Lethal by Sandra Brown

• Title: Lethal
• Classification: Adult Fiction
  
• Genre: Suspense Fiction
• Format: Hardcover, 480 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (September 20, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 1455501476
• ISBN-13: 978-1455501472
• Author Website:  http://sandrabrown.net/
• Notes: This book contains violence. Received an advanced copy of the actual book from the publisher. Thank you! This one is going on my keeper shelf.

     "Sir, Can you hear me? You're hurt, I'll call for help."
     He Sprang up so quickly she didn't even have time to recoil, much less to defend herself. He struck with lightning speed and precision. His left hand shot out and closed around the back of her neck, while with his right hand he jammed the short, blunt barrel of a handgun into the slight depression where her ribs met. He aimed it upward and to the left, directly in line with her heart, which had ballooned with fright.
     "Who else is here?"

What started out as a normal day didn't end up that way. Lee Coburn, a man on the run, wanted for the multiple murders of his coworkers, ended up outside Honor's house. Immediately he strong armed his way into her home. He knew who she was so this was no chance encounter. He was a man on a mission, but Honor had no idea what that mission was. With the safety of herself and her four year old daughter in question, she did as the man said, hoping to find some way out of this seemingly hopeless situation. What Honor never could have imagined was that this man would make her question the integrity and loyalty of both friends and family. What he would uncover would send shockwaves through the small community of Tambour, Louisiana.

I absolutely loved this book. It held me enthralled from the moment I picked it up until I finished. A fast paced book that kept you on your toes wondering who the bad guys were--they seemed to come out of the woodwork. Honor, a widow, was strong and cautious. She was put in a situation where the wrong decision could be fatal for her and her daughter, Emily. She had to look deep and decide if what Coburn said was true or lies. If he was to be believed her husband's death, thought to have been an accident, may not have been. The possibility that he could have been involved in some illegal activities was a shocking revelation to Honor. One way or the other she needed to know if Eddie, her high school sweetheart and husband, was the man she thought he was, or if he lived a double life that had him involved in something so horrible and illegal that it could forever change her opinion of him.

I loved that my first opinion of Coburn was wrong. I liked how Honor didn't know who to trust. I enjoyed the mystery of who the "Bookkeeper" was and the twists and turns I didn't see coming. I didn't know for sure until nearly the end who the Bookkeeper was. I had my suspicions and had narrowed it down to two potential suspects, but wasn't one hundred percent certain which one it would be. It was fun seeing the chemistry between Coburn and Honor and how each tried to deny it. I liked how the two worked together to solve the puzzle of what was going on. I thought it a nice touch that Brown left some things up to the reader to determine as the story came to a conclusion. Sandra Brown's books are definitely going to need to be moved to the top of my must read list. I gave this one 5 out of 5 roses. I felt it was a nice blend of drama, romance, and suspense.

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