Sting

From reading other reviews, I would have thought this novel was somewhere between very bad to just ok. But I found this story to be excellent! I\’ve read most of Sandra Brown\’s books and this is one of her best. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who might be on the fence due to luke warm reviews left by others. The story is believable and fast paced. The chemistry between the two lead characters is exhilarating and stimulating. Again, I\’d rate this as one of Ms. Brown\’s best! And I\’m somewhat perplexed that other so called Sandra Brown fans find anything negative about this story. Please buy this book. It\’s worth it!!

I am not sure why. I have been reading a lot and keep putting this one aside in lieu of another. Each time I pick it up again, I read a few more pages and nothing seems to be happening. I don\’t pick up on chemistry between the characters or maybe I just don\’t care. I am not very interested in protagonists that are unlikable. I don\’t mind them being asses but I need to like them and to some degree, understand them. Harry Dresden comes to mind (The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher), as does Thomas Prescott (\”Unforeseen\”, \”Grey Matter\”, \”The Africans\”, and \”Show Me\”), Odd Thomas in the series by Dean Kootnz. Arya and Stansa Stark and Dany from ASOIAF. Kayla in The Chronicles of Elantra. Lastly, Kvothe from The Kingkiller Chronicles. All these leads are, in their own way, frustrating and you want to slap them like Cher does in Moonstruck \”SNAP OUT OF IT\”. BUT. At the heart of it, you like them, you understand their flaws, you root for them. You want to see them grow and become a better version of themselves. All of them. In this case, Jodie and Shaw, I didn\’t like either one from the first interaction and it didn\’t get better for me. What Shaw did in the first portion as he met Jodie was over the top for me. Redemption could happen but it was going to be a long road. In the way he is introduced to Jodie, how he treats her, and his overall bearing. I just didn\’t like him. I saw no hidden likeable man behind the tough exterior. And it doesn\’t get better, I still don\’t like him half way into the story. Jodie is somewhat better but I don\’t understand her. She obviously has secrets and where many say the chemistry is high, I just saw deceit and games being played. Maybe this is the author keeping the cards close the chest, I didn\’t know enough about Jodie or Shaw to sympathize with them. I saw her act in a way that was a bit off for her situation and the revelations about her secrets didn\’t help me relate any better. I saw him as a bully after money and with no issues scaring a woman with her life to get it. I\’ve read reviews saying this is an action-based sizzling page turner and the chemistry between them is off the charts. I am glad that people see this. I didn\’t. I saw two people gaming each other and a lot of dialogue of the men trying to find them but not much action. It didn\’t seem people were doing anything..just talking about it. I gave it a good shot. Because there is a small chance it improves and I missed out on a whopper of a good ride, I give it a middle 3 stars. Maybe one day I will pick it back up. Or wait for the movie.

I\’ve been a fan of Sandra Brown\’s for many years. Her ability to weave a mystery and suspense into a story with a romantic element, is never disappointing. And the Sting didn\’t disappoint. It was a page turner, with many twist and turns. Left in some instances, utter \”Holy crap, are you kidding me.\” She does have a way of surprising the reader with her heroes. Just when you think this person is a lost cause, she brings them back from the brink of disappointment and cruelty to redemption. There were moments in this book, that I found the heroine Jodie Bennett weak, but she surprised me with her ability to fight back against her kidnapper. I\’m giving this 5 stars, for all the characters, which were well fleshed out and hard to forget, even the really bad guy. My favorite character was Wiley, the lead FBI guy…On ther surface he appeared soft, kind and just a simple family man, but underneath he was smart, savvy and wise. He softened the story, giving the characters a balanced normalcy in a chaotic situation. Such as when, he\’s wife was dealing with a plumber and over flowing toilet at home. Highly recommend this as a good vacation read.

I used to like her books but now I find the stories just stale, almost like she struggles to find the characters\’ voices and story line. I don\’t tend to like her books where it\’s mostly about suspense vs romance. I actually just find there to be too much suspense and not enough romance..and the stories are just dry. I am not sure why she changed her writing style..but one thing I loved back in the day was her character development and plots. She\’s still a sophisticated writer but her plots and twists and characters are just too dry for my taste in this new suspense work of hers.

I really enjoy Sandra Brown, and I have devoured everything she has ever written, but this was not her best work. The story was awkwardly put together and information related to future plot twists where clumsily dropped into the story almost as if they were an afterthought. The flow of the story is poorly thought out. In my experience, her novels have always been woven together so seamlessly, I honestly wondered if this is even her work.

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