The Hunted

by Rachel Lee

Her story sets off a violent spark. His investigation puts them in the line of fire.

Journalist Erin McKenna is not only investigating a major defense contractor suspected of complicity in the international sex-slave trade but testifying against them in court. Her world collapses when that same firm buys her newspaper and she's fired without explanation.

Her home is ransacked, her computer stolen and she is attacked. FBI agent Jerod Westlake is haunted by the disappearance of his sister long ago, and has dedicated his life to ending the international sex-slave trade.

When he discovers Erin wounded on the floor of her apartment, he swings into action to protect her as a witness-and as a woman. Jerod needs to protect Erin's life and track down her source. But once they start working as a team, the real danger begins....

• ISBN10: 1426814720
• ISBN13: 9781426814723
• Publish Date: 1 April 2008 (first published 25 March 2008)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter

"Her story sets off a violent spark. His investigation puts them in the line of fire."

Erin McKenna is the reporter who broke the huge fraud story on Mercator. Mercator is a huge mega corporation whose biggest clients are government arms contracts. Mercator is how being prosecuted on the fraud chargers and Erin is a star witness. But Mercator got it wrong. Erin is attacked and robbed after she testified. Unless....

Jerrod Westlake is the FBI agent making sure that Erin testifies. He arrives on the scene right after Erin is attacked. Jerrord's been around long enough to realize that something isn't on the up and up. If it was a simple burglary, why didn't they take the TV and DVDs?

Erin is sitting on a huge story. Contract fraud was just the top of the iceberg for Mercator. The story is so huge, not many people know about it. One leak could be fatal to the story. Erin's source is very cautious and for good reason because Mercator is sweetening foreign arms contracts with young girls.

Jerrod has a reputation for finding and rescuing lost and kidnapped children. After all, he has a debt to pay. Can Erin and Jerrod break through Mercator's security to rescue the next "shipment" in time?

The Hunted grabs you from page 1 and only lets go when it wants to. This book is not for the faint of heart. I consider myself pretty open to authors’ using the shadier side of humanity to enhance their stories. There were a few parts to this book that really made me squirm and some where I just had to put the book down and come back to it. There were probably details I could have done without but they also made the villains that much more horrifying.

If you like a good shot of dark reality in your fiction, this was a great story. If you don't like the real world butting into your escapism, pass on this one. As for me? I fall in between. I'll read Rachel Lee again but I'll wait until I'm in the mood for something grittier.