On a dark, stormy night, an anxious young woman driving a treacherous highway is run off the road and plunges down a steep ravine. She awakens the next morning in a hospital bed shrouded in a cloud of confusion. With no memory of her own identity or the accident that caused her amnesia, she learns she may not have been the only passenger. A car seat was strapped into the vehicle, and a tiny shoe and baby bottle were found among the wreckage. Where is that child - and is it hers?

Enter Jake Sanders: attractive, furious and full of accusations. He claims she is Sarah Tucker, the mother of his infant daughter, who, seven months earlier, disappeared with little Caitlyn, ending their two-year affair. Unwilling to leave Sarah lest she try to run again, Jake is determined to reunite with his child. Now the “estranged” lovers find themselves locked in a desperate search for their missing baby.

While bits and pieces of her startling history begin to surface, it becomes clear that Sarah is running from something more terrifying than a failed relationship. As more attempts are made on her life, a mysterious tattoo and connections from her childhood assist Sarah and Jake in piecing together the puzzle. But will they ever find Caitlyn, or will Sarah’s haunting past catch up with the child first?

This is my first encounter with bestselling author Barbara Freethy. Known for her romantic suspense novels, she hasn’t let her fans down with this new page-turner; Silent Run. However, although the book carries an intriguing storyline, her characters sometimes fall short of realistic emotion. Even so, it is well worth the read and should be considered a fine example of the genre. In fact, I find myself already deeply immersed in the second book of this series, Silent Fall.