There’s a lot going on in this novel—international travel, terrorism investigations, underwater treasure hunting in the Middle East, kidnapping, and canines tracking dastardly villains through the Colorado wilderness. Add to the mix a burgeoning romance that overcomes trust issues with a few assassination attempts thrown in for good measure, and you should have a good thriller.
Kira Drake, Adventuress Extraordinaire
Johansen’s new heroine is Kira Drake, a world-famous adventuress slash veterinary research genius. Think a female Indiana Jones but with a leash instead of a whip. Her trusty companion is Mack, a golden retriever with heightened intelligence and super-tracking abilities—thanks to Kira’s legendary training abilities. Furthermore, Kira’s breakthrough research prowess has enabled Mack to live much longer than the average pooch.On the Trail of a Madman
The story opens when Kira and Mack are sent into the aftermath of a devastating explosion in Paris. Her task is to discover any evidence of how the explosion occurred and, if possible, who was behind it.After some quick sniffing about, she and Mack discover the explosion was masterminded by a criminal multi-millionaire named Joseph Taylor. Taylor has an obsessive hatred of a tech billionaire named Jack Harlan and is apparently willing to kill hundreds of innocent bystanders for a chance to hurt him.
Harlan is impressed by Kira’s abilities and the speed at which she located the evidence linking the massacre to Taylor. He hires the stellar team to track down the terrorist, who is “rumored” to be in a remote Colorado location.
Bonding With Harlan’s Family
Luckily, Kira and Mack both make full recoveries at one of Harlan’s properties, where we meet his niece, Fiona. Fiona is a willful and competent girl, an Olympian equestrian medalist (naturally) who is deeply involved in the care of her horses at Harlan’s stable. She doesn’t trust Kira, but desperately wants her to find ways to extend the lives of horses like Kira has for dogs.Meanwhile, Taylor grows even more unstable and violent. Fanatical about destroying anything Harlan cares about, he sends some of his minions to take potshots at Fiona.
The plan becomes to draw Taylor out with the bait of possible hidden pirate treasure in the northern coastal region of Egypt. Coincidentally, Harlan has developed amazing underwater exploration tech (lucky break, there), so he’s a natural partner for Kira in order to trap the villain.
Expectations of a Johansen Romantic Thriller
Plot points and characters like these are textbook choices for a satisfying romantic thriller. However, despite the legacy of Johansen’s significant string of success stories, the writing in “On the Hunt” falls well short of expectations.First, there’s a frequent lack of scene-setting. Johansen steers readers from one locale to another with scant descriptions of where characters are or what’s happening. The location is frequently described in monosyllabic terms: “the woods,” or “the pier.” She gives readers nothing more.
Furthermore, in the pursuit of dramatic scenarios, scientific realism is almost entirely ignored, and basic logic strained past the point of credulity. For example, Taylor is in front of Kira one moment, and within a few heartbeats, he’s behind her with a gun and enough time to capture Mack, muzzle him, tie him up, and dangle him from a cliff.
Biting Off More Than You Can Chew
The de facto rule for romantic thrillers is that they don’t have to be completely realistic. Readers can be very forgiving and willing to suspend disbelief if the author provides likable characters, good pacing, and a decent story.But the ambitions of “On the Hunt” end up overwhelming the book, inadvertently forcing characters and scenarios to become parodies. It ultimately sinks what could have been an excellent beginning to a new series of books.
