Standoff

I usually travel with my Kindle precisely so I won't get stuck without anything to read and subject to the extremely limited selection at the airport bookstore--but that's exactly what happened. Brown's novel, about a TV reporter named Tiel McCoy who ends up as part of a hostage situation, isn't exactly terrible. In fact, the first 80% or so of the novel is quite readable. It takes place in a convenience store where Tile is being held along with the kidnapped and very pregnant teenage daughter of a rich Texas businessman and a half-dozen others. It’s when the stand-off ends and the book turns into a romance that it really becomes awful: predictable, sappy, and exactly what I dread about traveling the nothing-to-read-in-the-airport show more scenario. show less

TV reporter Tiel McCoy is driving to a mountain resort in New Mexico for a long overdue vacation. Along the way she hears a news bulletin on her car radio--tycoon Russell Dendy's teenage daughter, Sabra, has been kidnapped. Tiel stops at a convenience store to call her boss, Gully, for some info, and finds herself in the middle of it all! In walks "kidnapped" (and pregnant) Sabra and her boyfriend Ronnie, who stop in the convenience store Tiel is at and hold the place up. It seems Sabra wasn't kidnapped, she and Ronnie are lovers on the run, running from Sabra's domineering father who is threatening to break the couple up and take Sabra's baby away. Tiel is worried/scared, but she's also excited since the story she was eager to report show more fell right in her lap! What follows is a tense and exciting read.

I really enjoyed this book. It would've made a good movie. The secondary characters were interesting (the other people who were held hostage), and the hero, "Doc", who had some secrets of his own. The book had a very slight romance--there wasn't much time for one since most of the story happened in one day. This was an exciting and fast-paced read! show less

If Mills and Boon wrote suspense/thrillers they would probably read something like this. Like a skilfully padded short story, it takes place over a few hours, covering a siege at a convenience store where hostages are being held at gunpoint. It delivers what it sets out to - some twists and turns, a bit of tension (though you kind of suspect everything will turn out fine), and a spot of romance. I don't read a lot of stuff like this, but as a one-off it was fine.

This was more a novella than a usual Sandra Brown novel, and as such, was pretty blah. The story never fully develops beyond the actual standoff situation, and we’re never given a chance to really connect with our main characters. Brown also uses a main character combo (a successful tv reporter and the man she has mistakenly wronged) that she returns to in a later novel, Smoke Screen. We get the obligatory sexual tension between Tiel and Doc, followed by the obligatory sex scene, but it all feels very… obligatory. Step 1: Woman finds herself in life-threatening situation with mysterious, handsome man. Step 2: Woman and Man band together to escape situation and bring it to a happy ending. Step 3: Woman and Man have life-affirming sex show more to cope with traumatic situation. This could have been great if it had been written with the complexity you usually find in a Brown novel. Instead, it just left me wanting more. show less

Well, another of those books scored from someone emptying their shelves. I should know better. I thought this was going to be a thriller - but no - it was a romance novel with the storyline approximating a thriller.
It wasn't terrible. I made it all the way through without hurling it against the wall. What was wrong about it was the characters. The heroine was not believable (ask me for examples). The plot was full of coincidence to throw the girl and the tall dark handsome cowboy with a mysterious past (avoiding spoilers) together.
I'm trying to write a sex scene at the moment - I hope I do a more realistic job than the fluffy piece of erotica at the end of this. (I probably won't).
For what it's worth - I have nothing against romance show more novels - and if I had read it for this purpose then maybe it would pass muster. show less

A friend of mine gave me this book. I love Sandra Brown, the way she tells a story, along with her writing style, so I gladly excepted. This story is as gripping as they come... I was pulling for Ronnie and Sabra. At times it was nail-biting. I thought I had the ending figured out. With one minor twist I didn't see coming that I found shocking. Great characters, great story. I give this book 5 of 5 stars...

Typical contemporary suspense from Brown. The characters make or break her books.