Terror in My Arms — John T. Cullen

The three most common statements by John T. Cullen's readers are (1) I couldn't stop reading and (2) I could see the movie in my head the whole time very vividly as I was reading and (3) do you have any more stories like this one? Terror in My Arms is a perfect example of white-knuckled, romantic terror in a suspense thriller. As a bonus, it takes place in beautiful San Diego with its beaches, balmy sunshine, and fragrant (faintly terrifying) breezes that make palm trees rustle ever so gently... Imagine meeting the guy of your dreams. He takes you to his mansion (or so he says) and it's fireworks all evening. You awaken after midnight, alone in bed. Everything is very still and rather strange. On the lawn outside, under starlight overlooking the Pacific Ocean, you hear a faint, steady chock-chock-chock sound. You pad to the window on bare feet and look out over the estate. There you see his shadowy figure below on the grass, digging your grave as he has done to other women before you. Time to run, because it's oh-dark-thirty and half past late. Get out if you still can. This terror train has only one stop: the dead end. Sylvie Bancroft is a beautiful, hot-shot software engineer in her mid-twenties, with an expired license in her man-hunting credentials. Rob Turlock is handsome, charming, and flashy. Is he the man of her dreams, or a creature out of her nightmares...? Sylvie has just finished a major gig for a well-paying customer. As she banks her large check and strides out of the bank, ready for a week of rest and relaxation in her San Diego paradise, she meets Mr. Turlock, who presents himself as if he had been reading her mind. Except in Sylvie's tightly controlled universe of computer programming, nothing ever turns out exactly as we plan. For one thing, at just this moment, San Diego's sunny weather chooses to be dark, rainy, and stormy - but El Nino is not the only terror on the loose. The handsome and talented Mr. Turlock pops up out of nowhere, smiling and irresistible. He invites Sylvie to visit his mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and a whole lot of other wonders that seem too true to be good. If Sylvie just said no and kept walking past Rob, you would not be reading this story. As it turns out, after some feeble resistance, Sylvie cannot say no to his charms. Her first mistake is listening to him at all. Her second mistake is needing someone in her life, and trusting this particular guy. That's the moment she boards the nightmare express into a blur of fast-moving terror. Can she escape before it's too late? What comes next is what we call - in the lingo of programmers, which Sylvie knows all too well - ABEND. That's the final dump code for an ABnormal ENDing, also known as a crash - or, even more precisely, a fatal error. Call it what you will, there is no chance of recovery - unless you run for your life and hope you are faster than Mr. Turlock - who is very, very fast in so many fascinating ways. And he never stops smiling. At least, until the system goes down and everything goes dark. Terror in My Arms is a nonstop ride through hell and back. Hell is guaranteed. Back not so much. Hang on tight. Scream if you must. White knuckles all the way... It's a thriller as only John T. Cullen (Active Member, International Thriller Writers) can make it happen.