Run into Trouble

How can so much balance on a race through the California coastline? "Run Into Trouble" follows the pair of Drake and Melody as they deal with an undercover mission for a questionable company during the cold war. It is 1969, and a race through California is about to be run with the prize of a million dollars. In what seems to be a harmless sporting event, Drake and Melody uncover something far more sinister. A fine mystery that genre fans will enjoy, "Run Into Trouble" is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Readers View (3/09) Alan Cook is a wonderful writer and presents his characters in a way that readers can connect with them from page one. His descriptions of the land, the characters and the suspense, puts one right in the mind of the characters. Drake and Melody, former coworkers are paired as a team in a race that is worth a million dollars to the winners. Both have questions as to why they were paired together and why they were even in the race. Most of the other teams were highly-respected marathon runners. The CEO of the organization Giganticorp is a well-connected individual with those in power and is willing to go to any length to get what he wants. However, something is very suspicious about this individual and Melody and Drake can't understand why he is not willing to let them drop out of the race. There are many accidents, which are either accidental or done to stop teams from winning the race. Drake himself is injured in a car accident when a truck hits the back of the car he is riding in. Other racers are found dead in the most unusual fashion. From the beginning of "Run into Trouble" by Alan Cook the reader is intrigued and caught up in the excitement of the race. Readers will find themselves playing Sherlock Holmes to find out "who done it."

The year is 1969, the Vietnam War is in full blast and a large, privately held California defense contractor offers a million-dollar prize to a group of runners to traverse the state from the Mexican border to San Francisco. Among the runners are Drake and Melody, paired as a team. They, many years before, had worked as some kind of government agents in England. Along the 500-mile route, we are treated not only to a scenic description of the California coast, but to a series of incidents of an increasingly violent nature. At the beginning, there is an accident caused by a pickup truck banging into the cab in which Drake is riding to the starting point of the race, severely injuring him to the point that he can hardly run. But perseverance and ingenuity prevail, and Drake and Melody continue running up the coast and discovering more events affecting the race, prompting the pair to apply their past training to try to figure out what is happening. Who would ever have thought that a race featuring a marathon distance every day could provide the basis for the kind of intrigue included throughout the plot, which combines a Cold War setting and subversive conspiracy? Not to mention the various tricks inherent in running a foot race. Somehow, it all comes together in a good read, one which is recommended.

Oliver Drake and Melody Jefferson are paired up as a team in the race Running California. It begins near the Mexican border and continues up the California coast. Strange they would be paired together since they were spies together in Europe. No one should know. Do they? Giganticorp, a California company providing weapons to the military, is sponsoring the run. Casey Messinger, CEO, has high aspirations for himself as well as Giganticorp. Is there anything that can stop this race? I really like books by this author. This is another great one. The characters are interesting, and the plot is well laid out. There are plenty of red herrings and twists to keep the reader guessing. The scenery of this book is great as well. I often felt like I was out there running with them. I highly recommend this book.