Standoff

STANDOFF, a novel by Sandra Brown, takes place in the desolate West Texas town of Hera. Tiel McCoy, a hot Dallas TV news reporter is forced by her boss, Gully, to take vacation time or lose it. While driving to Angel Fire, a resort in northern New Mexico, Tiel hears on her car radio about a possible kidnapping of the teenage daughter of multimillionaire and Dallas businessman, Russ Dendy. After contacting Gully, Tiel changes her mind about a vacation and heads for Hera. Shes betting that 18-year-old Ronnie Davidson, the alleged kidnapper and Sabra Dendy are also heading for Hera where Ronnies father owns a ranch. While making a call from a convenience store pay phone in Hera she becomes a witness to a holdup. Tiel, an older couple on their honeymoon, a rugged and handsome rancher named, Doc, and two swarthy and dangerous looking Mexican men are taken hostage by the young couple. We learn that the high school kids are madly in love and running away from Sabras despotic father who has vowed to kill Ronnie. We also learn that Sabra is in the final stages of pregnancy and her father has told her that she would not be allowed to keep the baby. The next few hours are filled with high drama. As Ronnie holds his hostages at gun point, the convenience store is surrounded by SWAT, FBI, local sheriff deputies and a flock of Dallas metroplex media. Oh, yes, Brown didnt forget to stick in the requisite sex scene toward the end. I enjoyed the story, particularly our heroine, Tiel. Brown would be wise to plug Tiel into a future novel. I give Standoff 3 stars.

A little different angle to this fascinating story. Teenage love and the complications that it can lead to. Running away from an overbearing threatening father seemed the best not choice for Sabre and Ronnie. They felt that no one was supporting them so they would run away and make a life for themselves and the baby. Unfortunately Sabra was correct when she said that her father would never relent. Trying to kill the father of his granddaughter with a hunting rifle is about as low as one can get.

The pacing of this story is really well done. It is a page-turner. The cliffhangers were done well. I was able to finish this book in half a day (it\’s an easy read). If I had to give it strikes, it would be for the dog scene (I had to simply skip over that page, I can\’t handle animal cruelty), the slight generalizations and the unnecessary boyfriend at the beginning. The story is predictable. The whole Romeo / Juliet plot line was eye-rolling. The career-driven news reporter who just happened to get caught in the news breaking story of her is laughable. Yet, Sandra Brown made a interesting and intriguing story that draws you and lets you brush off cliches that would probably make you sigh in disgust. It\’s a fun, fast-paced read in my opinion.

Sandra Brown\’s STANDOFF is a good read for the genre of romantic suspense, and I would definitely recommend it if you are a Sandra Brown fan as I\’ve been for the past 25 years. I\’ve read every one of her bestsellers. The only weakness in this story is that it\’s difficult to understand how a big guy like Doc couldn\’t have taken down the kid with the gun. It seems he had plenty of opportunities. Overall, however, the characters are completely Brown-characters. Her characters are so similar that you pretty much know what to expect. What I REALLY liked about this story is that the sex was a little more subtle which actually made it more interesting, and the twists at the end were not expected. I also liked the FBI guy Callahan. The girl\’s father was so evil, he was almost a cartoon of evil. If you like Sandra Brown, you\’ll love this book. She\’s become a better writer over time.

This is one of several early Sandra Brown book being re-released on Kindle at promotional prices. From time to time I read them as a sorbet between heavier doses of thrillers. This is a very short book, really no more than a long novella and is clearly showing its age. Tiel McCoy, an ambitious TV reporter is driving to New Mexico for a long delayed vacation when she hears the news on the radio that Sabra, the teenage daughter of Fort Worth tycoon Russell Dendy, has been kidnapped. She immediately changes course towards Dendy\’s home hoping to get the drop on other networks on the kidnapping. She stops at a service station shop for a payphone to talk to her producer (no self respecting TV reporter would be without a cell phone now) and finds the kidnapping is a myth and Sabra (8 months pregnant) has run off with her boyfriend Ronnie. As a total coincidence while Tiel is in the shop with a few other customers Ronnie enters the shop, pulls out a gun, empties the till and holds the customers hostage. This is a once in a lifetime scoop for Tiel but she gets involved in more that she anticipates, including of course an unexpected romantic connection with one of the hostages. The best part of this pretty trite tale for me was when Tiel clouted an objectionable FBI agent (who had been sent in posing as a Doctor) with a can of Wolf brand chili. Oh dear, Sandra Brown I know that your later books are a lot better than this one.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member