Bea Reviews Outfox by Sandra Brown

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 
Source: Hardcover - the publisher in exchange for an honest review; ebook - library via OverDrive
Release Date: August 6th, 2019
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

From the #1 NYT bestselling author: After a thirty-year search for a serial killer, FBI agent Drex Easton becomes a suspect's next-door neighbor -- but can he navigate a shocking series of twists and turns to track down the truth? Sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats, this new novel will feature Brown's signature combination of steamy romance and jaw-dropping plot twists.

FBI agent Drex Easton is relentlessly driven by a single goal: to outmaneuver the conman once known as Weston Graham. Over the past thirty years, Weston has assumed many names and countless disguises, enabling him to lure eight wealthy women out of their fortunes before they disappeared without a trace, their families left without answers and the authorities without clues. The only common trait among the victims: a new man in their life who also vanished, leaving behind no evidence of his existence . . . except for one signature custom.

Drex is convinced that these women have been murdered, and that the man he knows as Weston Graham is the sociopath responsible. But each time Drex gets close to catching him, Weston trades one persona for another and disappears again. Now, for the first time in their long game of cat and mouse, Drex has a suspect in sight.

Attractive and charming, Jasper Ford is recently married to a successful businesswoman many years his junior, Talia Shafer. Drex insinuates himself into their lives, posing as a new neighbor and setting up surveillance on their house. The closer he gets to the couple, the more convinced he becomes that Jasper is the clever, merciless predator he's sought--and that his own attraction to Talia threatens to compromise his purpose and integrity.

This is Drex's one chance to outfox his cunning nemesis before he murders again and eludes justice forever. But first he must determine if the desirable Talia is a heartless accomplice . . . or the next victim.

Excerpt & Giveaway: Sting by Sandra Brown

I'm delighted to share an extensive excerpt from Sandra Brown's newest romantic suspense, "Sting", and a wonderful giveaway. Make yourself comfortable and enjoy!

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.

Review & Giveaway: Friction by Sandra Brown

Publisher: Grand Central
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 18, 2015
Challenges: NetGalley and Edelweiss ARCs
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit*  | Indigo | iTunes | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

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?

REVIEW And GIVEAWAY: Breath of Scandal by Sandra Brown

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 
Format Read: ebook
Source: publisher in exchange for an honest review
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

On a rainy Southern night, Jade Sperry endured a young woman's worst nightmare at the hands of three local hell-raisers. Robbed of her youthful ideals and at the center of scandal and tragedy, Jade ran as far and as fast as she could. But she never forgot the sleepy "company town" where every man, woman, and child was dependent on one wealthy family. And she never forgot their spoiled son, who, with his two friends, changed her life forever. Someday, somehow, she'd return, exact a just revenge -- and free herself from fear, and the powerful family that could destroy her. 

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway of Mean Streak by Sandra Brown

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 
Format Read: eGalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble |  iTunes | Kobo
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of "instant divorce," Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won't even tell her his name. She's determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can't turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law.

As her husband's deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer.

GIVEAWAY & INTERVIEW with Romance Author Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown has been writing romance and romantic suspense novels has been writing for over thirty years and is a fan favorite. I've enjoyed several of her books and jumped at the chance to interview her when asked if I wanted to be part of the tour.

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), and CHILL FACTOR, all of which have jumped onto the Times bestseller list in the number one to five spot.

Review of "Lethal" by Sandra Brown

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: November 29th, 2011
Buying Links:  Amazon     The Book Depository    

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

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. 

Teaser:

She lay as straight, still, and stiff as a plank, trying to talk herself out of having a full-blown panic attack. She was bound and unable to get free, true. But, she told herself sternly, she wasn't in mortal danger. She counted her heartbeats in order to keep the rate of them under control. She made each breath long and deep.

But these exercises worked no better than reason. 

 Her anxiety continued to mount until she began pulling against the bindings, straining against them with as much effort as she could muster.

My Thoughts:

It's been a while since I read a Sandra Brown book so I was eager to give this one a try. Billed as a romantic suspense, I would say it's more of a suspense story with a minor romantic subplot. Additionally, I didn't really buy Honor and Coburn as a couple. Maybe if Brown had spent more time showing the attraction and building up the anticipation.

While the romance portion of the story was "meh", the mystery and suspense portion worked quite well. We know early on who some of the bad guys are but others are unknown through most of the book and even Coburn is iffy for about the first third of the book. Then there's the question of whether Honor's late husband, a cop, was a dirty cop. Brown spins an engrossing tale, one that kept me up late reading. It's definitely worth a read.

I received a hardcover from the publisher for review.