"No One to Trust" by Lynette Eason

In the first of her Hidden Identity series, Lynette Eason writes an action-packed story of a woman who wakes up one morning to discover her husband has another name, has gone missing, and has stolen something from some decidedly dangerous men.  And if there is one thing Summer Abernathy hates, it is a liar.  On the run from the mafia and yet tracked and attacked at every turn, Summer does not know who she can trust - her deceptive husband? the U.S. Marshals? random people she meets on the street?  Somehow mob boss Raimondi's men keep finding her . . . Can she and her husband survive long enough to work through the repercussions of his deception and overcome her broken trust?

This is a fast-paced suspense novel that has the feel of an action movie.  Whereas many suspense stories slow down to unravel a mystery, this one has no mystery to unravel; instead, we know who the villain is and why he is after them, and the story flies along with our hero and heroine as they dodge bullets with scarcely a moment to rest.   It certainly makes it hard to put down.

Eason does a good job of revealing enough pertinent information to keep it from getting confusing while never compromising the swift pace of the story.  There were some unexpected twists in the novel, which I enjoyed - it is nice to be surprised on occasion - though one or two came out of left field.  Maybe this is partially because there was rarely more information than what was needed at the moment, or maybe because the author wanted some definite surprises that could not be worked out beforehand.  Or maybe I just missed a lot of clues. 

I liked that the novel focuses on a married couple; given that the story happens over the course of only a few days, it would be too hard to make it work for a dating couple, let alone perfect strangers meeting and falling in love.  Since they already have nearly a year of marriage as a basis for their relationship, it means they have a foundation to stand on when Summer's world is blown apart.  She knows she loves her husband, even if she does not know who he really is anymore.  They understandably have issues to work through because of his deception, but between their faith and their strong relationship, their marriage has a shot at surviving.

I would not say it is particularly realistic (or at least I certainly hope not!  Mafia are wonderful fictional villains, but not exactly good news in real life).  However, it is an attention-grabbing action-suspense, with an minor emphasis on learning to overcome and forgive that which one "could never forgive."  4 out of 5 stars

Thank you Revell for providing me with a free copy for the purpose of review; I was not required to make it positive, and all opinions are my own.

Hidden Identity
1. No One to Trust
2. Nowhere to Turn
3. No Place to Hide