia suspected? Olivia's father, Lawrence, a pharmaceutical magnate who blames Anders for the accident, informs Anders at one point that his daughter has died. When Lawrence turns out to have a hidden agenda, Anders travels to Clifton, Conn., where Olivia grew up, and later to Kenya in search of answers. While sometimes stretching the bounds of credibility, Compton (Tell No Lies) pulls off a super-satisfying resolution to this romantic thriller. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

Anders Erickson is on the verge of proposing to live-in lover Olivia Mayfield when the accident occurs. Riding home on Anders’ Harley from his favorite secluded Florida spot, the couple is run off the road; Anders suffers only scrapes, but Olivia is comatose. Her father, pharmaceutical magnate Lawrence Mayfield, first bars Anders from seeing Olivia in the ICU, then says she has died. But things don’t add up, and when Olivia’s hospital records disappear, Anders doubts that she died and sets off to find her. His quest takes him first to her family home in Connecticut, then to Africa, where Olivia grew up with childhood friend Brent Campbell, the man who exacted a terrible revenge when Olivia refused his proposal of marriage and now keeps her on memory-blocking drugs started by her father. Anders, weighing the dangers posed by the senior Mayfield and the deranged Campbell, must face his own past and rescue a woman who doesn’t remember him. Compton’s second novel (after Tell No Lies, 2008) is a page-turner with events turning violent, but the earlier vitality dissipates as the novel ends. --Michele Leber

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (February 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312378769
• ISBN-13: 978-0312378769
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,526,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julie Compton is the internationally published author of TELL NO LIES, a legal thriller set in her original hometown of St. Louis, and RESCUING OLIVIA, a romantic, contemporary thriller. An attorney by profession, she now writes full-time from her home near Orlando, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Julie Compton rescued me into discovering a new author., March 2, 2010

By 

Cheryl Koch (CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rescuing Olivia (Hardcover)

Anders and Olivia are lovers. While riding on Ander's motorcycle, a black Mercedes runs them off the road, leaving Olivia in a coma. Anders was lucky and only sustained a few cuts and bruises. Olivia's father won't let Anders anywhere near Olivia.

A few days later, Anders receives the news that Olivia has died. Anders has a feeling that Olivia is very much alive. He goes in search of Olivia. In doing so, Anders uncovers a deep, dark secret that involves Olivia. Can Anders rescue Olivia before it is too late?

I have not read Tell No Lies by Julie Compton, though I have that book on my wish list. After reading her latest novel Rescuing Olivia, I plan to purchase the book soon. This book kept my interest from beginning to end. The whole time I was reading this book, I was cheering for Anders.

After reading the concept for this book and what Mrs. Compton learned from her research made the thought behind the plot for Rescuing Olivia that more scarier and intriguing. As if I needed that because there was enough adrenaline in the story line to keep my heart racing. Julie Compton rescued me into discovering a new author.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" Thriller, February 27, 2010

By 

Jeffrey R. Davis "J. R Davis" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rescuing Olivia (Hardcover)

Take two soul mates separated after being injured in a suspicious hit & run motorcycle accident, the main character, Anders Erickson, kept from seeing his love in the hospital by the powerful & rich family, and ultimately being told she is dead, and you are hooked into joining Anders in his search for the truth of what really happened to Olivia.

Compton creates engaging characters with depth that we can readily love or hate based on their roles as the mystery plays out. Many with deep seated issues that influence their behavior and choices as the story takes us first from Florida to Connecticut and ultimately Africa.

Rescuing Olivia is an excellent read that keeps you guessing and rooting for Anders as he rolls with all the punches delivered to him in his quest for the truth about what really happened to Olivia and why.

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't plan on doing anything else, December 26, 2010

By 

Terri-lynne Defino "the bogwitch" (New Milford, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rescuing Olivia (Hardcover)

Once you pick up this book, putting it down ceases to be an option. I bought Rescuing Olivia for my husband, a thriller junkie. Before wrapping it, I thumbed through the pages. Next thing I knew, I was on the edge of the bed reading. Then I was fifty pages in and the book was mine, mine, all mine!

Julie Compton is the queen of luring a reader in. From opening scene, through flashbacks, she draws us hand over hand into her story, never letting up on the tension long enough to take more than a few breaths--and in those breaths, magic. She creates images and emotions with the same mastery she creates her tension. Start to finish, you just can't know how it's going to end for this cast of characters.

Awesome stuff. The only thing I wish is that I'd picked up this book during the summer. It's the PERFECT beach book.