Mixing a little murder, some corruption, and a good bit of illicit romance, this novel makes the golf courses of Charleston, South Carolina, seem as seedy and fascinating as the back alleys of Chinatown.

Hammond Cross wants to be the district attorney, and for years he has proven himself to be a man of high principles and irreproachable character. When his investigations turn up evidence of the corruption of local tycoon Lute Pettijohn, Hammond has no doubt about what is the right thing to do--even when his own father is under suspicion. However, this simple debate becomes complicated when Pettijohn is murdered and Hammond's alibi is a night of forbidden passion with the suspected murderess, Dr. Alex Ladd.

Brown's quick dialogue, character quirks, and plot twists help give a modern bent to the classic detective tale. While some of the characters prance across the pages with a predictability that would make Dashiell Hammett proud (the drunk-makes-good assistant, the light-hair-dark-history socialite) most of the characters show refreshing individuality. As Hammond's internal conflict intensifies--and the passion and danger do, too--readers will find all criticisms vanishing as they blast their way through this suspenseful page-turner. ( )

When Hammond Cross, Assistant County Solicitor of Charleston, SC meets a mysterious woman at a county fair, he falls madly in love with her despite never knowing her name. Then, she shows up as a suspect in the high-profile murder he is prosecuting. He doesn’t reveal his involvement with her right away, which makes things infinitely complicated for them both as the investigation progresses.
Brown keeps us guessing right up until the end about which character the actual murderer is, and drops several juicy red herrings. All the individuals in the story are skillfully drawn with well-rounded personalities and each has a separate motivation for the murder. There is no clear ‘bad guy’ in the tale, which makes it all the harder to pick from among them who the killer is. I would recommend this to any fan of romantic suspense, and even fans of mysteries, as the ‘romance’ is less pronounced than others of this genre. ( )

I picked this up in an airport because I had enjoyed her [Ricochet]. This one is not quite as good, although it's entertaining. She does a nice job of keeping you guessing about the culprit. I had a candidate in mind but was wrong (not exactly a rare occurrence). She portrays an intense relationship between two main characters, but we don't really see any reasons for it. The prose is competent and the minor characters are used effectively. An enjoyable read, kept my interest, but not great stuff. ( )

This book was fluff, but it suited my mood at the time. It lacks the richness I like in a mystery. The love scenes are cheesy. ( )