Tag: Sandra Brown

Review: Sting by Sandra Brown

Posted August 26, 2016 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Sting by Sandra BrownReviewer: Casee
Sting by Sandra Brown
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: August 16th 2016
Genres: Mystery, Romantic Suspense
Pages: 416
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three-half-stars

When Jordie Bennet and Shaw Kinnard lock eyes across a disreputable backwater bar, something definitely sparks. Shaw gives off a dangerous vibe that makes men wary and inspires women to sit up and take notice. None feel that undercurrent more strongly than savvy businesswoman Jordie, who doesn't belong in a seedy dive on the banks of a bayou. But here she is . . . and Shaw Kinnard is here to kill her.

As Shaw and his partner take aim, Jordie is certain her time has come. But Shaw has other plans and abducts Jordie, hoping to get his hands on the $30 million her brother has stolen and, presumably, hidden. However, Shaw is not the only one looking for the fortune. Her brother's ruthless boss and the FBI are after it as well. Now on the run from the feds and a notorious criminal, Jordie and Shaw must rely on their wits-and each other-to stay alive.

Miles away from civilization and surrounded by swampland, the two play each other against their common enemies. Jordie's only chance of survival is to outwit Shaw, but it soon becomes clear to Shaw that Jordie isn't entirely trustworthy, either. Was she in on her brother's scam, or is she an innocent pawn in a deadly vendetta? And just how valuable is her life to Shaw, her remorseless and manipulative captor? Burning for answers-and for each other-this unlikely pair ultimately make a desperate move that could be their last.

I haven’t read a Sandra Brown novel in quite sometime. This part of the blurb caught my eye: “But here she is . . . and Shaw Kinnard is here to kill her.”. I knew I had to read it. Usually I cruise right through Brown’s novels, but this one was slow going until about halfway through the book. That’s when it really got good and I could actually sit down and finish it.

Jordie Bennett thought her life was forfeit when she sees Shaw Kinnard bearing down on her in a seedy bar parking lot. Instead, he abducts her and takes her to a place that is impossible to escape. Shaw wants information on her brother, Josh. Josh is in protective custody after turning himself in for helping Billy Panella, a “dangerous criminal”, swindle people out of a total of thirty million dollars. Josh has promised to help the FBI find the thirty million and put Panella away. If they can find him.

Shaw wants more than the two hundred thousand that he was promised to kill Jordie. He wants the full thirty million not to kill her. To get that, he needs her help. To get her help he needs her to tell the truth, which he knows she’s not doing. Jordie is determined not to tell Shaw everything she knows because she needs a bargaining chip if she’s going to come out of this situation alive. Yet as the time slogs by, Jordie is less certain that Shaw is going to keep her alive. Even with their unwanted attraction (so cliché) to each other, Jordie knows that he’s going to kill her.

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After the slow start, this was a good romantic suspense/thriller. It went at a fast, easy reading pace. I don’t know if I’ll read the next Sandra Brown novel, but I’m glad I read this one.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

three-half-stars

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Review: Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown

Posted October 3, 2008 by Casee in Reviews | 5 Comments

Genres: Romantic Suspense

When newswoman Britt Shelley wakes up in bed with the handsome and hard-partying Jay Burgess, a rising star detective in the Charleston PD, she remembers nothing of how she got there…or of how Jay wound up dead.

Five years earlier, Jay was a hero of a disastrous fire at Charleston’s police headquarters, which would have been even deadlier if not for the bravery of Jay and three other city officials who led others to safety. Firefighter Raley Gannon, Jay’s lifelong friend, had been assigned to investigate the fire, but the investigation ended in a scandal that shattered Raley’s world, and forced him to surrender the woman he loved and the work to which he’d dedicated his life. For five years his resentment has festered, but he was helpless to set things right. That changes when he learns of Jay’s shocking death.

As suspicion against Britt Shelley mounts, Raley realizes that the newswoman might be his only chance to get personal vindication — and justice for the seven victims of the police station fire. But there are powerful men who don’t want to address unanswered questions about the fire, and will go to any lengths to protect their reputations. As Raley and Britt discover more about what happened that fateful day, they realize that they’re not only chasing after the truth but running for their lives. Smoke Screen is Sandra Brown’s most intense novel yet.

I’ve really had mixed feelings about the last few releases of Brown’s. She’s really pushing the line between romantic suspense and just suspense/mystery. In my not-so-humble opinion, Sandra Brown is one of the greats when it comes to writing romance. And while I still enjoy her writing and even like her books, it’s just not the same.

When Britt Shelley wakes up beside the corpse of Detective Jay Burgess, she has no idea that she’s landed herself in a conspiracy that has been going on for years. As a top reporter in Charleston, Britt now finds herself on the opposite end of the microphone, trying to defend herself. It’s easier said than done, as Britt finds out. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, she’s kidnapped by Raley Gannon, a man that still holds a grudge for her part in ruining his life.

Raley knows that Britt is telling the truth b/c the same thing happened to him. No memory of the night before and waking up beside a corpse is all to familiar to Raley. He’s had five years to piece together what happened and he’s convinced that now is the time to act. Though he despises her for her part in running him out of town, Raley knows that he needs her to prove his complete innocence in what happened five years before.

Britt is incredulous when Raley tells his story, but she finds herself believing him. When she’s run off the road and almost dies, she knows that Raley is telling the truth and someone wants to make sure that truth never comes out. Not knowing who to trust, Raley and Britt have to find a way to bring down the people that have ruined their lives and murdered innocent people.

This book was extremely fast paced. The suspense was great, the romance so-so. Still, I enjoyed it a lot more than I’ve enjoyed the last few Brown books.

4.5 out of 5.

This book is available from Simon and Schuster. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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Review: Hawk O’Toole’s Hostage by Sandra Brown

Posted May 29, 2007 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: Hawk O’Toole’s Hostage by Sandra BrownReviewer: Rowena
Hawk O'Toole's Hostage by Sandra Brown
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: October 1st 1997
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Westerns
Pages: 224
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three-stars

From the one and only Sandra Brown comes a searing novel of romantic suspense. . . as a beautiful young mother falls victim to a brazen crime. . . and a seductive captor. . . .

When her divorce was finally granted, Miranda Price thought the worst was behind her.

Now she could get on with her life, far from the public scrutiny and private misery that went along with being Representative Price's wife.

But when Miranda decides to take their young son on a vacation out West, she stumbles into a mother's worst nightmare.

Snatched off a train full of vacationing sightseers, she and her son become the captives of an enigmatic stranger.

Miranda knows she will do anything to save her child. . . even if it means fighting her own treacherous feelings for the man who holds her hostage. . . even if it means facing up to a shocking revelation that will make her question her past, her choices, and the woman she's become.

So this is another book that I read yesterday while I waited to get my Crazy Cool back from my friend Theresa. I read this book in like 3 hours, it was really short and my very first Sandra Brown. As a first book by a new to me author, it probably wasn’t my best choice because this book was just okay.

I liked it well enough, I guess. I mean, the story is about an Indian Chief who is really a half breed, he takes a woman and her son captive in order to open the eyes of the Senators and Governors who shut a mine down on their reservation. The mine that brought in all of the business and money to their little tribe, without the mine open, lots of jobs were lost and a lot of families weren’t doing too good. But of course, the white man doesn’t care about the Indians and the Indians are pissed to high heaven about it. So they take matters into their own hands.

So the Indian Chief, Hawk O’Toole kidnaps Miranda and Scott Price so that they can have Morton Price, Miranda’s ex husband and Scott’s father take a keen interest in their cause. Their cause to reopen the mine and blah blah blah.

So yeah, Hawk steals Scott and Miranda won’t be left behind, so they had to adjust their plans to include her because well, she kicked up a fight and whatever and as they fight tooth and nail with each other, their desire for each other grows until it’s at an all time high, but Hawk, big bad Indian guy despises everything that Miranda is, she’s white, she’s privileged and she’s a whore and slut. He read that in a newspaper and totally believes everything the newspaper wrote about her ….oh hell to the no but if you were to believe everything that was written in the newspapers about Indians, it’s like OFF WITH YOUR HEAD to Hawk O’Toole.

He was a very stubborn and cynical man, one that I had a hard time liking. The names he called Miranda, without knowing a hot damn thing, the way he just knew she was a skank pissed me off, because he swore he was all knowing in everything, rolls eyes …he is SO not one of my favorite heroes.

Then there’s Miranda, who was pouty and prissy and just everything that gets on my nerves. She made things worst for herself whenever she talked to Hawk, instead of being scared and whatever, like normal people would be, she was headstrong and dumb. She never shut the hell up and even though I would have been pissed for him calling me all those dumb names, I still wouldn’t be as stupid as she was about everything, well, at least I hope I wouldn’t.

I really liked reading about the Indian tribes though. I thought Ernie and his wife, Scott and Donny were cool additions to the story. I didn’t care one bit for that stupid wench, Dawn January, if anyone was a stank hoe, she was…

One of the things that bothered me was the way Hawk manhandled Randy. He was always so rough with her, pulling her by the hair, roughing her up, it was like, hot damn man, if you care about your women so much, why are you tossin’ Randy up like she’s garbage…you’re the piece of shit.

I liked the way the story ended, with Randy coming to his rescue but it wasn’t enough to make me absolutely love it or even like it a lot…this book was just very average for me and I’m glad that I can finally get back to my real reading….Christian Hawkins time baby…ooh wee!

This book was just okay, read it or not, it’s not really a waste of your time but it’s not like the best read ever either. I won’t give up on Sandra Brown though, maybe sometime later I’ll give her another whirl…

Grade: 3 out of 5

three-stars

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