Thursday, September 15, 2011

Book Review: Lethal by Sandra Brown



Lethal by Sandra Brown
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publish Date: September 20, 2011
Hardcover, 480 pages 
Fiction, Suspense with Romantic elements
 ISBN: 978-1455501472





My Review:

My thoughts:  I received this on the Friday of Labor Day weekend and had it read by Sunday - I was that excited to receive it.  Sandra Brown is a must-read each year for me and after Lethal she remains a must-read.  She just has a way with characters and suspense that grabs me when I read her books and her characters stay with me long after I finish the books and I like that.


Lethal starts off like a freight train with a wanted man stumbling into Honor's yard.  It seems random at first, but she quickly learns it's not.  There is something in her house that Lee Coburn wants, something her dead husband had and Coburn will stop at nothing to get it.  Honor will do anything to keep her and her daughter safe.  Meanwhile the manhunt for Coburn is going on and even Honor's father-in-law is in on it as he is former law enforcement.  But things in the town aren't always as they seem.

I loved it, every time I thought I had something figured out, Ms. Brown threw me a curve ball and changed things on me.  I never quite knew what was coming next and finally gave up trying to figure it out and just started enjoying reading the book.  It is a thrill ride as far as the plot is concerned.  There are twists and turns.  There is great action.  All of it makes sense as it happens and it doesn't come out of left field.  I really enjoyed the plot line, it was never dull.  There is also a romance thread, but it really takes a backseat to the suspense, but it is there for those readers who enjoy a little romance with their suspense.  The tension between Honor and Coburn is great and Ms. Brown knows how to write the romance so it's believable as well.

The characters are great.  Of course Honor and Coburn are fleshed out the best as the two main characters.  We get insight into both of them and get to see them grow and change in the book.  There are some great parts when both of them realize they need to change some things about themselves and I really liked that.  I also liked the little bit I got to know about Honor's father-in-law, he's tough, a former marine, but he faces a realization as well.  Some of the others typify southern townfolk, and then some will just surprise you.  I think Ms. Brown has a definite way with characters that makes them stay with you after the book is long done.  I don't always remember the names, but I will remember things about them.  However I think Honor and Coburn will stick in my mind for quite awhile.


Great suspense, romance and characters make this latest book by Sandra Brown a must-read.  It comes out next Tuesday so I highly suggest you make a point to get a copy of this great book.


My Rating: 5.0/5.0


About the Book:
When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.

But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can't be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it -- at any cost. From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society

About the Author: 
Sandra Brown is the author of sixty New York Times bestsellers, including TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), HELLO, DARKNESS (2003), THE CRUSH (2002), ENVY (2001), THE SWITCH (2000), THE ALIBI (1999), UNSPEAKABLE (1998) and FAT TUESDAY (1997), all of which have jumped onto the Times bestseller list in the number one to five spot. Brown now has over seventy million copies of her books in print worldwide, and her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

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FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher for an honest review. 




BBAW 2011: Reading Habits



Today's topic is Reading Habits:

Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today!
Wow which topic to choose, well the first is easy - I don't think it's changed the way I read, except I read with an eye towards the review now, but that's not enough to make a post out of.

Topic 2:  I have definitely discovered books I would have never found apart from book blogging.  When I stumbled upon the book blogging world probably 6 or 7 years ago it was mainly through author blogs and few book blogs.  Then there started to be more book blogs and I started to branch beyond the authors that I knew about (meaning the NYT bestseller lists or ones my friends told me about or ones I heard about on the Nora Roberts board).  I found Adriana Trigiani, Sue Monk Kidd, Jodi Picoult (remember this is 6 or 7 years ago).  Then a few years passed and there were more book blogs and I learned of Scott Nicholson, Bentley Little, Joshilyn Jackson, Irene Hannon, Dee Henderson, Libby Malin and many more that I have tried and loved.  Then I started my own blog, I have email chatted with authors and loved their books, read their books, talked about their books on my blog and fallen in love with their books.  Book blogging has definitely opened me up to a whole new world of books, whether through the authors that pitch to me or through the reviews that I see on other book blogs.  I have a list a mile long of books I want to read.  I still love to read other book blogs just to see what is out there because there are so many great books and authors out there and I don't want to miss any of them.  My librarians love me - I checked out 9 books yesterday and they were all recommendations of book bloggers!  Who knows when I will get a chance to read them, but I have them and they all came highly recommended by someone :)

So I guess I chose Topic 2, I have definitely discovered a lot of great books I never would have if I had not found the wonderful world of book blogging.  I thank my fellow book bloggers for starting their blogs because without them I would not have all these great recommendations of books to read, so ladies and gentlemen, please keep up the reading and the reviewing - I love hearing about great books and even so-so books intrigue me.  Thank you again for your reviews!