Sandra Brown: Exclusive

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Unbelievable
For light relief I have read a few books by Sandra Brown and the results have been patchy - a few were pretty readable but most have been pretty ordinary. This e-book is a reissue of a 1996 publication and is not one of her best because the plot is so over-the-top.

Barrie Travis is an ambitious TV reporter at a B grade network working hard to make a break. One day the First Lady calls her to arrange a personal chat which hinges on the recent death of her young baby from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and hints that the baby may have been murdered. This starts Barrie on a one-woman crusade to find the truth.

On the way Barrie encounters Gray Bondurant, a former presidential aide. After a passionate first encounter both Barrie and Gray are up against the President's current unscrupulous aide and his henchmen, and even the President himself. The plotline is ludicrous with the President trying to destroy not only his manic-depressive wife but anyone else in his way. On the sidelines is the father of the First Lady, a powerful senior Senator who is as shady and corrupt as the President.

An Editorial Review sums it up beautifully - "a dead infant, a sleazy president, a manic-depressive first lady, an aide that makes G. Gordon Liddy look like a wuss, murder, adultery, a thousand skeletons peeping from a thousand closets". No wonder I thought the plotline borders on the ludicrous.

Sandra Brown is a prolific author of 77 romantic and thriller suspense novels who writes to please her wide audience. Sometimes she meets her target with me, but not this time.

Sandra Brown: Low Pressure

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Suspenseful and entertaining
Eighteen years ago Bellamy Lyston Price was only 12 years old when she was involved in a family trauma from which she had never fully recovered. The day started with a Memorial Day party staged by her parents at a local park and ended in tragedy when a Tornado struck the park and her elder sister Susan was found dead under a fallen tree. The real tragedy was that Susan had been killed before the storm struck.

Denton Carter, Susan's boyfriend at the time of her death, had quarrelled with her that day. Despite being the most probable suspect he is cleared by the police. Another boy at the party who had been chasing Susan was charged and convicted. Bellamy suspects that the wrong person may have been found guilty of the murder.

Eighteen years on Bellamy writes a "fictional" novel based on the murder in an attempt to reopen the case and find the murderer. As her book becomes popular strange things happen and she realises that she has opened up things from the past that some people don't want exposed. Surprisingly Dent gets drawn into the action and helps Bellamy to uncover the truth.

This book shows why Sandra Brown is such a successful suspense novelist.  The plot has many twists and turns and distractions and includes some enjoyable romantic tension between the Bellamy and Dent. The only things that become clear before the ending is who didn't murder Susan.

Sandra Brown: Standoff

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Short but not very satisfying sorbet
This is one of several early Sandra Brown book being re-released on Kindle at promotional prices. From time to time I read them as a sorbet between heavier doses of thrillers. This is a very short book, really no more than a long novella and is clearly showing its age.

Tiel McCoy, an ambitious TV reporter is driving to New Mexico for a long delayed vacation when she hears the news on the radio that Sabra, the teenage daughter of Fort Worth tycoon Russell Dendy, has been kidnapped. She immediately changes course towards Dendy's home hoping to get the drop on other networks on the kidnapping. She stops at a service station shop for a payphone to talk to her producer (no self respecting TV reporter would be without a cell phone now) and finds the kidnapping is a myth and Sabra (8 months pregnant) has run off with her boyfriend Ronnie.

As a total coincidence while Tiel is in the shop with a few other customers Ronnie enters the shop, pulls out a gun, empties the till and holds the customers hostage. This is a once in a lifetime scoop for Tiel but she gets involved in more that she anticipates, including of course an unexpected romantic connection with one of the hostages.

The best part of this pretty trite tale for me was when Tiel clouted an objectionable FBI agent (who had been sent in posing as a Doctor) with a can of Wolf brand chili. Oh dear, Sandra Brown I know that your later books are a lot better than this one.

Sandra Brown: The Witness

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The Worst of Sandra Brown
Kendall Deaton moves to the small town of Prosper, South Carolina to become Public Defender, a role she loves because it allows her to protect some people who would otherwise have no hope. She is attracted to local newspaper owner, handsome Matt Burnwood, son of one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the town. Their marriage seems destined for success and happiness, despite Matt's difficulty in understanding Kendall's approach to life, especially her racial tolerance and feelings for the downtrodden, and underprivileged.

One day she discovers how different her view of the world is from that of her husband and father-in-law and the leaders of the town.  She inadvertently witnesses something that is so violent which threatens both her marriage and her career. The town's chilling secret is so devastating that she needs to run away from Matt and the town to get the help she needs. In doing so she takes her own secrets and lies with her that haunt and threaten any future hope of happiness.

This book is not for the faint hearted as it features extreme violence, racial intolerance and scenes that make the actions of the KKK look benign. There are moderately explicit sex scenes. The book is written in a flashback/flash-forward style that was difficult to follow. The plot was very extremely far fetched and frequently unbelievable.

I have read several older books by Sandra Brown that are being released on Kindle. I really enjoyed "Breath of Scandal" but have been progressively disappointed with the others. This book continued the disappointment - 2.5 stars.

Sandra Brown: Mirror Image

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Imagine that two young and similar looking lovely women, one with her daughter, board a plane and sit in the same row. The mother, Carole takes the window seat that was meant for the other woman, with the child in the centre seat. The plane crashes and the other woman, Avery, saves the child but the mother is killed and burnt beyond recognition. Sounds reasonable so far?

The surviving woman is badly burnt, can't talk or move because she is totally bandaged except one eye. The husband, Tate, an aspiring US senate candidate, finds a plastic surgeon who tells him he can recreate her burnt and disfigured face back to her normal looks in one operation. Despite an impending breakdown in his marriage he stays near her during her recovery. Does that seem reasonable?

While she is incapacitated Avery is visited by an unknown family member who whispers in her ear that their plans to kill Tate on election day are unaltered. Avery is very scared as she has become attached to Tate during her recovery. Does that seem reasonable?

After she recovers, Avery is immediately accepted by all of the extended family as Carole, Tate's bitchy and promiscuous wife. Tate also accepts her as Carole, despite a huge change in her character and many obvious discrepancies. Despite this his caring time ends when he tells her that the marriage is still over as soon as the election is held. Does that seem reasonable or just plain implausible?

While IMHO the plot was just plain implausible, Sandra Brown's writing skills made a ridiculous plot readable and enjoyable. It was only these skills that kept my star rating at the OK level.

This is one of Brown's early works (1990) that are now being released on Kindle for the first time.

Sandra Brown: French Silk

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This book has a Sidney Sheldon feel, with a heroine who has become successful despite a disturbed and difficult childhood leaving a bundle of secrets that she doesn't want to disclose. Sandra Brown has written a very easy-reading book made more entertaining by a few steamy relationships.

Claire Laurent has moved from a difficult childhood to build a lingerie catalogue empire from scratch.  Her successful business is being targeted by a powerful and unscrupulous fiery TV preacher Jackson Wilde who believes that her skimpy lingerie are the work of the devil. When Wilde is found murdered, because of his fierce crusade against her business Claire becomes a prime suspect.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Cassidy is driven to find the murderer and does everything he can to prove that Claire is involved. To protect her secrets, her mentally unbalanced mother and her closest friends, Claire is not able to tell Cassidy the whole truth. The big problem is that Cassidy is rapidly falling for Claire and can't pick out what is the truth and the lies.

Other suspects are Wilde's young wife, Ariel, and her stepson, Josh, who have been having an affair. Ariel decides to take over and build the family business and continues to stir up her flock against Claire's business.

I had difficulty in understanding why someone from the District Attorney's office and not the police was given the prime investigatory role when the police had not arrested any suspect for the murder. The plot was pretty complex and the killer turned out to be the last person you would expect and the reason was hardly explained.

This is one of several early books by Sandra Brown (this one is circa 1992) that are currently being released on Kindle. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

Sandra Brown: Breath of Scandal

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One day teenager Jade Sperry had the world at her feet with a loving relationship and a college scholarship. Then three testosterone loaded thrill seekers changed her life forever. Held down and gang-raped she was left to crawl through the mud to tell her tale.

Jade was never able to tell her tale as her plea for justice was ignored and distorted by the town Sheriff and the Patchetts, the richest and most powerful family, whose offspring were among the culprits. Somehow Jade got the strength to move on but vowed to return some day to revenge her treatment.

Jade fights on and fourteen years on she has graduated and become a successful business executive. Despite her success she has never healed emotionally and still waits for the chance to hit back at her attackers and the Patchetts in the only way that would hurt them - to take away their riches and their power. At last Jade gets that chance when her employer tasks her with overseeing a major construction project in the town.

At the same time fate may be giving her a final chance of love when she hires Dillon Burke to manage the project. Dillon has his own demons to chase before he can get close to Jade - if she will let him.

This was a very emotionally charged book, gut wrenchingly so with so many unbelievable lows but some amazingly uplifting highs. Well done, Sandra, you managed to emotionally flog me! The characters, the plot and the path to revenge were masterfully written. This is the first of Sandra Brown's books that I have read and it won't be the last.