The Crush
The gripping thriller from #1 New York Times bestseller
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
Obsession is about to get deadly . . .
When Dr Rennie Newton is summoned to jury duty, she brings to the courtroom the same degree of dedication and composure that she displays in the operating room. And it is this commitment to duty and precision that compels her to return a not guilty verdict in the trial of notorious killer, Ricky Lozada. But it might prove the most regrettable decision of her life . . .
When a rival colleague is brutally slain, Rennie is cast as prime suspect even though Lozada's menacing shadow looms over the murder. Not only does Lozada seem to be insinuating himself into every aspect of her life, but the police also seem intent on invading her privacy - particularly Wick Threadgill, an embittered detective with vengeance on his mind and a point to prove. As the stakes continue to rise, Rennie and Wick decide to forge an uneasy alliance - but what they both have yet to realise is that when the killer strikes, they won't see it coming . . .
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Praise for Sandra Brown
'Suspense that has teeth'
Stephen King
'Lust, jealousy, and murder suffuse Brown's crisp thriller'
Publishers Weekly
'An edge-of-the-seat thriller that's full of twists . . . Top stuff!'
Star
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Brown's latest thriller pits the infamous Ricky Lozada, an unscrupulous killer for hire, against Wick Threadgill, a wily, disgruntled detective on leave from the force. Threadgill's former partner, Oren Wesley, lures him back with the news that Lozada against whom Threadgill has a personal vendetta has murdered a respected doctor. The author ups the stakes by giving Threadgill and the killer the same love interest: Dr. Rennie Newton, a no-nonsense surgeon who unwittingly attracts Lozada's obsessive attention while serving on a jury that acquits him for murder. Newton's secret past raises doubts about where exactly her loyalties lie, and Brown deftly builds suspense around the romantic aspect of her story. She also scores points for her insight into the sociopath's mind, despite a rather facile explanation of how he went bad. (Not everyone with a handicapped younger sibling who gets all the parents' attention ends up a ruthless killer.) Similarly, the underlying reason for Dr. Newton's startling transformation from a young adult who lived on the wild side to a cold, controlled professional is too pat. Worst of all, Brown's prose seems aimed at an audience of eighth-graders, padded throughout with a slew of adjectives, useless descriptions and catch phrases ("Is that your final answer?"). But once things get rolling, the plot crackles with tension moving toward the final showdown between Lozada and Wick. Brown fans will not be disappointed.