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Cut and Run MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, April 6, 2005

by Ridley Pearson (Author), Dick Hill (Reader)

4.3 104 ratings

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Six years ago, witness protection marshal Roland Larson did the unthinkable: he fell in love with a protected witness, Hope Stevens, whose testimony was to put away prominent members of the Romero crime family. When Hope's plan to “cut and run” is interrupted by both the government and the mob, she disappears into a new identity, taking with her not only her testimony but a secret never shared with Larson.

Larson, who has been looking for her ever since, is put back on her trail when the Romeros intercept the master WITSEC list from the Justice Department and Hope is believed among the first protected witnesses to be targeted for execution.

In a series of terrifying encounters, Larson matches wits with a brutally ingenious killer whose sole target is Hope Stevens. For Larson, the stakes couldn’t be higher―he must find Hope in order to protect her, and simultaneously prevent the mob from auctioning off the master witness protection list―an act that will put seven thousand innocent, and not-so-innocent, lives in jeopardy.

Taut and edge-of-the-seat compelling, Cut and Run is a unique thriller that skillfully blends romance and suspense―Ridley Pearson at his heart-pounding best.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Brilliance Audio; Unabridged edition (April 6, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 159335956X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1593359560
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.38 x 0.5 x 7.5 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.3 104 ratings

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Ridley Pearson

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Ridley Pearson (www.ridleypearson.com), the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in Detective Fiction at Wadham College, Oxford University, is the bestselling author of over 50 novels including, Peter And the Starcatchers (co-written with Dave Barry), The Kingdom Keepers series, and two dozen crime novels including: Probable Cause, Beyond Recognition, Killer Weekend, The Risk Agent, and The Red Room. His novel The Diary Of Ellen Rimbauer, a prequel to a Stephen King miniseries, was a New York Times #1 bestseller, and a ABC TV movie (2009).

Peter and the Starcatcher, a stage play adaptation written by Rick Elice (Jersey Boys) won 5 Tonys for its Broadway run and is currently touring the US.

Ridley is a founding member of, and plays bass guitar in, the all-author rock band, The Rockbottom Remainders (www.rockbottomremainders.com), with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Scott Turow, Mitch Albom, Roy Blount Jr., James McBride, Amy Tan and Greg Iles. The band has raised over 2.5 million dollars for charities.

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Phyllis Weiter

Cut and Run

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2014

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The book was very suspenseful. It is read by Dick Hill who is the world's best audiobook reader. In fact, I bought the book because Dick Hill is the reader and I enjoyed the book immensely.

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Tucker Andersen

(4+) Dick Hill Reads an Intense Thriller with an Intriguing Plot

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2006

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Six years ago, Marshall Roland Larson's WITSEC (Witness Security) team was charged with protecting Hope Stevens during the period when her testimony was to provide crucial evidence in the government's prosecution of key members of the Romero crime family. However, a very clever killer somehow learned Hope's location and succeeded in killing a member of Larson's team and almost assassinating Hope as well. Unfortunately, Larson has broken all the rules by falling in love with Hope and thus this incident is not only a professional but also a personal catastrophe as well. The government immediately places Hope in the witness protection program with a new identity; before long for her own secret and intensely personal reasons HOPE decides to CUT AND RUN; this means that not only do her former handlers no longer know her whereabouts, but they have also trained her so well in concealing her identity that Larson also has no way to locate her despite his continuing efforts and the knowledge with which his specialized training has equipped him.

As the reader is introduced to Larson in the present, he is now the leader of a Fugitive Apprehension Task Force (FATF) team based in St. Louis, utilizing that training to locate individuals who have disappeared. Suddenly, he is summoned to DC and learns that the encrypted computer file containing detailed information with regard to all the individuals on the master WITSEC list has been compromised. Furthermore, Dr. Leopold Markowitz, the genius largely responsible for the encryption methodology employed when the electronic file replaced a paper based system, has disappeared. The Justice Department officials in charge are obviously in a panic to locate Markowitz and retrieve the files before they can be decrypted; otherwise, the lives of the thousands of individuals and their family members who are currently in the program will be seriously endangered. Larson's knowledge of WITSEC procedures combined with the talents of his FATF team make him the department's choice to attempt to quickly locate Markowitz and investigate his relationship to the missing data. Thus, Larson is involved in the ultimate race against time - with scarcely no information on which to base his search and thousands of lives at stake (including perhaps Hope's life as well since the file may still contains clues to her new identity despite the fact that she fled the program).

Larson is energized both by the urgency of his assignment and because it may be a way to locate Hope. He is also terrified for her safety, since the evidence seems to suggest that the Romeros may be involved in the attempt to identify the participants in the WITSEC program.

The tension escalates further when vicious signature murders begin to occur and the killer's methodology is similar to that employed by the killer who changed Larson and Hope's lives so suddenly six years ago. Suddenly, the reader is introduced to the killer, a professional sadist named Paolo (with a certain sense of morality which makes him unwilling to harm children) and the story becomes even darker and more intense as we actually watch him stalk his victims through his own eyes. We also eventually meet Penny, Hope's young daughter (unknown to Larson) who is both her reason for protecting her real identity so carefully and also a major complicating factor in her attempt to escape detection.

This book is written using a fairly unusual style - multiple first person narrators. Even though it is occasionally disconcerting, this technique is incredibly effective in both escalating the tension through the immediacy introduced both by the use of multiple viewpoints and also the introduction of information about events in parallel timelines which wouldn't be known to a single narrator. This technique also allowed the author to intermittently provide the reader with the backstory as seen thorough the eyes of the various characters in a very effective way that seemed integral to the story rather than the intrusive insertion of such material as is often the case. The tension gradually escalates as the lives of all the characters become increasing intertwined and the book rockets towards the climax.

I have not read any of Ridley's Pearson's previous books, and decided that starting with a standalone story rather than one of the Lou Boldt/Daphne Matthews series might be a fairer way to determine my enjoyment of his work. I was very impressed with many aspects of this story, and got so caught up by the events that a few times I chose to continue listening to it (my review is of the unabridged audio version) and delayed my next task after I got to my destination. Based on my admiration for the plot complexity and character development, I do plan to read THE BODY OF DAVID HAYES by Pearson to introduce myself to the Boldt series. WARNING: this book contains detailed and gory descriptions of cruelty, torture and violence, this is the reason that I did give it a five star rating. My reaction to these incidents may have been more extreme because I was listening to an audio version rather than reading the book; the narration as it was recited in the perpetrator's Paolo's voice perhaps made the experience more intense and the scenes easier to visualize. In addition, I couldn't easily skim over those scenes as I often do when reading such a story. If such incidents don't concern you, then simply ignore my warning and realize that you are likely to enjoy the story even more than I did.

NOTE RE: AUDIO VERSION: If you are tempted to purchase the unabridged audio (approximately 10 hours) rather than print version of this novel I strongly encourage you to do so. Dick Hill does an excellent job as the reader; I have only recently started listening to audio books while traveling and was very pleased with this choice. I especially recommend the CD's such as this set produced by Brilliance audio, which not only utilizes excellent readers but whose format of very short but seamless tracks (approximately 100 tracks per seventy-five minute CD) is incredibly user friendly.

Tucker Andersen

6 people found this helpful

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Dana "Dr.D" Richardson

Cut and run is real

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2013

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Reading Ridley Pearson is true to life and he takes you into it, get this book it's a reality you don't want to miss

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2013

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Ridley Pearson is one of my favorite authors and he continues to put out wonderful stories. Cannot wait for the next book!

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Amazon Customer

good read, but geographically mis-informed

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2006

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This was a fun book to read, the plotting was good and characters interesting. My only quibble is that the author needs to research his geography before placing his characters. Here, he has the denouement scenes taking place in the City of Mountlake Terrace, Washington. He is correct that this city is north of Seattle - however, it has absolutely no connection to Seattle, is actually located in a different county from Seattle and has it's own police force. There is no way that a Seattle PD Swat team would be operating in the City of Mountlake Terrace. I know because I live just a few blocks from this city.

Other than that, it was a fun thriller. This is the first book of his that I have read, so I will try other titles.

One person found this helpful

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Gary Griffiths

When Hope is Lost ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2005

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"Cut and Run" is predictable entertainment - the thriller that is decent fun while it lasts but will be forgotten by next month. Ridley Pearson is accomplished in the craft of pop fiction, and true to form he keeps the action moving unencumbered by any in-depth character development or complicated plotting. "Cut and Run" does offer some insight into the Federal Witness Protection program, as we find deputy federal marshal Roland "Lars" Larson falling in love with a protected witness, Hope Stevens. But that was six years in the past, and the program is so successful in hiding its participants that even Larson is unable to track down his lost love. When the massive data base tying protected witnesses with their true identity falls into the wrong hands, all hell breaks loose as Lars rushes to catch the bad guys, while at the same time finding and save poor Hope. Much what follows is formulaic: sadistic criminals, kidnappings, nail-biting cliffhangers, heavy weapons, murder and mayhem enough to fill a couple of hours on the big screen. Pearson fans will no doubt adore this latest installment; others will find "Cut and Run" more than sufficient fill for the long plane ride or lazy afternoon on the beach.

20 people found this helpful

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L. Meyer

Fast moving

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2017

This book kept my attention throughout and was fun to read. Only wish there were more books with these characters.

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