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Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR SANDRA BROWN IS BACK WITH A SPINE-TINGLING STORY OF MURDER AND BETRAYAL -- AND A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE'S STRUGGLE WITH HIS OWN RULES OF CONDUCT.

When Detective Sergeant Duncan Hatcher is summoned to the home of Judge Cato Laird in the middle of the night to investigate a fatal shooting, he knows that discretion and kid-glove treatment are the keys to staying in the judge's good graces and keeping his job.

At first glance, the case appears open-and-shut: Elise, the judge's trophy wife, interrupted a burglary in progress and killed the intruder in self-defense. But Duncan is immediately suspicious of Elise's innocent act. His gut feeling is that her account of the shooting is only partially true -- and it's the parts she's leaving out that bother him.

Determined to learn the dead man's connection to the Lairds and get at the truth, Duncan investigates further and quickly finds his career, as well as his integrity, in jeopardy -- because he can't deny his increasing attraction to Elise Laird, even if she is a married woman, a proven liar, and a murder suspect.

When Elise seeks Duncan out privately and makes an incredible allegation, he initially dismisses it as the manipulative lie of a guilty woman. But what if she's telling the truth? Then that single fatal gunshot at her home takes on even more sinister significance, possibly involving Duncan's nemesis, the brutal crime lord Robert Savich.

And then Elise goes missing . . .

Ricochet's plot twists -- as only Sandra Brown can write them -- and palpable suspense combine to create this gripping thriller, in which a decent cop's worst enemy may be his own conscience, and trusting the wrong person could mean the difference between life and death.

Amazon.com

From Publishers Weekly

No one does steamy suspense like Brown (Chill Factor), as shown by this expert mix of spicy romance and sharply crafted crime drama. Det. Sgt. Duncan Hatcher, a sexy Savannah homicide cop, falls hard for Elise Laird, a dishy damsel-in-distress, the moment he spots her at a police awards dinner. Too bad she's married to Judge Cato Laird, who consistently subverts Hatcher's efforts to bring local drug lord Robert Savich to justice. When Hatcher and his feisty partner, Det. DeeDee Bowen, are called to the Laird home after Elise supposedly shoots an intruder in self-defense, the desperate trophy wife confides to Hatcher that she believes her husband, a secret Savich crony, intended her to be the intruder's victim. Later, as the uncertain Hatcher grapples with his desires, Elise vanishes, leaving behind another dead body. Tight plotting, a hot love story with some nice twists and a credible ending help make this a stand-out thriller. (Aug.)

From The Washington Post's Book World /washingtonpost.com

My criteria for book reviewing are pretty clear: Did I believe the characters? Was it a good story, well told? Did I want to put the book down or keep reading? Bottom line, would I read another book by this author?

For Ricochet, my answer to these questions is a resounding yes. It's a great, entertaining read, with lots of surprising twists and turns, credibly flawed characters and a love affair that's as steamy as a Savannah summer.

Hunky yet sensitive Detective Duncan Hatcher is called to investigate the gorgeous and wildly manipulative Elise Laird when she kills a burglar in her elegant home, supposedly in self-defense. Complicating the case is that Mrs. Laird is the trophy wife of a patrician judge who dislikes our hero. Worse, her account of the murder is somewhere between sketchy and laughable.

Hatcher finds himself falling for the mysterious Mrs. Laird, even as he uncovers each new fact that seems to suggest that the murder was intentional and the burglar, Gary Ray Trotter, no stranger. Hatcher doubts Mrs. Laird's increasingly weak explanations, but he still can't help thinking about her body. Here's Mrs. Laird explaining her case to him:

" 'I'd been expecting it for several months. Not a burglary, specifically. But something. This was the moment I'd been dreading.' She pressed her fist against the center of her chest, right above her heart, pulling the fabric of her T-shirt tight across her breasts. 'I knew, Detective. I knew.' Whispering that, she raised her head and looked up at him. 'Gary Ray Trotter wasn't a thief I caught in the act. He was there to kill me.'

"Duncan pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as though concentrating hard, trying to work out the details in his mind. Actually, he had to do something to keep from drowning in those damn eyes of hers or becoming fixated on her breasts. He wanted to haul her up against him, kiss her, and see if her mouth delivered as promised. Instead, he pinched the skin between his eye sockets until it hurt like hell. It helped him to refocus. Some."

Then he finds out she used to be a topless dancer. How great is that?

You've seen this femme-fatale plotline before, of course, but it's terrific when it's well done, as it is here. Mrs. Laird may be a double-crossing dame, but she's no dummy, though to tell more would ruin the fun. The storyline is updated by the presence of Detective DeeDee Bowen, Hatcher's no-nonsense female partner. Naturally, Bowen suspects every scheming inch of Mrs. Laird and calls Hatcher on his crush with your basic snap-out-of-it speech. Leave it to a woman to add that touch of testosterone.

The cat-and-mouse relationship between Hatcher and Mrs. Laird kept me turning the pages, and when the mystery blonde vanished in the middle of the novel, I found myself worried about her, even though I wasn't sure I liked her or her employment history. Still, I was happy to be kept guessing until the end, which came as a genuine surprise.

My only quibble is that this bestselling author sometimes settles for phrases such as "copious notes" and even "silver-tongued." She's a better writer than that, and I'm enough of a Strunk and White fan to want her to avoid clichés.

But I'm also a Sandra Brown fan, thanks to Ricochet.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Reviewed by Lisa Scottoline

From Booklist

Detective Duncan Hatcher has no reason to like Cato Laird, the judge who let Robert Savich, a Savannah crime lord, slip through the cracks by declaring a mistrial over a juror conflict. But Duncan is all business when he and his partner DeeDee Bowen are called to Laird's house one night to find Laird's beautiful wife, Elise, has fatally shot an intruder. Duncan and DeeDee are immediately suspicious of Elise, who managed to kill the man, Gary Ray Trotter, with a single, precise shot. Elise denies knowing Trotter, but Duncan isn't comfortable dismissing the case as self-defense. When Elise comes to him with the seemingly preposterous assertion that her adoring husband actually wants her dead, Duncan is more suspicious of her, even as his attraction to her grows. He continues to pursue the investigation, despite the fact that Cato himself clearly considers the case closed. But when Elise's car is discovered on a bridge with a dead man in it and no sign of Elise herself, Duncan realizes he may have misjudged Elise and fears it might be too late to help her. Gripping and absorbing, this is Brown's best thriller in years and a must-read for her many devotees.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Kristine Huntley

From AudioFile

This twisted tale of murder is designed to intrigue and confuse as Brown spins her unusual mystery. Duncan Hatcher investigates the murder of a nighttime intruder by the wife of Judge Laird. At the same time, Hatcher is after a drug lord who has been released by Laird. When Elise, the judge's wife, then seduces Hatcher, Dennis Boutsikaris's smooth tones turn up the heat. Boutsikaris narrates with the skill of a veteran, never missing a twist in this seamless abridgment. The women's voices are seductive yet steely; the men's voices alternate between stern and gullible. Elise's lies and subsequent disappearance at a second murder scene leave Duncan questioning who wants whom dead. M.B.K.

Book Dimension :

length: (cm)23.9 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)16.4