Deep Down Dead is an all American thriller. A real page-turner, full of pulsating action. It sucks the reader in from the very start through to the nail-biting conclusion. It is all about a peculiarly American phenomenon – the bounty hunter. Bondsmen (for a fee) offer to post bail for a suspected criminal. The bail, though, is forfeited if the suspect does not turn up for a court appearance. If they attempt to vanish (as a fair number do…) before the appearance, then the bondsman employs a bounty hunter to track them down and bring them in. The bounty hunter earns between 10% and 15% as his or her fee – it can be very lucrative. Lori Anderson is a Florida based bounty hunter. Her 9-year old daughter, Dakota, has leukaemia (currently in remission) and she has to pay her overdue medical fees. She begs her bondsman, Quinn, to give her a job that will earn her $15,000 to bring back a fugitive from West Virginia. There are, though, two issues. The first is that she cannot find a baby sitter for Dakota (she will have to come with her on the trip), and the second is that the fugitive she is going to pick up is a guy called JT – whom she has not seen for ten years, but who used to be her mentor (and also her lover…). We sense this is not one that will go smoothly, and it doesn’t. After a small diversion (no more for fear of a spoiler), the three of them begin the journey back from West Virginia, with JT cuffed and tied in the back of Lori’s Silverado. Then it all goes seriously wrong… What follows is a heart-stopping chase through Virginia and Georgia down into Florida – with bad guys a plenty in attendance. JT has offended both the very dubious owner of half of Florida’s theme parks and also the Miami mafia. They are each out to silence him – and to use Lori and Dakota to get to him. Deep Down Dead is an absolutely great read. It is remarkably and sensitively written. Apart from the build-up of tension (and the blood and guts that come with it), the book also covers the relationship that grows between the three of them and the very natural fears of Lori as she places her daughter in danger. You would think that such a book has to have an American writer, but Deep Down Dead does not. Steph Broadribb is a Buckinghamshire lass who (and this is the relevant bit) grew up partly in the States and actually trained as a bounty hunter in California. She clearly knows her stuff… Deep Down Dead is a debut novel. The end of the book sets up the sequel. I hope it is as good a read when it appears.

Reviewed for nudge books .Deep down dead is a romp of a book in which I read in two a sittings - It tells of the trials and tribulations of a stripper turned bounty hunter mum in Florida .It is because of medical bills form her daughter that she takes on a job the re-unites her with an old flame and mentor and all that he is involved in . There is the action , the twists and the personal involvement which makes the main character very believable and the book very readable . Looking forward to the series developing

This novel takes place in the eastern United States and involves a bounty hunter, Lori Anderson, out on a job to bring in her ex-mentor, JT. She has to bring her 9-year-old daughter along and thus begins a white-knuckle ride involving kidnapping, multiple homicide and a good deal of action. With a little too much introspection for my liking, this thriller is truly engaging and exciting with good character development. In some places predictable, it is nonetheless enjoyable and well worth reading – it reads as if the author had a film scenario in place: it's easy to imagine as a film. Recommended.

Lori Anderson is desperate for a big money job. A bounty hunter in Florida, she finds herself facing large medical bills after her daughter suffers leukaemia. Worried about meeting those bills and paying the rent she agrees to fetch a bail skip from West Virginia and to deliver him back in three days time. It seems a simple job, too simple for the high bail bond set. Then she finds out the skip is her former mentor. What could JT have got mixed up in that means members of a child exploitation racket and members of a different mob are after his head. And can they make it home in time? The is a fast, frenetic pace to this story, the action never seems to let up, and neither does the tension. It drags you along, making the reader speed through the chapters to keep up with Lori and JT and their hunt. There have been stories about female bounty hunters before, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum is a shining example. But don’t expect madcap family members and pockets of comedy with Deep Down Dead. This is a much grittier, darker tale. Lori Anderson is tougher, more hardened and tempestuous. She is a impetuous yet tries to be considered, has a tough exterior that hides deeper emotions. This amalgam of traits makes Lori emerge as a more concrete, rounded character. She is easy to envisage and in turn she enables the reader to easily imagine the other characters in the story. The main characters are Lori and JT. This isn’t to say that the other characters who appear aren’t depicted well enough or are superfluous, far from it. It just means that the story is driven by these two main characters, most of the narrative is concentrated on them. The reader spends much of the story with them and as a result becomes more invested in their story. The other characters facilitate this, broadening out the story, bring danger and threat to Lori and JT, just as the reader becomes attached to them. I’m not going to go too much into the story for fear of spoiling it. let me just say that it is an emotive one, it can only ever be emotive when the issue involves child exploitation. It’s very nature means that the reader is invested in Lori and JT, willing them to succeed in their bid for justice, the urgency of doing so all the more pressing. Steph Broadribb trained as a bounty hunter in the USA and has spent some of her working life out there. This experience shows in Deep Down Dead. The language used feels authentic and doesn’t jar, clipped sentences and phrases used means the reader can hear Lori’s accent when they read and whilst I don’t imagine that Steph found herself in the same predicament as Lori, the fact that she has experience in bounty hunting comes across in the novel. Deep Down Dead takes the reader on a tumultuous, frenetic ride one where the pace never lets up and the reader is soon caught up in Lori’s race to save the people she loves. Deep Down Dead is the first in the Lori Anderson series. I am impatiently awaiting the next book from Steph Broadribb.