Desert Angel (review)

Angel's mother always knew how to pick a loser, and her ultimate hookup with Scotty ended in her murder. Angel, herself a witness to and nearly a victim of Scotty's fury, is now on the run, but trying to stay one step ahead of Scotty, a professional tracker with several valuable connections through his host of illegal activities, seems impossible. As Angel hides out among a Mexican immigrant community on southern California's Salton Sea, she draws each family who aids her into peril from Scotty. Rita, a Head Start teacher with a soft spot for kids, is determined to do all she can to keep Angel safe until the police can amass enough evidence to put Scotty away, but Angel comes to believe her best chance is to turn tracker herself and kill Scotty before he can kill her. Price starts off with harrowing scenes focused on the murder and Angel's initial escape and then shifts into a meticulously paced cat-and-mouse chase, wringing more terror from a casually dropped cigarette butt, a locksmith van circling the neighborhood, and a handcuff purchase than many authors accomplish with a full-out bloodbath. With its blood-red cover and "What makes the hunted turn hunter?" tagline, this will be a magnet for thriller aficionados.