Running Scared FROM THE PUBLISHER
Risa Sheridan knows everything there is to know about gold — its history, its secrets, its allure, its perils. Her boss, Shane Tannahill, is addicted to the stuff, having already made the precious metal the theme of his ultrasuccessful Las Vegas gambling establishment, the Golden Fleece. Now an ancient Celtic piece is being offered to Shane for his collection, and the casino owner is hooked. But though she shares Shane's enthusiasm, Risa is wary — because something about this particular artifact is troubling; something about it says "stay away."
It is a voice that should be heeded but is not. And the artifact is placing them at the center of an insidious plot in the mad whirl and blinding glitter of Las Vegas.
A remarkable novel of exhilarating thrills and passion, with unexpected twists and turns that will leave you breathless, Running Scared is another priceless example of why Elizabeth Lowell is the gold standard in contemporary suspense fiction.
SYNOPSIS
PerfectBound e-book exclusive extras.
The remarkable Elizabeth Lowell is a master alchemist who miraculously transforms the elements of suspense, adventure, and sensuality into New York Times bestselling gold.
Risa Sheridan knows everything there is to know about gold -- its history, its secrets, its allure, its perils.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Who would have thought there'd be a market for retro kitsch la Remington Steel, complete with two protagonists fighting their attraction for each other as well as dumber-than-doorpost crooks? Apparently, Lowell, whose long string of romantic suspense novels (Moving Target, etc.) have earned her a Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award. This latest involves antiques, druid gold and psychic powers and is set primarily in post-mob Las Vegas with side trips to Sedona, Ariz. Risa Sheridan is a consultant for Rarities Unlimited, hired by casino mogul Shane Tannahill to find something spectacular to display at a New Year's Eve opening bash for his new gallery. It looks like Risa's hit pay dirt when she comes across some gold druid pieces that a WWII vet purloined from Wales during the war. But there are complications. Risa's childhood friend Cherelle, a faux psychic who goes by the name of Lady Faulkner, had been scamming the vet and is now in pursuit of the gold, too. Then there are Shane's rival casino bosses, who are looking for something to frame him with so they can edge him out of the picture. Can they somehow use the discovery of druid loot to achieve that end? Lowell's research is thorough, but it's often presented awkwardly, with copious information on authenticating antique jewelry as well as slightly more interesting background on druidic lore. The narrative is formulaic from start to finish: will any reader not guess that after Shane warns her away for safety's sake, Risa still dangerously goes for the gold solo in the end? An all-talk wrap-up takes the edge off the action, but Lowell's readers will be more interested in the romance, anyway. 7-city author tour. (One-day laydown Apr. 30) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Curator Risa Sheridan knows old gold. Her boss, Shane Tanahill, owner of the Las Vegas casino the Golden Fleece, wants only the best for his Druid Gold show. When an old friend from Risa's unhappy past breezes into town loaded down with the stuff, people pop out of the woodwork, each wanting a piece of the action and willing to kill for it. This is the second Rarities, Inc. novel from Lowell so there is a familiar background cast to help keep the good guys in line. Carrington MacDuffie has a sweetness of voice that adds the right elements of romance to the plot without sacrificing the harder edge of the story. Though MacDuffie has a tendency to overemote and her Irish accent needs work, her smooth delivery makes for overall pleasant listening. For larger libraries and Lowell collections.-Jodi L. Israel, MLS, Jamaica Plain, MA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
AudioFile
All that glitters is not gold in RUNNING SCARED, a financial high-stakes thriller set in Las Vegas. The owner of Rarities Unlimited Auction House, Shayne Tannahill, and Chief Curator Risa Sheridan hunt for pre-Dryadic gold artifacts in a casino setting. Carrington MacDuffie has a complete repertoire of male and female voices to match this cast of broad character types, though she occasionally drops into caricature of male gangsters and slips into an ineffective falsetto for Tim's elderly mother. M.D.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Ancient Celtic gold has everyone running in circles. Just one look at the priceless treasure is enough to send a shiver down the spine of Risa Sheridan, antiquities expert with the exclusive appraisal firm of Rarities Unlimited. She alone knows that the runes and symbols engraved on the artifacts and jewelry have the power to heal-or harm. What she doesn't know: their provenance. And, being dead, the owner can't tell her where he dug it up. Pvt. Virgil O'Connor stumbled across the treasure while wandering in a Druid grove in Wales during WWII. He smuggled it back to the States and later found that it brought him only bad luck and a lifetime case of the heebie-jeebies that nothing could cure-though Cherelle Faulkner certainly tried. She's Risa's childhood friend and fellow survivor of trailer-park foster homes, and she's been conning poor old Virgil for a while, pretending to be his spirit guide. Thus the gold falls into her hands after his death, though she has no idea of its antiquity or worth. But Las Vegas mogul and multimillionaire Shane Tannahill collects Celtic tchochkes and, boy, does he want these, hoping to feature the treasure in a blockbuster exhibition at the Golden Fleece, his Vegas entertainment complex, if Risa can just verify its authenticity. Enter assorted lowlifes and criminals, all with Damon Runyonesque names and personalities, who heist some of the treasure. The chase, natch, is on. Will Shane fall for Risa's enigmatic intelligence and merely physical charms? Should Risa give her heart to him or to Niall, the broodingly handsome owner of Rarities Unlimited? And will bad girl Cherelle do the right thing in the end? Fast-moving romantic suspenser that gets off to agood start, but the Keystone Kops-like complications are just plain silly. From the indefatigable author of similar tales of priceless art and improbable crooks (Moving Target, 2001, etc.).
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