Jennifer Lozano heads to Costa Rica for a bachelorette party and maybe some fun in the sun. Jennifer just dumped her boyfriend who was caught cheating with another woman. Heartbroken, Jennifer needs this time away to assess her life. On the plane, she meets a charming man who she arranges to meet later for a drink.

When armed men try to kidnap her new friend, events spiral out of control. The man they are trying to kidnap is killed and Jennifer is taken hostage. Using Jennifer as a shield, the men are able to escape but not without casualties. Their leader is wounded during the shooting and only her skills as a nurse, keep Jennifer alive.

They leave Costa Rica and take Jennifer to Columbia leaving behind all her jewelry in the burning van. Jenny has a lot of time to contemplate the changes in her life as she is kept in a jungle camp taking care of Tony.

Back in Texas, Matt Young, learns that Jenny is being held and then presumed dead. An an undercover officer, they are trying to track down an illegal arms dealer known only as "Snake". The team is prepping for the next step in their operation when he sees the news about Jenny and his world falls apart.

Taking as much cash as he can get his hands on, Matt goes to Costa Rica to find answers about what happened to Jenny. When they receive confirmation that the body in the burned van isn't Jenny's, he sets out to find her; not realizing that he will find himself in danger as he scours Columbia looking for her. With more luck than skill, he is caught asking questions by some of the people who support the group holding Jenny. He is taken into the jungle by one of her captors barely avoiding being killed by one of the drug runners.

When soldiers find the camp where Jenny and Matt are being held, they manage to convince the soldiers of their identities and that all the rebels had been killed. Only to find themselves in even more danger as the soldier plan to kill them and claim a reward from one of the drug lords.

Jenny and Matt will barely manage to make it to the US Embassy before they are taken by the police. Only with daring and a hasty marriage will Jenny, Matt and the two young children they have rescued make it back to Texas alive.

For fans of Ms. Lipperman's humorous mysteries, this book will be a complete and unexpected change. Dark and fraught with danger, the reader will follow the story of Jenny with sympathy and bated breath as we watch Jenny avoid death in an unknown environment.

My only quibble with the story was the fact that Jenny wouldn't listen to Matt's side of the story of his night with another woman. Even when he helps rescue her from the jungles of Columbia, she has a hard time deciding to trust him again. Any man who would follow a woman that far, deserves a second chance.

If you like dark and brooding stories with tales of derring- do, SHATTERED is the perfect read for you.