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Summary
Summary
In this suspenseful thriller, a journalist who stumbles upon a deadly crime while pursuing the scoop of a lifetime will find her strength and conviction tested in new and frightening ways.
TV reporter Tiel McCoy is driving to New Mexico for a well-earned vacation when she hears the news on the radio: The teenage daughter of Forth Worth tycoon Russell Dendy has been kidnapped. Immediately, she ditches her holiday to chase down the story that could make her career.
But in a town called Rojo Flats, an innocuous stop at a convenience store thrusts her directly into the unfolding story -- and a dangerous crime drama. For inside the shop two desperate young lovers are holding a half dozen frightened hostages . . . and a powder keg of a standoff is about to test Tiel's courage, journalistic integrity, and everything she has ever believed.
Author Notes
Sandra Brown began her writing career in 1980. After selling her first book, she wrote a succession of romance novels under several pseudonyms, most of which remain in print. She has become one of the country's most popular novelists, earning the notice of Hollywood and of the critics. More than 60 of her books have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. There are eighty million copies of her books in print, and her work has been translated into thirty-four languages. Prior to writing, she worked in commercial television as an on-air personality for PM Magazine and local news in Dallas. The parents of two, she and her husband now divide their time between homes in Texas and South Carolina.
(Publisher Provided)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Workaholic Dallas TV reporter Tiel McCoy thought she would take a well-earned vacation, but while driving to a secluded condo in New Mexico, she hears a radio report that changes her plans. Teenager Sabra Dendy, only daughter of Fort Worth multimillionaire Russ Dendy, has been kidnapped. Soon Tiel learns that Sabra, who's pregnant, has run away with her boyfriend, Ronnie Davison. Smelling a story, Tiel heads for the remote town of Hera to interview Ronnie's father, thinking the couple might go there for help. But when she stops at a convenience store for directions, Tiel encounters Ronnie and Sabra bungling a hold-up attempt. As Sabra goes into labor, Ronnie takes everyone in the store hostage, and Tiel and a handsome cowboy who seems to know a lot about medicine deliver Sabra's daughter. Tiel learns that the desperate young couple are fleeing to Mexico to escape Sabra's dictatorial father, who has vowed to separate them and put their baby up for adoption. He has even threatened to kill the child, and Sabra and Ronnie have vowed to commit suicide if they are thwarted. Bestselling author Brown (The Alibi) sets up believable conflicts (Ronnie once killed a puppy, rather than return it to an abusive owner). If the dialogue and sex scenes occasionally seem stilted, this popular author's tale still hits hard and keeps moving briskly to its satisfying conclusion. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
The action takes place in New Mexico, but all the main characters are from Texas, always fertile home ground for perennial bestseller Brown (The Alibi, 1999, etc.). Dallas TV reporter Tiel McCoy, en route to a vacation, takes a detour to look for Sabra Dendy, the daughter of a Texas millionaire who's hotfooted it out of town with her boyfriend, Ronnie Davison. Tiel bumps into the duo as they're holding up a small-town convenience store. Turns out Sabra's not only pregnant but in labor; her baby is delivered by the mysterious 'Doc,' who proves to be a Dallas oncologist ruined by the unjust accusation that he helped his mortally ill wife commit suicide. Naturally, Tiel falls for Doc. Naturally, Sabra's dad is a creep who sics the FBI on the misguided lovers. Naturally, there's plenty of time for steamy sex in between the flying bullets. True love conquers (almost) all with time-honored predictability, and Brown's many fans will undoubtedly enjoy her latest.
Booklist Review
Tiel McCoy is driven beyond ambition to the point where her television journalism career is her whole life, meant to compensate for loneliness and guilt about a failed marriage to a husband who died before they could get things straight. A long-postponed vacation is sidetracked when Tiel stops at a convenience store in a desolate part of Texas and gets caught up in a robbery attempt. The robbers are teenage runaways. Ronnie Davison is being sought on charges that he kidnapped his pregnant girlfriend, Sabra Dendy, daughter of a ruthless millionaire who will stop at nothing to separate the pair. Tiel sees the situation as a sure-fire ticket to the anchor position on the Dallas station's proposed prime-time news show. But Tiel finds herself gradually and genuinely engaged with the cast of characters at the store when the attempted robbery turns into a hostage drama. Tiel helps negotiate with the FBI agents who eventually converge on the scene. She gradually becomes just as focused on positioning a good story as on saving lives and keeping the young couple from honoring a desperate suicide pact. A fellow hostage is a ruggedly handsome rancher named Doc, who helps keep tempers calm and delivers Sabra's baby under tense and dangerous circumstances. Tiel recognizes Doc from a story she'd done several years earlier. As the hostage drama draws them closer, Tiel struggles with her ambitions and Doc with his visceral distrust of the media. Plot twists and cliff-hanging chapter endings will keep the best-selling Brown's fans coming back for more. --Vanessa Bush
Library Journal Review
In a series of coincidental events, reporter Tiel McCoy finds herself in the middle of a breaking news story just as she is about to start a much-needed vacation. She becomes an unwilling participant in a kidnapping and robbery when a teenage couple hold up a gas station. Sabra, the 17-year-old girl, is not only pregnant and a runaway, she is the daughter of wealthy Texas businessman Russell Dende, who despises Sabra's boyfriend, Ronnie. When Sabra goes into labor, Tiel is forced to play midwife and negotiator, always keeping her reporter's instincts alert. The other customers/hostages play minor roles, with the exception of the mysterious Doc, who increasingly commands Tiel's interest as he assists with the delivery. Full of stereotypical characters and, at best, an implausible plot, this is not one of the acclaimed Brown's best efforts. Reader Enid Graham finds a distinctive voice for each character without dramatically overdoing it. Although this will not achieve much literary applause, the author's large following will grab this one and find an entertaining escape.DSusan McCaffrey, Haslett H.S., MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
