The Gauntlet Assassin

The Gauntlet Assassin

Just over a decade into our future, America is a stricken country where jobs are scarce, health care is a luxury for the wealthy, and hope rides on the annual Gauntlet games―a punishing physical and mental competition where the victor brings not only pride but an economic windfall back to his or her home state. In the 2023 games, former police detective turned paramedic Lara Evans represents Oregon. But the contest’s notorious obstacles and cutthroat rivalry may be the least of her challenges. After saving a government bureaucrat’s life―and literally dodging a bullet―she finds herself in the crosshairs of a relentless hit man. And when another Gauntlet contestant is murdered, a stroke of bad luck puts Lara on the wrong end of damning evidence. Still, the games must go on. And with the country, the law, and a killer watching her every move, Lara must use all her strength and savvy to beat the odds, claim the prize, and win back her life in the most dangerous game of all. L. J. Sellers is a native of Eugene, Oregon, the setting of her thrillers. She is a former award-winning journalist and editor, and current standup comic, cyclist, social networker, and mystery-conference attendee-as well as a skydiving and thrill-seeking fanatic. A long-standing fan of police procedurals, she numbers John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Ridley Pearson, and Lawrence Sanders among her favorites. Her own novels, featuring Detective Jackson, include The Sex Club , Secrets to Die For , Thrilled to Death , Passions of the Dead , Dying for Justice , Liars, Cheaters, & Thieves , and Rules of Crime . She’s also penned three standalone thrillers: The Baby Thief , The Gauntlet Assassin , and The Lethal Effect .