In “The Deep End” by LDS author Traci Hunter Abramson, CJ Whitmore has been in the Witness Protection Program for three years, ever since she saw her good friend Chase killed. He had been investigating some shady dealings involving government corruption and diamonds, and was killed before he could share what he knew. The bad guys have been hunting CJ ever since, not wanting her to testify, but also believing that she has the missing diamonds, and they want them back.
Matt Whitmore, CJ’s husband, is a baseball player and in the public eye. He and CJ can’t openly be together—if the paparazzi were to take a picture of them together, the mobsters would know where to find CJ. They live in the same apartment building and their units connect to each other, so they are able to be together at night, but during the day, they must go about their business separately, never being seen together outside their home.
CJ is a world-class swimmer and badly wants to qualify for the Olympics. The federal agents in charge of protecting her know how important this is to her. They also know that if they don’t support her, she’s likely to go off on her own and compete without protection. Taking measures to increase security at her swim meets, things go wrong when one of the mobsters shows up and spots CJ. An agent is killed and CJ wonders if pursuing her dream is worth risking lives.
But now that she’s been found, she has to keep running. Separated from her husband while she goes into deeper hiding, she wonders if she’ll ever be able to return to normal living. It’s been so long, she’s almost forgotten what that’s like. She can’t wait for it all to be over—but then the mobsters track her down, to her very house, and she must confront evil face to face.
This book was a great suspenseful read. It is the third in a trilogy, but I didn’t feel confused coming in on the third book – there was enough backstory to catch me up. I enjoyed this read and can see why it’s a finalist for the Whitney Award.
(This book was published in 2007 by Covenant.)
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Author Interview: Traci Hunter Abramson
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