Classic premise – a fugitive on the run from the law inadvertently runs into instead of away from the long arms of a cop. In this case the fugitive is Renee Esterhaus, and she’s running because she’s all but been convicted of a crime she didn’t commit. The evidence is pretty much against her, as well as her own juvenile record, and Renee doesn’t see any other solution – she has vowed never to do jail time. John DeMarco is the guy she propositions in order to get a quick ride (no pun intended) away from the bounty hunter who momentarily captures her. Eventually John finds out who Renee is. From a long line of cops, John cannot simply let Renee go, no matter how appealing he might find her personally, and he sets out firmly intending to take her into custody. But ultimately he finds himself, if not convinced of her innocence, at least with some doubt to her guilt. Knowing that the system will indeed process her without digging any deeper, John has a decision to make. To get involved in the case – breaking the law he is there to uphold, or to do his duty.
It might be a archetypal basis to a story, but in the telling Graves has created a very enjoyable tale with distinct and believable characters. The sexual heat between John and Renee builds up naturally, and is told without redundancy but to great effect. I liked that Renee was able to acknowledge her past mistakes, that she was unprepared and essentially unable to execute running away from the law (Graves did not invest her with any unlikely specialist knowledge or luck on new identities etc). Renee was aware of her situation, even if I think she should have revised her plan as she went along (for example she was always heading from New Orleans, having been tracked and caught already going in that direction). John was an interesting character, as much formed by his background as Renee was, although he had some serious character flaws – it made good reading when he let her go, but I didn’t find it admirable how he did it.
An interesting spin on a classic plot.