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Summary
Summary
Find out what happens when the wrong secrets get out in this high-stakes mystery about a family in hiding.
Jack Osborne has spent the last year lying. Living with his family in the middle-of-nowhere Nebraska, everyone called him Zach, and nobody knew his father had been arrested for drug trafficking, all thanks to the Witness Security Program. But that didn't stop his dad's ruthless drug czar ex-boss Alonzo Aznar from coming after them--and narrowly missing them.
Now, with his trial date fast approaching, Alonzo's hunt for Jack's family intensifies. One slip up, and Alonzo will find them, making sure no Osborne survives to testify against him. Jack has messed up once before, and he won't do it again. Unfortunately, someone else in the family hasn't been as careful...
Action-packed with kidnapping, escapes, spies, and secrets, this unputdownable mystery thriller is the exciting follow-up to Zach's Lie.
Author Notes
Roland Smith was born in Portland, Oregon on November 30, 1951. He received a Bachelor's degree in English from Portland State University. His job working for a children's zoo began a 20-year career as a zookeeper. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, his first non-fiction book, Sea Otter Rescue, was published in 1990. He continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996. His first novel, Thundercave, was published in 1997. His other fiction books include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Peak, and Shatterproof. He also writes the I, Q. series and the Storm Runners series.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Zach's Lie (which PW called, "a suspenseful adventure"), readers learned that Zach Granger is really Jack Osborne, living under a pseudonym because his father was put in prison for transporting drugs for a ruthless cartel. In Jack's Run by Roland Smith, Jack and his sister are kidnapped by drug lord Alonzo Aznar's thugs. Can they escape before they are killed? (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In this suspenseful sequel to Zach's Lie, Jack and Joanne Osborne are kidnapped from a witness-protection program after Joanne blows their cover. The story begins slowly as Smith fills in details from the first book, but the pace quickens after the Osbornes are imprisoned in Argentina and eventually make a hard-to-believe escape. A page-turner with an ending that portends another installment. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. In Zack's Lie (2001), after Jack's dad's arrest for drug trafficking, the family entered the Witness Security Program to hide from the dangerous drug cartel that will be exposed in court. As the story picks up in this action-packed sequel, Jack arrives in Los Angeles to stay with his college-age sister, Joanne, only to find that she has foolishly blown their cover. Kidnapped and flown to Argentina, Jack and Joanne show their mettle in a series of violent confrontations and other frightening situations. Filling in readers on the background from the previous book takes a bit of time, but once the pace of the story picks up, it never flags; both the heroes and the villains seem larger than life. Sometimes the story strains credibility but may be just the thing for readers who crave plot-driven fiction full of action and danger. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2005 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up-In Zach's Lie (Hyperion, 2001), Jack Osborne's father agreed to testify against drug czar Alonzo Aznar. Although the family joined the Witness Security Program, Aznar eventually found them and notified his minions, and Jack narrowly escaped death at their hands. In this thrilling sequel, Smith provides enough background to understand Jack's past and the pressures that he now faces. His older sister, Joanne, has moved to L.A., where she plans to attend college and pursue a musical career. His father, under close watch by the U.S. Marshal Service, is scheduled to testify at the trial. For his own safety, Jack is sent to live with Joanne. When he arrives, he discovers that she has been selected for an American Idol-type show, and that her image has been splashed all over the news media. Aznar's men find and kidnap the siblings and move them to a vineyard in South America. From that point, the author tells the story from dual perspectives: that of Jack and Joanne as they try to escape and that of their parents and their struggle to find their children. The two story lines collide when the Osbornes arrive at the vineyard, posing as dealers. The action is nonstop and the characters are compelling. The fast pace will keep even reluctant readers interested. A highly entertaining read.-Emily Garrett, Naaman Forest High School, Garland, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
After a narrow escape from the drug dealers in whose trial Jack's father will testify (Zach's Lie, 2001), Jack and his family have returned to the dubious safety of the Witness Security Program. They seem safe enough until Jack's painfully stupid sister, Joanne, successfully auditions for the reality television show American SuperStar. When she appears on national television--under a false name, but giving the genuine location of their hidden parents--the gig is up. Agents of drug kingpin Alonzo Aznar promptly kidnap Jack and Joanne and hustle them off to a ranch, an Argentinean hideaway that's a complete reproduction of an Old West town. Jack and Joanne, held to ensure that their father doesn't testify, escape in the muddle of a drug syndicate hootenanny in full Old West style. Meanwhile, their parents rush to the rescue with the help of former janitor and KGB agent Sam. Despite tense, action-packed escapes, the conclusion strains the bounds of credulity. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
