"an intense, suspenseful futuristic romance"

In Zurin Five Penitentiary on a frozen planet in the Andromeda Galaxy, prison guard, Rhonda Alendresis notices that the civilian population has disappeared. Meanwhile, a bad tremor has caused the nuclear reactor to fail, and Rhonda and Captain Cole Riggeur must go deep within the prison to manually fix it. It becomes evident that the civilian population abandoned the guards and the prisoners, because the planet is in its finally death throes. The company, which mines the planet and runs the penitentiary had mined the planet, with no concern for its ecology. Rhonda and Cole are in even more danger, because the many tremors have caused much damage to the prison and most of the prisoners are free. Will Rhonda and Cole survive the nuclear meltdown, the escaped prisoners, and the dying planet?

LOCKDOWN is an exciting, action-packed futuristic romance with an intense, suspenseful plot. I was on the edge of my seat from the very beginning of LOCKDOWN and the intensity didn't let up until the very end. The action reminded me of an INDIANA JONES movie and the romance was equally intense. Rhonda is an artistic person, who sees the gray in life. While Cole is a by-the-book person, who sees only black and white. It is interesting to watch them work together and grow to love one another. Ms. Schartz has created a great futuristic romance; I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by Marlene Breakfield
Posted February 11, 2006

The year is 3033, the place Zurin Five, a moon-size mining planet in the Andromeda galaxy, with an underground high security prison run by a human-owned corporation. An artist at heart, Rhonda Alendresis never wanted this prison job. When the civilian personnel vanishes and an earthquake damages the nuclear reactor, she must go down to effect the repairs with Captain Perfect himself, Cole Riggeur, who always plays by the rules and never trusted a woman in his life. But deep in the underground penitentiary, something has gone terribly wrong. The most wicked convicts in the Galaxy are loose, and a treatherous shape-shifter plans his revenge. Disconnected from the Garrison, against impossible odds, Cole and Rhonda now face their greatest challenge... trusting each other in order to survive.