This book is really 2 1/2 stars. This book got great reviews and the storyline had so much potential
Tourist get mixed up with cartels, the CIA, and other organizations while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, how can it not be good?
I’ll tell you how
Lack of Talent in telling a story.
There was zero depth to any of the main characters in this book. They were usually stereotyped and always bland and boring. This reader had no sympathy for the main character Michelle who spends most of the book drinking wine, Margaritas, or tequila shots and can’t figure her way out of a paper bag. Or why crazy bad shit keeps happening to her. Because there was zero character development, when bad things happen to her I didn’t care.
The portrayal of the drug cartels and their behavior and business practices was totally laughable.
This book is a perfect: “I’m stuck in an airport for 6 hours with nothing to do” or a mindless beach read that requires zero concentration. ( )

The beginning was a little slow for me. I was afraid I wouldn't get into the book but I kept on going. I hated being being drug into the story and not given any information - like Michelle, but i totally understand the Author's point - Brilliant! My heart did not "race" until the trunk and beating at the dump to which I was thoroughly excited to see who it was, why it happened, and what was to come next. The last few pages put me back on my toes as I was expecting a relaxing ending that Michelle was getting back to her old life only to be spun around and waiting again! The ending wasn't what i was expecting exactly, but I do like how its left to the reader to make everything alright or get all crazy that something else happened in/to that plane! I would still recommend the story to anyone who likes adventures. ( )

While on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, a recently widowed LA housewife becomes entangled with CIA spooks and drug kingpins.

This is a readable thriller, but that's just about all I can say for it. It would probably work much better as a movie. The main character, Michelle, is way too passive and naive for me to sympathize with. The plot doesn't make a lot of sense. I kept waiting for the twist that would pull everything together, but it never came. The end just kind of fizzles out with no real resolution. I chose this as a vacation read, and with all the drinking, sex, and murder in an exotic location, it sure fits that bill, but it doesn't aspire to be anything more than throwaway reading. ( )

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/05/getaway-by-lisa-brackmann.html

Michelle is in sunny Puerto Vallarta, attempting to escape from her troubles, including the mound of debt her recently deceased husband left her (hey, the vacation was already paid for), and wondering what kind of life will be waiting for her upon returning to LA. Unfortunately, escape isn’t in the cards, since trouble manages to find Michelle in the form of handsome, mysterious Daniel. He’s everything her late husband wasn’t: lithe, sexy and definitely mysterious. Their first night together is a disaster, though, after armed men burst in on them in the middle of the night. Danny is injured, Michelle is scared, and when she goes to his apartment to return his belongings, a gruesome discovery leads Michelle to think that Danny may be part of something sinister. When an acquaintance of Danny’s threatens her unless she spies on him, she knows she’s in over her head.

If you’re looking for a fast paced and diverting thriller, look no further than Getaway. Michelle is very likeable, and the author manages to capture exactly how it feels to be on vacation, at least in the beginning. You know what I’m talking about: the I’m-on-vacation-so-nothing-bad-can-possibly-happen-to-me feeling? Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t last for Michelle, as she spends time with Danny, becoming increasingly sure that he’s into some pretty nasty stuff. I’ve been to Mexico, and it’s a beautiful place to vacation. While I haven’t been to Puerto Vallarta, the author seems to know her way around and perfectly illustrates the devil-may-care feeling of a coastal tourist town. What she also shows is the darker underbelly of drug and cartel violence that has been ubiquitous lately. You can’t read the news without coming across an article on the cartel wars that have claimed thousands of lives, in increasingly gruesome ways. Her timing is perfect with this book, making it very relevant to current events and adding an additional layer of menace. Rapid pacing and tight plotting will keep you turning pages and even though it never manages a real romance between Michelle and the enigmatic Danny, the ending will leave you wanting more of this talented author. Lisa Brackmann is most definitely an author to watch! ( )

First Line: Michelle dropped the sarong she'd started to tie around her waist onto her lounge chair.

Michelle Mason needed to get away from her troubles for a while. Widowed a few months ago, she's been discovering just how secretive and inept a business person her late husband had been. The trip was already paid for, so a few days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico seemed in order. She'd relax, calm down, get her head on straight, and then return to Los Angeles to finish dealing with the mess.

Trouble is, a handsome man named Daniel approaches her on the beach, they hit it off, have a few margaritas, and Michelle thinks, "Why not?" That one little decision has the power to change the entire course of her life.

Later that night, someone breaks into Michelle's hotel room and assaults Daniel. Her cell phone and Daniel's get switched, and someone named Gary forces Michelle to spy on Daniel. From what little Michelle is able to piece together, this all involves drugs, the people who get rich from selling drugs, and their hired hands who think nothing of torturing and killing to get what they want. She knows she's in danger but quickly learns that running isn't an option-- or she's going to wind up in the Puerto Vallarta garbage dump.

This book is fast-paced and pulled me right in although I did have a difficult time warming up to Michelle. During the first part of the book, she's a typical consumer housewife, used to spending her days having lunch with the girls and buying the latest fashions. When I talk about sunglasses, I refer to them as sunglasses. When I talk about my purse, I call it a purse, and when I step into a pair of shoes, I have this annoying tendency to call them shoes. Michelle refers to them by their designer labels. She and I don't inhabit the same planet.

Besides her designer leanings, Michelle is used to the protection normally accorded to a woman married to a man of means and living in a big house in a large affluent American city. It's almost as if she's forgotten how to think for herself or how to survive without all the labels. When she first comes into contact with a corrupt Mexican police officer, she's completely unprepared, and she has absolutely no chance of getting past a villain like Gary.

And can she trust Daniel-- someone who seems to be involved in all this drug stuff up to his pearly white teeth? It takes her a while to realize that she is really fighting for her very life, and once she knows the real score, and begins to reason things out and to try to fight back, Getaway really takes off. Michelle doesn't turn into Lara Croft or Wonder Woman or Mrs. Peel, but she finds her backbone, and it's a glorious thing to watch. (I think I even cheered a time or two.)

Getaway may be listed as a thriller, and it does have all the action and fast pace of one. What's unexpected and completely refreshing is the fact that it is also an in-depth character study of a woman caught up in bizarre circumstances who's forced to fight for her survival when there's no one else she can trust. ( )