Blind Run    by Patricia Lewin Order:  USA  Can Ballantine, 2003 (2003) Hardcover, Audio, e-Book Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Martina Bexte After blaming himself for the death of his son, Ethan Decker walks away from his grieving wife, his covert government work and from life in general. For three years he's remained isolated in the Arizona desert drowning himself in booze and self-pity. Then Anna Kelsey, the last surviving member of his elite Hunter team shows up with two children in tow and asks Ethan to watch over them while she takes care of some business. But Anna doesn't make it far; she's gunned down before she gets back on the highway. When Ethan finds a familiar gold coin under her tongue, he realizes that assassin Marco Ramirez has finally found him. Siblings Danny and Callie are now his responsibility whether he wants them or not. Ethan also realizes that his ex-wife Sydney is also in danger from Ramirez. Sydney is shocked and then angry when Ethan shows up at her door insisting she leave with him. He lost any right to make demands when he walked out on her after they buried their son. Before he has a chance to explain, all hell breaks loose and they barely survive another assassination attempt. Unfortunately two cops are gunned down during the exchange and the four of them are on the run, forced to evade not only Ramirez but also a police manhunt. The authorities believe Ethan fired the fatal shots that brought down two of their own. Now it's a race against time to escape the police dragnet, Ramirez's wrath and also to find out the nature of sinister government experiments the Keepers conducted not only on Danny and Callie, but on many other innocent children as well. After numerous category romances, Blind Run is Ms. Lewin's debut romantic suspense novel. She's packed everything in her book: a great opening, secret government agencies and agendas, genetic experimentation, an assassin bent on revenge, and assorted other nasties who love to double cross each other. The pacing is impressive, the action scenes well done and the premise one that is very timely. Unfortunately Ms. Lewin's plot is so busy and fast-moving it leaves little time for satisfying character build-up. Indeed the whole cast, including Ethan and Sydney, seem stereotyped and lack the depth needed to let me really care about them and what happens to them. Blind Run starts out with a great bang but soon falters and fizzles to a disappointing conclusion. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews