Mini-Review: Running from the Devil by Jamie Freveletti

Biochemist Emma Caldridge is on a flight from Miami to Bogota when the plane goes down in a fiery crash.  Shortly after the crash, a group of guerrilla soldiers round up the survivors and force them to march into the rainforest.  It is soon realized by the survivors that the crash was no accident; the plane was brought down intentionally. Emma is  thrown from the wreckage, far enough away that the soldiers don’t see her.  She’s able to recover some supplies and food from the wreckage before it is blown up by the soldiers.

She begins to follow the soldiers and the survivors through the hot, deadly Colombian rainforest. She’s a chemist for a lucrative cosmetics company, constantly looking for natural ingredients to enhance the cosmetics this company creates. Her knowledge of the local plant life and her experience as an ultramarathon runner gives her an advantage.  She’s soon joined by another survivor, Sumner,  a government agent, and they both head out in an attempt to rescue the remaining surviviors.

Meanwhile, the United States government has formed a task force ordered to rescue the survivors of the plane crash. They can’t seem to figure out what made this plane so important…who on the plane was worth killing so many people?  After doing a bit of investigating, it is soon revealed that Emma has a bit more riding on this trip than originally believed.

Freveletti weaves an extremely fast-paced, thrilling read. I thoroughly enjoyed Emma’s character: she was a no-nonsense woman, set on survival.  It’s refreshing to see such a powerful woman in a thriller, oftentimes a male holds this position. This was a quick, intense read.  Highly recommended!

I finished reading this book just in time!  This weekend, Running from the Devil won the Best First Novel award at the 2010 Thriller Awards!  Congratulations, Jamie!! Be sure to check out her newest book, Running Dark!