Kindle Edition Amazon John R.Beyer - Author Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: Black Opal Books ISBN-10:  1533348200 Type: Fiction Pages: 275 Copyright: May 2013 ISBN-13: 9781626940147 Price: $2.99 (eBook) A slight error in speaking to a reporter lands a hardened police detective into one of the toughest cases he ever handled. In fact, it's so bad that he becomes the hunter from a ruthless killer. A killer without remorse, burning with pride, and having the time of his life, Zachary Marshall is unstoppable—until Detective Jonas Peters unexpectedly arrives in the midst of one of Marshall’s hei-nous crimes. After a bank robbery goes from bad to worse and leaves three dead—including a little girl—Marshall finds himself the target of the most intensive manhunt Riverside, California, has ever witnessed. Detective Peters becomes frustrated and half-crazed as the case fal-ters due to lack of clues and evidence. Ordered to take a vacation from the department before he drives all the other detectives crazy with his constant tirades, he heads to his sister’s in Arizona. But an innocent remark to the media changes the entire scenario—and now the hunter has become the hunted. Excerpt He didn’t know who was after him, but he did know they were playing a deadly game… The phone went dead and Jonas suddenly felt himself paling. “Roger, we need to get Maggie and the kids out of this house, now!” “What’s going on?” Roger asked. “Just do as I say,” Jonas commanded. He threw down the phone and raced from the kitchen. Roger followed. “You get Maggie,” yelled Jonas as he ripped open a bedroom door and cast his eyes for the sleeping figure he expected to find. “I’ll get Annie and Tim. Get yourselves out to the backyard now! Get into the pool!” Jonas found Annie’s sleeping body stirring beneath her bed-clothes. He roughly grabbed the little girl and tucked her under his arm as he hurried from the room. She started to cry in confusion, but Jonas didn’t stop to explain. He kicked Tim’s bedroom door open and grabbed the boy by the hand, yanking him out of the bed. Tim resisted for a moment, but then followed his uncle out of the room without asking a single question. Carrying the slightly struggling Annie in his arms and pulling Tim, who was trying to keep up with his uncle’s large steps, Jonas met Roger and the still-half-asleep Maggie by the french doors that led to the backyard. Every second counted right then, and having to unlock and open the glass doors would have cost precious moments. Jonas’s mind kept track of the seconds quickly clicking away in his head. He herded the family to the edge of the pool and, with-out ceremony, pushed Maggie and Roger into the deep end, know-ing they wouldn’t jump in if he told them to. He threw Tim into the water after them, and then leapt over their heads, still cradling An-nie, who was now screaming. As Jonas’s feet touched the water, he heard the blast. It came from within the house and the heat from the explosion ripped across the surface of the pool. Shards of broken glass and other debris sprayed across the backyard like so many pieces of shrapnel.

Hunted
While reading Hunted I would sometimes root for Jonas, the flawed detective, to catch Zachary, the scummy criminal, and at other times I just feared for Jonas' life. The characters became people that I had strong feelings about: good, bad, or both. The story grabbed my attention with interesting twists and turns, and the action would unexpectedly explode. I especially enjoyed the clever and evil humor. If you like being too afraid to go to sleep you should get Hunted! Gary D.

Hunted
"Hunted", a great "read" for the adult crime novel aficionado, if you like John Grisham, you will like John Beyer.
Dr. George S.