Unreasonable Risk

by Karen E. Hall

Book Overview

Hannah Morrison's place of business might as well be a bomb. Nearly everything inside the fence is either flammable or explosive-and somebody is trying to blow it up. Hannah's friend and mentor has... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1595071202
• ISBN13: 9781595071200
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Archebooks Publishing
• Length: 332 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

More Hannah Morrison, please!

Readers get a bargain with Unreasonable Risk--a truckload of troubling HAZMAT scenarios, a female engineer encountering discrimination, personal fears and an unlikely love interest in this fast-moving thriller set at an oil refinery threatened by a saboteur in a frosty Minnesota winter. Protagonist Hannah Morrison rings true because author Karen Hall knows what she writes about. Ms. Hall is an environmental engineer herself and she knows how to explain complicated spaces, chemicals and process in clear prose. Hall cares about environmental risks and the dangers that haunt the petrochemical industry, but she resists creating bad guys and good guys--they are mostly guys--in simplistic categories. Every woman has met these men in her workplace whether it's the crude sexist or the fair-minded working partner. A terrifying fire-fighting scene, an icy climb at a tank farm, a car rollover in a blizzard all offer fresh adventure settings for readers tired of slick urban or isolated rural settings typical of the genre. Frankly, the believable and documented potential for environmental disaster felt even more frightening than the stalking killer determined to silence Hannah Morrison for what she finally uncovers. Bravo, Ms. Hall. Bring Hannah back for more. She gets scared, she uses her brain, she fights back and she offers science-based detective work. No wonder her smart-mouth TV reporter and love interest wants treats Hannah to great meals and good sex.

Scary, sad, funny and all too possible

I found myself looking for an extra 10 or 15 minutes ..just one more page... just until I see what happens next. The action raced around a setting that was new to me and frighteningly unfamiliar. I worried about the characters not really sure if I was cheering on the "bad guy". Parts of this book made me laugh out loud and parts brought tears to my eyes. What more can you ask of a story?

It's good

Make sure you have some time to read when you start this book. It is hard to put down when you get started and it doesn't take long for the suspense to start when the fires get going. I didn't see the "who done it" ending until I got there. I can't wait to read Hannah's next adventure.

Bravo! Bravo! And encore, please!

Hannah Morrison is the kind of character you'd like to have for a friend--bright, energetic, loyal, and daring. You're taken with her from the very beginning, as she struggles with the death of a friend in a fire at the refinery, and you stay with her as she unravels a mystery that ultimately lands her in a dramatic climax the refinery. But there's more than just a mystery going on here. There's also Hannah's burgeoning romance with Noell, the handsome, hunky reporter who is drawn into the mystery--and her life--along with her. Happily for the reader, he's just the man for her. Teaser: don't miss the skyway scene! Ms. Hall skillfully weaves romance with danger, mystery with suspense in a tale that at times moves at a relentless pace, and other times relaxes at just the right moment as Hannah seeks an answer to the mystery at the refinery and discovers sabotage...and love. A memorable read, this book, along with a box of chocolates, would make a great stocking stuffer for the lady in your life this Christmas--or an extra-special treat any other time of the year.

Thriller readers rejoice! We have a new star to write for us.

Karen Hall hits the ground running with the release of her first book, a fast paced thriller. Using her experience as a chemical engineer in an oil refinery, Hall creates a new landscape for thriller fans to explore. While I love a good Sandford cop romp or a Grisham lawyer chase as much as the next thriller fan, I really enjoyed joining Hall's environmental engineer, Hanna Morrison, in the unexplored world of oil refining. Of course Hanna is smart, she would have to be to work as an engineer in a refinery, but she's also has insecurities and frustrations that she manages to keep in check to get the job done in a world built for and by men. In short, she's a real woman in a real industrial job who is tough without being a man hating shrew. I'm already waiting for the next "Hanna Morrison Mystery" and I'm so happy to have found my new favorite author, Karen Hall.