Out of Range - Hank Steinberg

 Out of Range is Hank Steinberg's debut novel. But Steinberg was also the creator and producer of a television show I enjoyed - Without a Trace. The fictional tv show setting was the Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City and their search for - you guessed it - missing persons.

Well, Steinberg has taken that successful one hour formula and parlayed it into a novel that I also really enjoyed.

Charlie Davis and his wife Julie were living and working in Eastern Uzbekistan in 2005 when the country erupted in violence. They barely made it out with their lives - and newborn son. They move back to the US to raise him in a stable and safer environment. Life is good for the Davises. Or so Charlie thought. Until the day his children are found alone in the family's vehicle on a dead end street. And Julie is missing.

Out of Range is my favourite kind of suspense novel - an everyday person forced into extraordinary circumstances. Steinberg ups the ante with an international setting and by incorporating actual events into his story.

Out of Range is a perfect summer read. Lots of action, suspense, cliff hangers, international intrigue, terrorist and more all added up to a entertaining read.  Yes, some of it is a bit over the top, but again - perfect escapist reading. Fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay would enjoy this new author. And this reader will be looking for his next novel.

And if sounds like a great movie plot....it is. Steinberg is working on the screenplay for Out of Range for Paramount Pictures. Read an excerpt of Out of Range.