Amazon.com (ISBN 0446611808, Mass Market Paperback)

The prologue of a novel arrives in the Manhattan offices of a book editor, who's intrigued enough to chase its mysterious author, identified only by his initials, to his decrepit plantation on an island off the Georgia Coast. That's the first clue that fiction is stranger than fact; few publishers (if any) would go to that sort of trouble for anything less than a new J.D. Salinger novel. But bestselling author Sandra Brown makes the most of her far-fetched premise, setting up a convoluted plot that keeps the reader engrossed despite its flaws and foibles.

Maris Matherly-Reed is more than an editor. She's also the beloved daughter of the publishing house's highly respected and successful leader, and the wife of Matherly Press's second-in-command, the smooth, suave, double-dealing Noah Reed. Reed, it develops, is the real target of the literary scam set up by the reclusive writer of the novel whose opening pages so captivate Reed's spouse. P.M.E., the writer, has a score to settle with Maris's husband, and he doesn't care whom he hurts as long as he brings Noah down. At least, not until he meets Maris, who has an unfortunate habit of falling in love with her authors (see above; that's the second clue). Brown is a master at romantic suspense, and Envy displays the talents that have won her a devoted following: a deft hand at evoking the vulnerability and humanity of her protagonists, a sure command of narrative tension, and a nice sense of place. This is a terrific hammock read, just right for a summer day as sultry and humid as Envy's Low Country setting. --Jane Adams

Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0446527130, Hardcover)

One of the few authors ever to have three simultaneous New York Times bestsellers, Sandra Brown is a world-class suspense writer who "carefully crafts tales that keep readers on the edge of their seats" (USA Today). In her latest novel, she entwines two plots into an explosive tale of a long-ago crime and the victim's plan for revenge...

Maris Matherly-Reed is a renowned New York book editor, the daughter of a publisher and the wife of bestselling author Noah Reed. It isn't often that an unsolicited submission so captivates her that she feels she must immediately meet its author. But Maris has just received a tantalizing partial manuscript submitted by a writer identified only as P.M.E., with the return address of an obscure island off the Georgia coast. P.M.E.'s blockbuster potential-and perhaps something else-compels Maris to search for him.

On an eerie, ruined cotton plantation, she finds Parker Evans, a man determined to conceal his identity as well as his past. Working with him chapter by chapter, Maris is riveted by his tale of two friends who charter a boat with a young woman for a night of revelry...an excursion from which only one person returns.

As the story unfolds, Maris becomes convinced it is more than just fiction. Disturbed about her growing attraction to Parker and gripped by a chilling suspicion about his novel's characters, she searches for the undisclosed truth about a crime committed decades ago. Then someone close to her dies, while even closer looms the presence of evil-a man who will use her, or anyone, to get what he wants...

Exploring the way love and hatred shape lives, ENVY uses both Maris's quest and Parker's novel to create a breathtaking story of suspense. Not until the shattering, surprise finale will readers guess the solution to its puzzle of deceit and murder, retribution and redemption.

Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0749932945, Paperback)

New York book editor Maris Matherly-Reed knows a bestseller when she sees one -- even if it is a tantalizing partial manuscript submitted by a writer identified only as P.M.E., with the return address of an obscure island off the Georgia coast. Maris is intrigued enough to search for him.

Her trip to Georgia to meet the mysterious author takes her to an eerie, ruined cotton plantation, where Maris finds Parker Evans, a man confined to a wheelchair who carefully hides his past. Coaxing his novel from him chapter by chapter, Maris gets caught up in his tale of two friends who rent a boat with a young woman for a night of sex and drinking. Only one person will return from that trip.

Disturbed about her sexual attraction to Parker and worried about her marriage to author and her co-publisher Noah Reed, Maris returns to New York where the delivery of Parker's newest chapters convince her they are more than fiction. She wonders how well she knows her husband and begins a harrowing search for a truth that ties back to a terrifying crime and a will use her, or anyone, to get his revenge.

Envy explores the way love and hatred shape lives in a breathtaking story of suspense.