Alright… this isn’t the typical running book that I would usually post here, but I got the opportunity to read this through Runner’s Lounge and since the main character is an ultra-runner, I thought I’d review it because some of you may be interested…. you know, something to read when you’re resting and recovering!

Running from the Devil by Jamie Freveletti
Synopsis from the author’s website:

Emma Caldridge, a chemist for a cosmetics company, is en route from Miami to Bogotá when her plane is hijacked and spins out of control into the mountains near the Venezuelan border. Thrown unhurt from the wreckage, she can do nothing but watch as guerillas take the others hostage.

An endurance marathon runner, Emma silently trails the guerillas and their captives, using her athletic prowess and scientific knowledge to stay alive. Those skills become essential when she discovers an injured passenger, secret government agent Cameron Sumner, separated from the group. Together they follow the hostages, staying one step ahead by staying one step behind.
Meanwhile, as news of the hijacking breaks in Washington, the Department of Defense turns to Edward Banner, former military and current CEO of a security consulting firm, for help. Banner quickly sends a special task force to the crash site, intent on locating the survivors before it’s too late.

But finding Emma and Sumner is only the beginning, as Banner starts to realize that Emma was on a personal mission when the plane went down. There is more to the beautiful, talented biochemist than anyone ever imagined, for in her possession is a volatile biological weapon in an ingenious disguise, that her enemies have set for auction to the highest bidder.

I enjoyed the book, I gravitate toward novels that contain a little mystery and intrigue. The characters were interesting although perhaps a little more about their backgrounds and motivations could have been revealed. Maybe Freveletti is teasing us, just a taste so we’ll keep reading other books as they are published. The book flows well and is an extremely easy read, I plowed through it in no time. This was a pretty solid debut novel for this author.

It seems like the book is set-up to become a series, many of the characters could carry on through other books. That would be cool and I would read them. I would like to see the main character in her regular “training” mode in those books, as opposed to just using her skills to race around the jungle. True, that probably wouldn’t carry throughout a whole book, but it would be interesting to hear about the character as a “normal” runner in a “normal” life for a brief moment in the book. Or maybe she’s wrapping up a 100-mile race, crosses the finish line and then gets sucked into a new adventure?!

One problem with the book. When the character is being introduced as an ultra-marathoner, they define that as someone who runs races 35 miles or longer. That’s flawed because there are many 50K ultras… equivalent of 31 miles. By the book’s definition that doesn’t count as an ultra and that’s slightly insulting to my friends who have raced that distance. Just saying… 😉