Book Review: Running From The Devil

Mix one part Rambo, one part MacGyver, and one part femininity and you get yourself Emma Caldridge, a fiercely intense character, whose brain and brawn comes to serve her handily amidst the challenges put before her in the jungles of Colombia.

Jamie Freveletti's book, "Running From The Devil" interested me from the start. If it isn't tough enough to run in a marathon, imagine having one's training being put to the test...To survive a certain death in the jungles of Colombia!!!

A chemist by trade, Emma's smarts even outdoes her running endurance! The book was nearly as enlightening as it was exciting. I found myself thinking how inane I was had this situation befall me, that it made me want to go back to College!

I kept trying to put the book down, but as great storytelling will do, it kept me drawn to reading without stopping. I kept wanting to know what happens next, and when you can write that way, you have hit the jackpot. You don't even realize the mechanics of the reading, and (Jamie) Freveletti does as an incredibly admirable job in reeling you in, and keeping you on the edge of your reading chair.

Without giving much away, the book takes you straight into an explosive beginning (literally). Let's just say that about the only thing that Emma was not in control of, was her luck for being ejected deep into the Colombian jungle. Far away from where the rest of the plane she was on, had crashed landed.

After that, it's a free-for-all for the bad guys who swarm in to the remaining survivors. If it's not the Columbian Cartel, it's the Paramilitary. In short, there were several competing forces in the Columbian jungle make it for an intense, albeit slightly dizzying action-thriller. A paradox when you consider that even in the harshest of mother nature, that man is stil the ultimate enemy. This is a subtle theme for which Freveletti accurately and vibrantly depicts throughout her story. There are dangerously frentic moments throughout, and Freveletti delivers the goods in keeping you informed of everything.

Her characters in the story are believably human too with the main focus being on Emma herself, who perhaps was created from Jamie's own persona. All of her characters remain consistent in behavior, while our heroine, Emma, being by far the most believable among the bunch. This novel is just as worthy as Emma's likeability. She's aggressive, sensitive, resourceful, and shows that she has her moments of doubt and frailty. A true heroine!

In short, the story, the characters and the action is terrific. If you can, I say you run as fast and as far as Emma would, and grab yourself this book, dammit! Get it, read it, and afterwards look around you and be glad you don't have to find your way out of a violent jungle!