The Chase – Lisa Harris

The Chase Lisa Harris
The Chase by Lisa Harris
Also by this author: The Escape, The Catch
Series: US Marshals #2
Published by Revell on July 6, 2021
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Thriller
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four-stars

US Marshal Madison James may not be sure who shot her three months ago, but she does know one thing--it's time to get back out into the field. When her partner, Jonas Quinn, receives a message that a federal warrant just came in on a man connected to a string of bank robberies, Madison jumps at the chance to get back to work. What she and Jonas find is a bank robbery in progress that's gone wrong--and things are about to get worse.
For these bank robbers, it's never been just about the money. It's about taking risks and adrenaline rushes, and getting caught is not part of the game. When the suspects escape, Madison and Jonas must hunt them down and bring them to justice before someone else--someone close to them--gets hurt . . . or worse.
From Seattle to the San Juan Islands, bestselling author Lisa Harris takes you on a nonstop chase where feelings are complicated and failure isn't an option.

I sat for 10 minutes prior to writing this review, attempting to find an appropriate simile for Lisa Harris’s The Chase. Whirlwind. Roller coaster. Hurricane. Nothing seems to fit! The best on which I can settle? Maybe skydiving. Cliff diving. Bungee jumping. A heart-pounding, seemingly never-ending (in a good way) chase to the conclusion of the novel. The anticipation builds until readers crash into the novel’s finale. I took my Kindle outside with me on a cool day, lowered myself onto a lounger, and legitimately did not stand up until I’d almost finished The Chase. When I returned home from an obligation, I consumed the last 30 minutes’ worth of reading in a desperate sprint.

The Chase by Lisa Harris never stops. Not for a single page. Madison James and Jonas Quinn face roadblock after roadblock in their attempts to stop four bank robbers from escaping justice. It always seems they are one step behind the bad guys, but Madison and Jonas never lose hope.  They keep fighting, and Harris’s portrayal of their perseverance makes for a thrilling, entertaining novel from cover to cover.  It begins on the very first page. Readers learn it is Madison’s first day back with the US Marshals after being shot in her own home. That one fact alone instantly made me root for Madison’s success.

The novel is the second of Harris’s US Marshals series. I did not read the first one—The Escape—and I wish I had.  The Chase read as a middle book. It stands on its own with its plot, but I did not understand some underlying details. A few of these, I’d say, actually defined Madison and Jonas themselves. Questions swirl around the death of Madison’s husband five years ago.  The Chase advances that subplot—which I imagine exists throughout the entire series—yet opens the door to more queries on the reader’s part.  It is an absolutely brilliant way to suck people in.  As soon as I finished The Chase, I wanted to know the next novel’s publishing date, assuming there is a third.  I hope the series doesn’t end with The Chase, because I still want to know so much more. This was the first Lisa Harris novel I’ve read, and I will without a doubt pursue more of her work.

I loved the humor Harris scattered throughout The Chase; she placed the comic relief in perfect locations. There was character development for both Madison and Jonas, but I didn’t feel there was enough. Harris dropped me in the middle of their relationship, and I didn’t have enough context to truly understand either character. Probably because this was book two of the series. I also struggled to believe the bank robbers’ motivation for committing their crimes; it didn’t seem strong enough. And one final, hopefully non-spoiling comment: What is it with men always getting to be the heroes? Can’t the dude be the “damsel in distress” for once, and the female character swoop in to save the day? It gets old.

Overall, though, I enjoyed The Chase immensely. I’m looking forward to further exploring Lisa Harris’s work. According to her Goodreads profile, Harris has almost forty novels and novellas in print. Wonder how many of those I can read in the next year…   

four-stars