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Hiding
Places
Andy
Paul drifted into the idyllic little hamlet, high
in the Ozarks in Arkansas with nothing more on his
mind than fishing and hiking. He had recently finished
a rugged picture assignment for National Geographic
and felt he was entitled to some time off.
He
meets the beautiful Fran Whitler and her eight year-old
daughter, Leslie, and the combination is irresistible
to him. For the first time in years, he is attracted
to a woman in a way that makes him think of their
future together.
The
two of them are obviously on their way to creating
a romance when they are blind-sided.
Several
carloads of armed men storm into the sleepy little
village and kidnap Fran's daughter, murdering a local
man in the process. Andy becomes an unwitting hero
when he saves Fran from being killed, but us unable
to prevent the taking of Leslie. The Townspeople are
stunned.
The
FBI is called in and the ensuing investigation uncovers
a dark secret that Fran has kept hidden from her friends
and neighbors in the town.
Richard Alan Nelson's Biography:
Richard
Alan Nelson is a retired businessman who has realized
a life-long dream with the writing of Hiding Places.
He has authored two other books and is currently working
on another. He lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Reviews
Mr.
Nelson is a delightful story teller. His descriptions
are flawless. As you read, the pictures in you mind
could have come from one of the photographs taken
by character Andy Paul. From the hills of Arkansas
to the Rio Grande Valley, He takes you there. The
characters are real in all their flaws. I must have
met each of them at some point in my life. It has
been my privilege to read a lot of great books, Hiding
Places is one I will remember for a long time. I have
read his other book and I am glad to know another
is in the works. KEEP EM COMING! - Tim Hancock is
the Director of MWLA, a Reviewer and Author
Troubled
heroes fascinate me, especially when they live by
their own code of decency. Mr. Nelson's Andy Paul
is my kind of hero! Andy is strong and capable, a
loner who can't fully escape his past as a Navy SEAL.
He travels the world as a photographer, capturing
beauty and human pathos with the camera's eye, trying
to live down what he considers failure as a SEAL commander.
The reader doesn't learn about the origin of Andy's
nightmares straightaway. He thinks his solitary thoughts
on a much anticipated fishing trip in the Ozark Mountains.
Andy welcomes isolation, and seeks to refresh a world
weary spirit with the rugged beauty of his surroundings.
. His underlying decency and humor come to the fore
when he meets Fran Whitler, a widowed mother who keeps
a secret past to herself. Their attraction for each
other is immediate, and then Fran's hidden past returns
to haunt them both. Andy is drawn into Fran's nightmare,
and in the process must relive his own shadowed past.
In this first book by Richard Alan Nelson, I found
myself at first sharing Andy's love of nature's peace.
Descriptive passages of mountain scenery served as
a pleasing backdrop to the tension building rapidly
around the ex-military hero. While reading, I struggled
to "assist" Andy Paul and his top notch
SEAL team pals in their unofficial covert rescue of
a kidnapped child. It was a thrilling read, regardless
of your preferred genre. I won't give any more of
the story line away. This author has created an exciting
story that proceeds at breakneck speed, with enough
twists, turns and surprises to keep the reader guessing.
- Laurel Johnson
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