by Sandra Brown
Pub. Date: Aug. 17, 2015
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
My Rating:
Sultry Scale:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown comes a gripping story of family ties and forbidden attraction.
A Texas Ranger, relegated to deskwork due to past recklessness, petitions to regain custody of his five-year-old daughter, and his case is assigned to a family court judge who is as attractive as she is ambitious. When a masked gunman barges in during the custody hearing with his sights on the judge, the Ranger reacts instinctually and goes after him. But authorities apprehend the wrong man, and the real gunman remains unknown, at large, and a threat. Will this take-charge lawman jeopardize his chances of custody by going after the would-be assassin? And will this unlikely pair be able to deny the forbidden attraction building between them?
A Texas Ranger, relegated to deskwork due to past recklessness, petitions to regain custody of his five-year-old daughter, and his case is assigned to a family court judge who is as attractive as she is ambitious. When a masked gunman barges in during the custody hearing with his sights on the judge, the Ranger reacts instinctually and goes after him. But authorities apprehend the wrong man, and the real gunman remains unknown, at large, and a threat. Will this take-charge lawman jeopardize his chances of custody by going after the would-be assassin? And will this unlikely pair be able to deny the forbidden attraction building between them?
This is my first time reading a novel by Sandra Brown and I am now a fan. While the story was a bit slow to start out for me, it was one of those slow burn novels that I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. So I definitely look forward to reading more of Ms. Brown's work in the future.
Our hero, Crawford Hunt, is a down and out Texas Ranger who got lost in grief when his wife died, to the extent that he was drinking too much and gave up custody of his daughter to his in-laws. Now that a few years have passed and Crawford has himself together, he is not having an easy time trying to get his daughter (Georgia) back. I really liked Crawford. He was a sympathetic character and a great dad. I had a great picture of him in my head as the no-nonsense rough and tumble Texas Ranger. You just knew while you were reading that he was gonna get everything worked out, even when it looked like he would never get his daughter back.
Our heroine, Holly Spencer, is a Family Court Judge in small town Texas - and is the presiding judge over the custody case for Crawford's daughter. Through the first part of the book, I was not sure that I was going to like Holly. But I warmed up to her before the halfway mark, and I think she and Crawford made a good pair. I think getting to know Crawford helped Holly grow as a person, it certainly made her re-evaluate her court rulings.
I would say that this book focuses more on the suspense than the romance, and that was fine with me. The suspense plot was very well written, and even though we have an idea of who is behind the assassination attempts, we aren't really sure why until we get near the end. There are a lot of antagonists in this story, which just makes you root for Holly and Crawford all the more. Every bad thing that happened to Crawford had me yelling at my Kindle b/c he was such a good guy and didn't deserve things that were happening.
So if you need a break from the straight romance books and want something with a little mystery and suspense, I definitely recommend Friction. I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
View all my reviews
About the Author
Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers, including DEADLINE(2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL (2011), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), & HELLO, DARKNESS (2003). Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages.
A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English. Before embarking on her writing career, she worked as a model at the Dallas Apparel Mart, and in television, including weathercasting for WFAA-TV in Dallas, and feature reporting on the nationally syndicated program “PM Magazine.”
In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write, Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.
Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Author links:
No comments:
Post a Comment