White Hot

A very good murder mystery, set in a truly dysfunctional family in the swamplands of Louisiana. The growing up life of the main character, Sayre, must have been horrible indeed was my frequent thought, especially as the character of her brother Chris was pulled and woven in the plot. I am very impressed by the character development, especially that of the patriarch, Huff Hoyle. Sandra Brown does a very good job with showing how some brutes are made, not born, and how the anger of a single act can have repercussions through the decades.

When she hears that her younger brother Danny has committed suicide, Sayre
Lynch relents from her vow never to return to Destiny, the small Louisiana
town where she grew up. She plans to leave immediately after the funeral,
but instead soon finds herself drawn into the web cast by Huff Hoyle, her
controlling and tyrannical father, the man who owns the town's sole
industry, an iron foundry, and in effect runs the lives of everyone who
works there. Nothing has changed in the 10 years Sayre has been gone. Her
father and older brother, Chris, are as devious as ever, and now they have a
new partner in crime, a canny and disarming lawyer named Beck Merchant, who
appears to be their equal in corruption. As Sayer sets out to learn just
what did happen to show more Danny, she comes to realize that there are many secrets
in Destiny -- secrets that hide decades of pain and anger, and that threaten
at any moment to erupt and destroy not only her father and brother, but
perhaps Sayre herself. Old hatreds foster plans for revenge, past crimes
resurface, and a maverick deputy sheriff determines that Danny Hoyle's death
was not suicide but murder. Before long, Sayre finds herself in over her
head in labor turmoil, family dynamics, and involvement with an old lover.
Nothing is as it seems in this sleepy little Louisiana town.

This book would likely be classed as a romantic suspense thriller, but I was
far more interested in the suspense plot and it was well crafted and
skillfully told. The characters could have easily come from the pen of
William Faulkner. This book typifies why I really like a well-written
"southern" novel: steamy characters, tense prejudices, long awaited
revenge, with a twist at the end that came as a complete kick in the pants.
I'd rate this a strong 4.5. show less

Having read several books of Ms. Brown's, I can definitely say this is one of her better ones. The storyline is good, and though Huff Hoyle is a huge villain, I enjoyed the flashbacks that showed where he came from. One thing though, is that with him having started out so poor, he would have more sympathy for his workers, but then I guess power corrupted Huff and erased any redeeming characteristics he might have had (he was faithful to his wife and loved her, but was still a misogynist - Laurel was however his ideal woman, so no issues there. His daughter was a totally different story though...) Huff was absolutely infuriating in his attitude towards his daughter.

One thing that bothered me was the last line in the story (something show more Sayre said) directly contradicted something else in the story (a relatively important point) and it was a bit jarring to read after what had happened throughout the book. Nonetheless, the overall story was pretty good and if you like Sandra Brown, you should enjoy this. show less

White Hot
3.5 Stars

A solid romantic suspense.

While the plot is entertaining, it is not extraordinary and the supposedly surprising twist is actually predictable.

The characters are quite stereotypical: the patriarch, the prodigal daughter, the favorite son, the corrupt layer, the town bad boy, etc.

Overall, the romance is better than the mystery.

It never changes with Sandra Brown - you are hooked by the first chapter or or two of any novel she writes, then you can barely put then book down until completion. It's really impossible to guess who the bad guy is - ever, because when it comes to writing intrigue, Ms. Brown just about holds the patent.

WHITE HOT is the story of one man's success in owning a manufacturing company that is the livelihood of a town called Destiny, Louisiana. All of the men in the story seem nefarious in one way or another. When Danny Hoyle is dead of apparent suicide, Sayre Holye Lynch - living in San Francisco - returns home for the first time in a decade. Her plans to leave immediately after the funeral services are derailed as quite a few things are show more not quite right, and Sayre's not leaving without answers. One man that could give her at least some insight is her enemy to the best of her knowledge, but that does not stop the passionate feelings that begin to grow between the two. Pick up (or download) a copy of WHITE HOT and you will be kept on your toes literally to the very end. show less

When her younger brother, Danny, commits suicide, Sayre Lynch breaks her vow never to return to her Louisiana hometown, and gets drawn back into her tyrannical father's web. He and her older brother — who control the town's sole industry, an iron foundry — are as corrupt as ever. Worse, they have hired a shrewd and disarming new lawyer, Beck Merchant...a man with his own agenda. When the police determine that Danny's suicide was actually a homicide, Sayre must battle her family — and her passionate feelings for Beck — as she confronts a powder keg of old hatreds, past crimes, and a surprising plan of revenge.

Sayre is a rich girl who returns after 10 years of separation to her hateful father and older brother. Her younger brother Danny has died, supposedly of a suicide but nobody is believing that. Sayre ends up staying to uncover the truth, both being attracted to and disliking the family lawyer and of course becoming involved with him even though she has only been in town for a few days. I found the attraction a bit unbelievable given her hatred of her father and everything he represents, and the plot offered up no real surprises. I would have liked a bit better character development, but it was an OK read. . . but not exceptional.