Friction by Sandra Brown
Grand Central Publising
Publication Date: August 18, 2015
Date Read: August 27, 2015
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown comes a gripping story of family ties and forbidden attraction.
Crawford Hunt wants his daughter back. Following the death of his wife four years ago, Crawford, a Texas Ranger, fell into a downward spiral that left him relegated to deskwork and with his five-year-old daughter Georgia in the custody of her grandparents. But Crawford has cleaned up his act, met all the court imposed requirements, and now the fate of his family lies with Judge Holly Spencer.
Holly, ambitious and confident, temporarily occupies the bench of her recently deceased mentor. With an election upcoming, she must prove herself worthy of making her judgeship permanent. Every decision is high-stakes. Despite Crawford’s obvious love for his child and his commitment to being an ideal parent, Holly is wary of his checkered past. Her opinion of him is radically changed when a masked gunman barges into the courtroom during the custody hearing. Crawford reacts instinctually, saving Holly from a bullet.
But his heroism soon takes on the taint of recklessness. The cloud over him grows even darker after he uncovers a horrifying truth about the courtroom gunman and realizes that the unknown person behind the shooting remains at large . . .and a threat.
Catching the real culprit becomes a personal fight for Crawford. But pursuing the killer in his customary diehard fashion will jeopardize his chances of gaining custody of his daughter, and further compromise Judge Holly Spencer, who needs protection not only from an assassin, but from Crawford himself and the forbidden attraction between them.
FRICTION will keep you on the edge of your seat with breathtaking plot twists and the unforgettable characters that make Sandra Brown one of the world’s best-loved authors. It is an extraordinary novel about the powerful ties that bind us to the ones we love and the secrets we keep to protect them.
Holly is the judge that was hearing Crawford’s case when the gunman entered the courtroom. She is grateful to Crawford for protecting her during the ordeal. Holly is in middle of a campaign in the hopes of holding onto her position as judge. She knows that she should stay away from Crawford but keeps finding herself being pulled to him and the search for the gunman.
As I have come to expect in a Sandra Brown novel, this book was fast paced with a lot of action. The book opens with a bang and the excitement only increased from there. I thought the second half of the book was very strong and the ending was wonderfully executed. The characters in this book were colorful and interesting, with a couple of individuals that meant to be hated. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between Crawford and Holly at first but by the end of the story I was won over.
I really had some trouble understanding why everyone in this story had so many issues with Crawford’s actions. Yes, he chased the gunman to the roof of the building. What was he supposed to do? Let him get away? It seemed like he couldn’t do anything right. If he hadn’t chased the gunman, he would have been criticized for that decision. I just don’t like the parts of the book that focused on tearing his actions apart.
I did like Holly and Crawford together by the end of the book but this was a couple that I had some trouble with at the beginning. Holly was very focused on maintaining her ethical code so I find it a bit of a jump that she would get involved with Crawford in the first place. I really didn’t feel that much chemistry between the pair in the beginning of the story either.
I would highly recommend this book to fans of romantic suspense. Sandra Brown is an author that is not to be missed and I cannot wait to read more of her work.
About the Author
Photo by Andrew Eccles Sandra Brown is the author of more than 60 New York Times bestsellers, including MEAN STREAK (2014), DEADLINE (2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL(2011), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006),CHILL FACTOR (2005), and WHITE HOT (2004).Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into thirty-four languages.
A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English.
She is much in demand as a speaker and guest television hostess. Her episode on truTV’s Murder by the Book premiered the series in 2008. She appeared in 2010 on Investigation Discovery’s new series, Hardcover Mysteries.
In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.
Brown holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University where she and her husband Michael Brown, have instituted the ELF, a scholarship annually awarded to a student pursuing a fiction writing career. In 2008, she was named Thriller Master, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011 she and four colleagues went on a week-long USO tour to Afghanistan, meeting with service members on numerous bases.
Sandra is the past president of the Mystery Writers of America in 2012. She lives in Arlington, Texas, with her husband, Michael Brown.
I quite enjoyed this one as well. That's not really a surprise since I adore this woman!
I do love Sandra Brown. She is just a fantastic storyteller.