★ 06/28/2021
Set in 1920, this superior thriller from bestseller Brown (Thick as Thieves ) firmly anchors all the action in the plot. Laurel Plummer, the mother of an infant, is stuck in a remote shack with her father-in-law near the little town of Foley, Tex., after the sudden death of her WWI vet husband. Thatcher Hutton, a discharged soldier who’s just leapt off a boxcar, turns up at the Plummer place, asking for water and directions to the nearest town. His first night in a Foley boarding house, Thatcher is awakened “by a gun barrel jammed against his cheekbone” and an accusation that he kidnapped and possibly murdered Mila Driscoll, the local doctor’s missing wife. After Thatcher is released from jail for lack of evidence, the sheriff makes him a part-time deputy and he sets out to find the truth behind Mila’s disappearance. Meanwhile, Laurel, who’s in dire financial straits, helps her father-in-law expand his moonshining business. Conflict ensues as the two wind up on opposite sides of the law. Laurel and Thatcher are strong and inventive characters, and their surprising decisions and evolving relationship will keep readers engaged. Brown shows why she remains in the top rank of her field. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency. (Aug.)
Set in 1920, this superior thriller from bestseller Brown firmly anchors all the action in the plot . . . Laurel and Thatcher are strong and inventive characters, and their surprising decisions and evolving relationship will keep readers engaged. Brown shows why she remains in the top rank of her field.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review Booklist, Starred Review USA Today Dallas Morning News San Antonio Express-News Providence Journal
A novelist who can't write them fast enough.
Sandra Brown and the roaring 20s! Suspense happens in every decade [and] Sandra Brown captures it best.”
A masterful storyteller.
One of the best thriller writers around, period.
Brown deserves her own genre.
Readers will practically taste the dusty streets of Foley and feel every rickety bump of the moonshiners’ trucks…Combined with Brown’s knack for romantic tension and page-turning suspense, this one is a winner.”
Booklist (starred review)
Brown doesn’t often delve into historical fiction territory, but she does here with gusto, and readers will practically taste the dusty streets of Foley and feel every rickety bump of the moonshiners’ trucks. There are shoot-outs and reformed prostitutes and a no-good hillbilly family, but none of it feels like an empty stereotype—it’s just all a lot of fun. Combined with Brown’s knack for romantic tension and page-turning suspense, this one is a winner.
Narrator Jason Culp has a challenging job with this audiobook. There are lots of characters—good, bad, young, old, sexy, despicable—and Culp has to find appropriate voices for all. Some are hits, like that of Sheriff Bill Amos, and some are misses, like that of Thatcher Hutson, the young cowboy hero. His voices for some of the female characters are also not quite on target. The story is set in Texas in 1920, just as Prohibition has become law. Listeners will be drawn into the battle between the moonshiners and the Prohibitionists, with the law standing somewhere in between. Listeners will also hear of the tragic aftereffects of WWI on soldiers and their families. Drawn-out romantic tension, well-described settings, and plot twists keep listeners engaged. E.Q. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
SEPTEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Jason Culp has a challenging job with this audiobook. There are lots of characters—good, bad, young, old, sexy, despicable—and Culp has to find appropriate voices for all. Some are hits, like that of Sheriff Bill Amos, and some are misses, like that of Thatcher Hutson, the young cowboy hero. His voices for some of the female characters are also not quite on target. The story is set in Texas in 1920, just as Prohibition has become law. Listeners will be drawn into the battle between the moonshiners and the Prohibitionists, with the law standing somewhere in between. Listeners will also hear of the tragic aftereffects of WWI on soldiers and their families. Drawn-out romantic tension, well-described settings, and plot twists keep listeners engaged. E.Q. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
SEPTEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
