Honor Bound

 

SANDRA BROWN, as ERIN ST. CLAIRE

Stats: Mass market paperback, Silhouette, 1993

How acquired: Bought.

First line: The refrigerator door was open, projecting a pale, blue-white wedge of light into the dark kitchen.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: Ms. Brown has come a long way since writing this drivel. Oh, the writing is decent enough. But the story.

First off, when I read the back cover synopsis, I thought this was going to be an historical romance. I mean, Indian (in the days before the term Native American was the norm) kidnaps white woman and takes her to his reservation. But then the first line of the first chapter talks about a refrigerator door being open, and I was a little jolted. Lucas constantly says things like "I'm sure an Anglo virgin like you can't imagine anything worse than having an Indian between her lily white thighs" and "...you'd want to die before having your pure Anglo body tainted by an Indian", and so on and so on, me big bad Indian, you rich white privileged Anglo woman. Was there really so much prejudice and racism towards Native Americans in 1986? I don't remember that, nor do I remember ever actually hearing a white person referred to as an Anglo. But then, I was only twenty-three then and living in my own little world. I do remember hearing stories of the racism my half Choctaw grandmother experienced when she was young - how she and her siblings had to go to another town for school because the whites didn't want them at the local school and the Indians didn't want them at the Indian school - but that would have been in the 30's/40's. 

Then when Lucas discovered Aislynn had given birth to his baby while he was in prison there was the whole I'm taking my son to live on the reservation with me cuz I won't have him brought up in the Anglo world and you either marry me and come along or say goodbye to your son. I like the marriage of convenience trope, and I even often like the forced marriage trope, but this one left bad taste in my mouth.

Of course everything comes out roses in the end, but it wasn't always a pleasant journey getting there.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Lucas Greywolf was her forbidden fantasy, wild, rebellious, a Navajo -- and an escaped convict. Aislinn had been terrified when he first grabbed her, but now she was intrigued. Why had he taken her hostage -- and where were they heading? 

Every moment of their mad dash across Arizona drew Aislinn closer to this unyielding man who seemed to drive himself beyond human limits. And they they reached his reservation, and Aislinn learned why they had come....

The Witness

 

(read and reviewed pre-blog in 2003)

Wonderful book! I've always enjoyed Sandra Brown, but I believe this is my favorite of hers so far. 

The story starts out with Kendall Deaton and her infant son surviving a car wreck. The driver has amnesia, and the front seat passenger dies. Kendall decides to use the driver's amnesia to her advantage. At this point, we, of course, have no idea why or what that means. She tells the doctors he's her husband, but then tries to sneak out of the hospital late one night and leave him there, but he catches her and insists on leaving with her. After that, the story goes back and forth between the present, wherein Kendall is obviously running from something or someone, and the past, where we see her meet and marry her husband. The present story is mysterious, with the author giving us hints about stuff, and then as the past story unfolds, different incidents occur which then make you understand what was going on in the present story. But throughout the majority of the book, you are constantly wondering who the amnesiac really is. Is he really her husband, or not? And if not, who is he, and is he a bad guy or a good guy? And occasionally you find yourself wondering if Kendall is in fact a "bad guy" herself. I thought I figured out who the amnesiac was towards the end, but I wasn't positive until the author admitted it to me.

A Secret Splendor

 

SANDRA BROWN

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Mira, 1983. Previously published under the pseudonym Erin St. Claire.

How acquired: Received from a BookCrossing member.

My thoughts: First off, this review will be full of spoilers.

Second, I generally love everything Sandra Brown writes, though I am partial to her mystery/thrillers. Of all her books I’ve read since being on Goodreads, I’ve given them either four or five stars, with the exception of STING, which I disliked so much I only gave it one star. So this is my first time giving her three stars.

Third, I work in the adoption and surrogacy fields. I’m always a little leery of reading a book with an adoption plotline, for fear it will be shown in a negative or unrealistic way. But A SECRET SPLENDOR is the first book I’ve come across with a surrogacy plotline. And that’s where all my issues lie.

Arden was in a bad marriage to an OB/GYN. After running his practice into the ground and going into debt, her husband agreed to find a woman to be a surrogate for a rich couple, who were paying him $100,000.00. The woman he finds? His wife, Arden. She’s reluctant, but then agrees on the condition that after the baby is born, she gets half the money, a divorce, and custody of their son, Joey, who was ill. I can’t for the life of me remember what was wrong with him, cancer or something. So her husband takes her to his clinic and inseminates her with the client’s sperm.

Arden would be what is now referred to as a traditional surrogate, in that she is the biological mother of the child. Traditional surrogacy is not practiced very often these days. In fact, in the state where I live, traditional surrogacy is not legally recognized, and is treated by the court as an adoption. But at the time this book was written, there probably weren’t many laws regarding surrogacy. Although even if there were laws, the way Arden’s husband handled this situation was probably illegal anyway. My state did not have any laws on the books until 2019.

Fast forward to after the divorce, and Joey dies. Distraught, Arden begins thinking about the other child she gave birth to, and decides she needs to find him or her. She never met the rich couple, and did not see the baby after it was born. She doesn’t even know if it’s a boy or girl. Well, by chance she sees a famous tennis player on TV who looks familiar, and then suddenly remembers a couple she saw when leaving the hospital, who were surrounded by paparazzi, and she realizes that the tennis player is the father. I kept hoping that when she got to know him she would learn that he was not in fact the father, but no, her instincts are correct. He’s now a widower, and the child, a boy, is 22 months old. Every time Arden thought about needing to see her child, I wanted to say he’s not your child, he’s their child.

Anyway, she finally manages to meet the tennis player, Drew, and starts dating him. And of course they fall in love with each other. Pretty soon she’s married to him and “step-mother” to the child, Matt. And she keeps thinking she needs to come clean and tell Drew who she is, but she puts it off because she doesn’t want him to think she only married him to be with the child. Also because she’s a cowardly liar.

And then the ex shows up, and blackmails her, and at first she gives him money, but then she finally gets a backbone and tells him she’s not paying anymore and she’s going to tell Drew the truth, but she goes shopping first, which gives the ex time to go to Drew and spill the beans himself. And of course Drew is furious, and storms out to go do his tennis stuff, and Arden gets angry that Drew is angry, even though he has every right to be angry, and just before he comes home a week later she packs up and leaves.

Of course, in the end, Drew tracks her down and they talk it out and profess their love and get their happy ever after, while I’m just frustrated, because the synopsis doesn’t say anything about surrogacy, just that there are “half-truths, secrets and unspeakable lies” surrounding Matt’s birth, so when I started this book I had no idea what I was in for.

To her credit, I really liked Drew. Sandra Brown has an uncanny ability to write wonderful heroes and I always fall in love with them (except the hero of STING, who I just could not feel any sympathy or empathy for). And I do like her writing. So the book still gets three stars from me.

Love Beyond Reason

SANDRA BROWN

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Warner Books, 1994.

How acquired: Unknown.

(For Goodreads synopsis, scroll down.)

My thoughts: A reissue of one of Sandra Brown's early romances, written under the name Rachel Ryan. It's a bit dated, which she mentions herself in the forward. Nobody has a cell phone; they use a car bed for the baby and in one scene while riding in a jeep Katherine holds the baby in her lap; when Jace gifts Katherine with a fancy new typewriter she's over the moon. But the story still holds up well and was very enjoyable. Of course there's a big misunderstanding over the other woman, and that was the only time I got irritated. I wanted to yell at Katherine to stand up for herself and demand an explanation from Jace, and I wanted to yell at Jace to just be straight up with Katherine and don't just get mad at her for being mad at him for what she saw. But again, I still very much enjoyed the book and especially at the end I was racing through the pages to finish before going to sleep.

Goodreads synopsis: Katherine Adams will never marry a Manning -- not if she can help it. Her sister Mary's fairy-tale marriage into the family's wealthy, powerful dynasty turned into a nightmare of abuse. And on the night her playboy husband was killed in a car accident, Mary died in childbirth. Now, the savvy, smart, and very angry Katherine has vowed to protect her sister's child, even if it means rejecting the dashing, charismatic oil man who shows up at her door. Katherine wants to believe that Jason Manning isn't like his ruthless family. But secrets and lies are part of his heritage. And Katherine could be destroyed by a truth she's afraid to face . . . and a man she can't resist.

Sting

SANDRA BROWN

Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

With nonstop plot twists and the tantalizing sexual tension that has made Sandra Brown one of the world's best-loved authors, STING will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final pages.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, Grand Central Publishing, 2016.

How acquired: Bought.

My thoughts:  One thing I love about Sandra Brown is her heroes. She is wonderful at writing men who often appear on the surface to be dangerous, threatening, villainous, but who in reality are good, honorable, charismatic men who love fiercely and take huge risks to protect others, to fight the real bad guys, to make justice prevail. Unfortunately, she failed at creating that type of man in STING, at least to me. I struggled to feel any sympathy for his character at all, and didn't really connect with the heroine either. That being said, the parts of the narrative about the two of them were the best parts of the book. The other parts, with the FBI agents trying to find the kidnapped heroine and track down her escaped from custody brother, were flat out boring. In fact, they often read more like a true crime step by step accounting of the events that occurred, rather than a novel. So, definitely not my favorite of her books.

And what's with the covers of her recent books all looking the same? 

Friction

SANDRA BROWN

Synopsis from back cover: Following the death of his wife, Crawford Hunt, a Texas Ranger, fell into a downward spiral that left him relegated to desk work and with his five-year-old daughter in the custody of her grandparents. But Crawford has cleaned up his act and now the fate of his family lies with Judge Holly Spencer. Ambitious and confident, Holly temporarily occupies the bench of her recently deceased mentor. With an election upcoming, she must prove herself worthy of making her judgeship permanent. Every decision is high-stakes. When a masked gunman barges into the courtroom during the guardianship hearing, Crawford reacts instinctually, saving Holly from a bullet. But his heroism soon takes on the taint of recklessness. The cloud over him grows even darker after he uncovers a horrifying truth about the courtroom gunman and realizes that the unknown person behind the shooting remains at large – and a threat.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Grand Central Publishing, 2015.

How acquired: Borrowed from my mother. I usually buy Sandra Brown's books as soon as they come out, but somehow I missed this one.

My thoughts:  I knew I would love this book because I've come to expect that from Sandra Brown. She writes incredible heroes, men who often appear on the surface to be dangerous, threatening, villainous, but who in reality are good, honorable, charismatic men who love fiercely and take huge risks to protect others, to fight the real bad guys, to make justice prevail.

Crawford Hunt is a Texas Ranger who is in a custody battle with his in-laws, who have raised his young daughter since his wife died. Holly Spencer is the judge presiding over the custody proceedings, but before she can give her ruling a gunman bursts into the courtroom and begins shooting. Crawford throws himself on top of Holly to protect her, and their lives become intertwined from that moment on.

FRICTION was very much more Crawford's story than Holly's, which was fine by me because I adored him. I liked Holly too, of course, but for much of the book she was more of a secondary character as Crawford dug deeper and deeper into the mystery of who the shooter was, who hired him, and why. The mystery unravels slowly, and then ravels, and then unravels some more. However, the last chapter, after the mystery of the gunman was revealed, was a little bit of a let down, neatly and abruptly tying up all the remaining loose ends almost as an afterthought.

If you're already a fan of Sandra Brown, you'll enjoy this book. If you're new to her writing, you'll probably still enjoy it, and then you should seek out LETHAL, MEAN STREAK, and THE WITNESS, which are her best books in my opinion.

 

Mean Streak

SANDRA BROWN

Synopsis from Goodreads: Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband, Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of "instant divorce," Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself held captive by a man whose violent past is so dark that he won't even tell her his name. She's determined to escape from him and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can't turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law. Wrong becomes right at the hands of the man who strikes fear but also sparks passion.

As her husband's deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer from those who wish her dead – and from heartbreak.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, published by Grand Central Publishing, 2014. .

How acquired: Bought.

First line: Emory hurt all over.

My thoughts: Emory drives from her home in Atlanta to a small town in North Carolina and spends the night in a motel, so she can run the next day on the trails in a national park. Early in the morning she's an hour into a long run over mountain terrain. And then suddenly stars explode in her head and she's out cold. When she wakes up, with a killer headache from a nasty head wound, she's in a small cabin with a formidable looking man who says he found her unconscious. He answers her questions tersely or not at all, and won't tell her anything about himself, including his name. He does tell her the fog outside is too heavy for him to risk driving her anywhere on the icy mountain roads, and he has no phone or close neighbors. He disables her cell phone and won't give her the password for his laptop, so she can't even contact her husband or her partners in her medical practice to let them know she's okay.

Meanwhile her husband, Jeff, is canoodling with his girlfriend, and when the girlfriend begins to express worry over the fact that Emory hasn't called him and hasn't been home yet, he says Emory is probably still mad at him after the argument they had the night before she left. Eventually he does also start to worry, calling around to see if anyone's heard from her, and then driving to North Carolina himself to report her missing and hassle the local police for not doing enough to look for her. And of course, being the spouse, he's a suspect. We also meet the deputies investigating Emory's disappearance, an FBI agent, and an assortment of other characters, both good and bad.

So how did Emory get her concussion? I was pretty sure throughout most of the book that I knew who conked her on the head, or who was behind her being conked on the head. Pretty sure, but never one hundred percent.

Lots of books in the romance and/or mystery/suspense genres feature a hero who is a “bad boy”. A dark horse. Mysterious. You know who the hero is as soon as he's introduced, and you know the hero is a good guy. You know that, whatever crimes he's been accused of or actions have been attributed to him, there will be a reasonable explanation, or extenuating circumstances, or a clearing up of a misunderstanding. So I went into this book expecting that. But this guy. I wanted to like him. Did like him. Wanted to fall for him, the way I fall for every Sandra Brown hero. But I was conflicted. Plagued by doubts. Trying to reconcile his good traits with his bad traits. It was an emotional see saw. And that's a testament to Sandra Brown's writing ability. To her characterization.

The plot was so layered I never knew where it was going. And when I thought I did, Ms. Brown threw me a curve ball. The characters are all distinctive, and her descriptions of the landscape or the surroundings always left a clear picture in my head.

I love this book. 

Standoff

SANDRA BROWN

Synopsis from Goodreads: TV reporter Tiel McCoy is driving to New Mexico for a well-earned vacation when she hears the news on the radio: The teenage daughter of Fort Worth tycoon Russell Dendy has been kidnapped. Immediately, she abandons her holiday plans to chase down what could be the scoop of a lifetime. But in a town called Rojo Flats an innocuous stop at a convenience store thrusts her directly into the dramatic story--and a dangerous drama. For inside the shop two desperate young lovers are holding a half dozen frightened hostages ... and a powder keg of a standoff is about to test Tiel's courage, journalistic objectivity, and everything she has ever believed.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Warner Books, Inc., , 2001.

How acquired: Given to me by my mom in 2008.

My thoughts: Sandra Brown is one of those authors whose books I generally buy new, sometimes even in hardback because I can't wait for the cheaper paperback to come out. My introduction to her was through her romance novels, starting with HIDDEN FIRES, but THE WITNESS, a mystery/suspense, put her on my list of favorite authors (and it's still my favorite of her books).

STANDOFF is more the length of the quick romance books at 261 pages, and not as deep or involved as some of her other suspense books. The story moves along pretty much in real time, though it takes less time to read it than the time that passes for the characters.

Tiel is a successful and popular reporter in a local market, with dreams of hitting the big time. She's on her way to a vacation destination when she hears a radio report of the kidnapping of a millionaire's daughter, and she immediately calls her boss, wanting to be in on the reporting. He's already got it covered for the most part, but suggests she interview the kidnapper's father, a drive that takes her several hours out of her way and into the middle of nowhere. She stops at a convenience store to call him for directions (this was before everybody had cell phones and GPS), and while there, who walks in but the kidnapper and his “victim”, who is actually his very pregnant girlfriend. Tiel suddenly finds herself in the middle of a hold up and taken hostage by the two young lovers, along with the store cashier, an elderly couple on their honeymoon, two Mexican men who speak no English, and Doc.

Doc is a mystery himself. He never provides his name, just says everyone calls him Doc. He's a rancher, but when Sabra, the young girl, goes into labor, he leaps in to help her and it's obvious he has some medical knowledge. I thought maybe he was a veterinarian, or just had lots of experience from birthing baby cows.

I was a little put off at first by Tiel's attitude toward the whole experience in the beginning, seeing it as an opportunity to further her career. She has a small audio recorder hidden in her pocket, and she surreptitiously sets up the elderly couple's video recorder so that it's taping unobtrusively from a shelf. Doc puzzles her at first, but then she finally recognizes him, as he'd been in the middle of a huge media frenzy before disappearing from the limelight. So she thinks she's going to be the reporter that announces to the world where he's been all this time. Fortunately, while helping deliver the baby and mediating between the kids and the feds by phone, her priorities slowly shift.

And Doc. He stayed a mystery to the very end. In fact, he's so much of a mystery that in my head I couldn't picture him, he's just a featureless face. While the story isn't told exclusively from Tiel's point of view, the events inside the store are, with occasional cuts to the parking lot and the point of view of the FBI agent in charge. So we don't get to know Doc, or get any insight into his personality, or really learn much about him at all beyond why he was such a hot story in the past.

A character study this is not. But a fast paced, attention keeping and quite enjoyable read – it is. 

Deadline

SANDRA BROWN

Synopsis: Dawson Scott is a well-respected journalist recently returned from Afghanistan. Haunted by everything he experienced, he's privately suffering from battle fatigue, which is a threat to every aspect of his life. But then he gets a call from a source within the FBI. A new development has come to light in a story that began forty years ago. It could be the BIG story of Dawson's career.

Soon, Dawson is covering the disappearance and presumed murder of former marine Jeremy Wesson, the biological son of a pair of terrorists who remain on the FBI's Most Wanted list. As Dawson delves into the story, he finds himself developing feelings for Wesson's ex-wife, Amelia, and her two young sons. But when Amelia's nanny turns up dead, the case takes a stunning new turn, with Dawson himself becoming a suspect. Haunted by his own demons, Dawson takes up the chase for the notorious outlaws...and discovers the startling secret behind their story.

First line: The first hail of bullets was fired from the house shortly after daybreak at six fifty-seven.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, published by Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group, 2013; 410 pages; bought at Wal-Mart.

My thoughts: This is a brand new hardback, for which I paid $18.20, plus tax. That's how much I love Sandra Brown's mystery/thrillers.

Dawson Scott is a reporter who's been covering the war in Afghanistan from as close to the front lines as he can get. He's renowned and respected in his field for his straight-to-the-heart stories. But he's come home a broken man who wakes up screaming from nightmares. He may not have actually fought in the war, but he's definitely suffering post traumatic stress. There's a new boss at work, and she wants him to go cover what he considers an idiotic fluff piece. But his godfather, a retired FBI agent, talks him into going to Atlanta to cover a murder trial. The man on trial has been accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and her current lover, former marine Jeremy Wesson, in his kennel. Jeremy's body was never found, but a piece of his scalp was taken from the stomach of one of the dogs, so it's believed that he was eaten. This part I found a little out there. Even if the dogs did eat the body, surely there would still be something left, right? Too gross.

Dawson's godfather has particular interest in the trial because he spent the majority of his career trying to track down and capture Carl Wingert, the leader of a militant group, and his girlfriend, Flora Stimel. But Carl eludes him, leaving behind a vicious trail of murder and thieving. What isn't known to the public is that the notorious couple had a son – Jeremy Wesson.

Dawson isn't particularly excited about covering this trial, but it beats the assignment his boss has given him, so he blows her off and goes to Georgia. While sitting in the courtroom, thinking he should blow off this trial also, his attention is suddenly riveted when Wesson's ex-wife takes the witness stand.

Amelia just wants the trial to be over so she can try to create some semblance of a normal life for her two young sons. Jeremy has been dead for a year, and they were divorced before that, and she's done her grieving and wants to move on. When court breaks for the Labor Day weekend, she takes her sons and their nanny to her beach house. But she can't shake the feeling that someone is watching her. And then she meets Dawson. And then her nanny is murdered.

The plot remained unpredictable throughout, with an especially shocking twist towards the end that made me sit up and go “WHAT?!”. The attraction between Dawson and Amelia is there from their first meeting, but the buildup to anything actually happening between them is slow and realistic. Sandra Brown's characters are never cookie-cutter, and they all have their own distinct personalities and their own role to play, whether they are leading characters or secondary, including the children.

Sandra Brown never disappoints. 

Lethal

SANDRA BROWN

Synopsis: After her four-year-old daughter tells her that a sick man is lying in their front yard, Honor Gillette discovers that the man is Lee Coburn, accused of murdering seven men the night before. Armed and deadly, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt if she does everything he asks. Then Honor witnesses a shocking act of brutality – and learns that even those closest to her can't be trusted. Claiming that her late husband possessed something valuable and dangerous, Coburn convinced her that he must find it before it falls into the hands of The Bookkeeper, a merciless crime boss who will stop at nothing until they are all dead. Now from Washington, D.C., to coastal Louisiana, the desperate trio run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, unraveling a web of corruption and depravity that threatens the fabric of our society.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, 2012; 465 pages (not counting excerpt at back of the book); purchased new.

My thoughts: In my opinion, Sandra Brown is the queen of suspense/thrillers. I was first introduced to her through her straight romance novels, which I enjoyed. The first one I have noted on my reading log is HIDDEN FIRES in 2002. In 2003 someone gave me a copy of THE WITNESS, and it is still one of my all time favorite books. It was my introduction to Ms. Brown as a mystery/suspense writer, and she is one of the few authors whose books I buy new because I want them right away.

Honor Gillette is the widow of a police officer, living alone with her young daughter, who is just adorable. While she is working in the kitchen one morning, Emily comes in and announces there is a hurt man lying in the grass. Honor goes out to investigate and suddenly finds herself at gunpoint. Lee Coburn forces her back into the house, where he holds Honor and her daughter hostage. He's a scary brute of a man and he's wanted for the murder of seven men the night before. He ransacks Honor's home, claiming that her husband had something valuable that he needs to find, though he has no idea what exactly he is looking for.

It's no spoiler to say that Coburn is, of course, actually the good guy. He is able to convince Honor that her life, and the life of her daughter, are now in danger, and the three of them end up going on the run together.

While Honor's gut tells her to trust Coburn, she is still frightened and wary of him. Emily, on the other hand, is enraptured by him from the beginning, and for the most part she enjoys the “adventure” her mother tells her they are having. Coburn is a very closed off man, the silent, brooding,wounded alpha hero type that I love to read about. He's not thrilled to have a kid along and not sure how to talk to one, but he is determined to keep both mother and child safe, even though he seems to expect that his own number will soon be up.

The relationship between Coburn and Honor builds slowly and realistically. Even once Emily has been left in the care of Honor's best friend, Coburn and Honor don't just fall into bed together. The attraction is there from the beginning, but neither has any intention of acting on it. Coburn wants to find what he's looking for, finish the job he started out to do and be rid of this woman. Honor wants to keep her daughter safe, and prove that her husband was a loyal officer and not a dirty cop.

But the ending. As much as I loved this book, I was a little disappointed with the ending. The narrative moves seamlessly from Coburn and Honor to other members of the large cast of characters, good and bad, but we never actually meet The Bookkeeper, who only interacts with other characters by phone. I was completely clueless as to the identity of The Bookkeeper, and when that identity was revealed I was a little taken aback. I still feel a little jarred and disbelieving by it. Though in real life, people often feel that way about high profile criminals, so I guess that's actually realistic.

And then the Epilogue left the story feeling unfinished, though of course in my head I know exactly what happened next and nobody can convince me differently.

Overall the book lived up to the tense, edge of your seat standard I've come to expect from Ms. Brown, and my love affair with her heroes continues.