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Lisa Scottoline
It's a great, entertaining read, with lots of surprising twists and turns, credibly flawed characters and a love affair that's as steamy as a Savannah summer.— The Washington Post
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown presents a spine-tingling story of murder and betrayal in high society Savannah, where a homicide detective finds his career — and life — on the line.
When Savannah detective Duncan Hatcher is summoned to an unusual crime scene, he knows discretion is key. Influential Judge Cato Laird's beloved trophy wife, Elise, has fatally shot a burglar. She claims self-defense, but Duncan suspects she's lying, and puts his career in jeopardy by investigating further. Then, in secret, Elise makes an incredible allegation, which he dismisses as the lie of a cunning woman trying to exploit his intense attraction to her. But when Elise goes missing, Duncan finds that trusting the wrong person could mean the difference between life and death for both of them.
"A masterful storyteller." — USA Today
From Chapter 3
There hadn't been a peep out of Savich since the severed tongue incident. The lab at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had confirmed that it had indeed belonged to Freddy Morris, but that left them no closer to pinning his murder on Savich.
Savich was free. He was free to continue his lucrative drug trafficking, free to kill anyone who crossed him. And Duncan knew that somewhere on Savich's agenda, he was an annotation. Probably his name had a large asterisk beside it.
He tried not to dwell on it. He had other cases, other responsibilities, but it gnawed at him constantly that Savich was out there, biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike. These days Duncan exercised a bit more caution, was a fraction more vigilant, never went anywhere unarmed. But it wasn't really fear he felt. More like anticipation.
On this night, that supercharged feeling of expectation was keeping him awake. He'd sought refuge from the restlessness by playing his piano. In the darkness of his living room, he was tinkering with a tune of his own composition when his telephone rang.
He glanced at the clock. Work. Nobody called at 1:34 in the morning to report that there hadn't been a killing. He answered on the second ring. "Yeah?"
Early in their partnership, he and DeeDee had made a deal. She would be the first one called if they were needed at the scene of a homicide. Between the two of them, he was the one more likely to sleep through a ringing telephone. She was the caffeine junkie and a light sleeper by nature.
He expected the caller to be her and it was. "Were you asleep?" she asked cheerfully.
"Sort of."
"Playing the piano?"
"I don't play the piano."
"Right. Well, stop whatever it is you're doing. We're on."
"Who iced whom?"
"You won't believe it. Pick me up in ten."
"Where — " But he was talking to air. She'd hung up.
He went upstairs, dressed, and slipped on his holster. Within two minutes of his partner's call, he was in his car.
He lived in a town house in the historic district of downtown, only blocks from the police station — the venerable redbrick building known to everyone in Savannah as "the Barracks."
At this hour, the narrow, tree-shrouded streets were deserted. He eased through a couple of red lights on his way out Abercorn Street. DeeDee lived on a side street off that main thoroughfare in a neat duplex with a tidy patch of yard. She was pacing it when he pulled up to the curb.
She got in quickly and buckled her seat belt. Then she cupped her armpits in turn. "I'm already sweating like a hoss. How can it be this hot and sticky at this time of night?"
"Lots of things are hot and sticky at this time of night."
"You've been hanging around with Worley too much."
He grinned. "Where to?"
"Get back on Abercorn."
"What's on the menu tonight?"
"A shooting."
"Convenience store?"
"Brace yourself." She took a deep breath and expelled it. "The home of Judge Cato Laird."
Duncan whipped his head toward her, and only then remembered to brake. The car came to an abrupt halt, pitching them both forward before their seat belts restrained them.
"That's the sum total of what I know," she said in response to his incredulity. "I swear. Somebody at the Laird house was shot and killed."
"Did they say — "
"No. I don't know who."
Facing forward again, he dragged his hand down his face, then took his foot off the brake and applied it heavily to the accelerator. Tires screeched, rubber burned as he sped along the empty streets.
It had been two weeks since the awards dinner, but in quiet moments, and sometimes even during hectic ones, he would experience a flashback to his encounter with Elise Laird. Brief as it had been, tipsy as he'd been, he recalled it vividly: the features of her face, the scent of her perfume, the catch in her throat when he'd said what he had. What a jerk. She was a beautiful woman who had done nothing to deserve the insult. To think she might be dead . . .
He cleared his throat. "I don't know where I'm going."
"Ardsley Park. Washington Street." DeeDee gave him the address. "Very ritzy."
He nodded.
"You okay, Duncan?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I mean, do you feel funny about this?"
"Funny?"
"Come on," she said with asperity. "The judge isn't one of your favorite people."
"Doesn't mean I hope he's dead."
"I know that. I'm just saying."
He shot her a hard look. "Saying what?"
"See? That's what I'm talking about. You overreact every time his name comes up. He's a raw nerve with you."
"He gave Savich a free pass and put me in jail."
"And you made an ass of yourself with his wife," she said, matching his tone. "You still haven't told me what you said to her. Was it that bad?"
"What makes you think I said something bad?"
"Because otherwise you would have told me."
He took a corner too fast, ran a stop sign.
"Look, Duncan, if you can't treat this like any other investigation, I need to know."
"It is any other investigation."
But when he turned onto Washington and saw in the next block the emergency vehicles, his mouth went dry. The street was divided by a wide median of sprawling oak trees and camellia and azalea bushes. On both sides were stately homes built decades earlier by old money.
He honked his way through the pajama-clad neighbors clustered in the street, and leaned on the horn to move a video cameraman and a reporter who were setting up their shot of the immaculately maintained lawn and the impressive Colonial house with the four fluted columns supporting the second-story balcony. People out for a Sunday drive might slow down to admire the home. Now it was the scene of a fatal shooting.
"How'd the television vans get here so fast? They always beat us," DeeDee complained.
Duncan brought his car to a stop beside the ambulance and got out. Immediately he was assailed with questions from onlookers and reporters. Turning a deaf ear to them, he started toward the house. "You got gloves?" he asked DeeDee over his shoulder. "I forgot gloves."
"You always do. I've got spares."
DeeDee had to take two steps for every one of his as he strode up the front walkway, lined on both sides with carefully tended beds of begonias. Crime scene tape had already been placed around the house. The beat cop at the door recognized them and lifted the tape high enough for them to duck under. "Inside to the left," he said.
"Don't let anyone set foot on the lawn," Duncan instructed the officer. "In fact, keep everybody on the other side of the median."
"Another unit is on the way to help contain the area."
"Good. Forensics?"
"Got here quick."
"Who called the press?"
The cop shrugged in reply.
Duncan entered the massive foyer. The floor was white marble with tiny black squares placed here and there. A staircase hugged a curving wall up to the second floor. Overhead was a crystal chandelier turned up full. There was an enormous arrangement of fresh flowers on a table with carved gilded legs that matched the tall mirror above it.
"Niiiiice," DeeDee said under her breath.
Another uniformed policeman greeted them by name, then motioned with his head toward a wide arched opening to the left. They entered what appeared to be the formal living room. The fireplace was pink marble. Above the mantel was an ugly oil still life of a bowl of fresh vegetables and a dead rabbit. A long sofa with a half dozen fringed pillows faced a pair of matching chairs. Between them was another table with gold legs. A pastel carpet covered the polished hardwood floor, and all of it was lighted by a second chandelier.
Judge Laird, his back to them, was sitting in one of the chairs.
Realizing the logical implication of seeing the judge alive, Duncan felt his stomach drop.
The judge's elbows were braced on his knees, his head down. He was speaking softly to a cop named Crofton, who was balanced tentatively on the edge of the sofa cushion, as though afraid he might get it dirty.
"Elise went downstairs, but that wasn't unusual," Duncan heard the judge say in a voice that was ragged with emotion. He glanced up at the policeman and added, "Chronic insomnia."
Crofton looked sympathetic. "What time was this? That she went downstairs."
"I woke up, partially, when she left the bed. Out of habit, I glanced at the clock on the night table. It was twelve thirty-something. I think." He rubbed his forehead. "I think that's right. Anyway, I dozed off again. The . . . the shots woke me up."
He was saying that someone other than he had shot and killed his wife. Who else was in this house tonight? Duncan wondered.
"I raced downstairs," he continued. "Ran from room to room. I was . . . frantic, a madman. I called her name. Over and over. When I got to the study . . ." His head dropped forward again. "I saw her there, slumped behind the desk."
Duncan felt as though a fist had closed around his throat. He was finding it hard to breathe.
DeeDee nudged him. "Dothan's here."
Dr. Dothan Brooks, medical examiner for Chatham County, was a fat man and made no apology for it. He knew better than anyone that fatty foods could kill you, but he defiantly ate the worst diet possible. He said that he'd seen far worse ways to die than complications from obesity. Considering the horrific manners of death he'd seen over the course of his own career, Duncan thought he might have a point.
As the ME approached them, he removed the latex gloves from his hands and used a large white handkerchief to mop his sweating forehead, which had taken on the hue of a raw steak. "Detectives." He always sounded out of breath and probably was.
"You beat us here," DeeDee said.
"I don't live far." Looking around, he added with a trace of bitterness, "Definitely at the poorer edge of the neighborhood. This is some place, huh?"
"What have we got?"
"A thirty-eight straight through the heart. Frontal entry. Exit wound in the back. Death was instantaneous. Lots of blood, but, as shootings go, it was fairly neat."
To cover his discomposure, Duncan took the pair of latex gloves DeeDee passed him.
"Can we have a look-see?" she asked.
Brooks stepped aside and motioned them toward the end of the long foyer. "In the study." As they walked, he glanced overhead. "I could send one of my kids to an Ivy League college for what that chandelier cost."
"Who else has been in there?" DeeDee asked.
"The judge. First cops on the scene. Swore they didn't touch anything. I waited on your crime scene boys, didn't go in till they gave me the go-ahead. They're still in there, gathering trace evidence and trying to get a name off the guy."
"Guy?" Duncan stopped in his tracks. "The shooter is in custody?"
Dothan Brooks turned and looked at the two of them with perplexity. "Hasn't anybody told y'all what happened here?"
"Obviously not," DeeDee replied.
"The dead man in the study was an intruder," he said. "Mrs. Laird shot him. She's your shooter."
Movement at the top of the staircase drew their gazes upward. Elise Laird was making her way down the stairs followed by a policewoman in uniform.
Copyright © 2006 by Sandra Brown Management Ltd.
Reading Group Guide
SUMMARY:
Elisa Laird is her husband's pride and joy. A trophy wife ten years his junior, she ably performs the societal duties that her husband's career dictates. Nothing is more important to Judge Laird than his station in the community. And his three passions are well known: his golf game, his bench, and his wife. So when homicide detectives Duncan Hatcher and his partner Dee Dee Bowen are summoned to the Laird's home in the middle of the night, they know that discretion and a quick, thorough investigation are the keys to keeping their jobs. Elise and the Judge claim that Elise fired her pistol at a man who was burglarizing her husband's study. It's an open and shut case, at first glance. But Elise is acting strange. Dee Dee doesn't fall for her "victim" act, instead seeing Elise as a beautiful manipulator whose actions just don't make sense. Despite himself and his partner's warnings, Duncan finds himself falling for the frightened woman, and jeopardizing his own life to find out whether the Judge has hidden reasons for his wife to "disappear."
It's a deadly game filled with lies, seductions, and tragic pasts. Duncan and Elise may spend their lives looking over their shoulders, if they can survive each other's betrayals . . .
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB:
SANDRA BROWN is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers—including most recently Smash Cut, Smoke Screen, Play Dirty, Ricochet, Chill Factor, White Hot, Hello, Darkness, The Crush, and Envy. She is the recipient of the 2008 Thriller Master Award from International Thriller Writers, Inc. She and her husband live in Arlington, Texas.
Reading Group Guide
SUMMARY:
Elisa Laird is her husband's pride and joy. A trophy wife ten years his junior, she ably performs the societal duties that her husband's career dictates. Nothing is more important to Judge Laird than his station in the community. And his three passions are well known: his golf game, his bench, and his wife. So when homicide detectives Duncan Hatcher and his partner Dee Dee Bowen are summoned to the Laird's home in the middle of the night, they know that discretion and a quick, thorough investigation are the keys to keeping their jobs. Elise and the Judge claim that Elise fired her pistol at a man who was burglarizing her husband's study. It's an open and shut case, at first glance. But Elise is acting strange. Dee Dee doesn't fall for her "victim" act, instead seeing Elise as a beautiful manipulator whose actions just don't make sense. Despite himself and his partner's warnings, Duncan finds himself falling for the frightened woman, and jeopardizing his own life to find out whether the Judge has hidden reasons for his wife to "disappear."
It's a deadly game filled with lies, seductions, and tragic pasts. Duncan and Elise may spend their lives looking over their shoulders, if they can survive each other's betrayals . . .
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB:
Detectives Duncan Hatcher and DeeDee Bowen are incensed that a mistrial was ruled in the murder trial of Savannah businessman Robert Savich because the key witness was killed. Judge Cato Laird had no choice because there was very little evidence but Duncan knows the drug czar ordered the hit. A few days later they are called to the judge¿s home where Cato¿s wife Elise killed a burglar in self-defense. --- It looks like an open and shut case but both Duncan and DeeDee feel that there is more to the story than meets the eye. This looks like a homicide and when Elise is called in for questioning, she goes to Duncan to tell him that her husband is trying to kill her. Although he is attracted to her, he doesn¿t believe her following a sexual encounter, Elise disappears after once again meeting with Duncan and finding the dead body of the private detective her husband hired to follow her to see if she was having an affair. Evidence points to Elise drowning in the river and certain pictures come to light that have Savich and Elise meeting several times. Duncan is determined to find out the truth about both to assuage his guilty conscience. --- Nobody writes suspense thrillers the way Sandra Brown does. Elise is a character shrouded in mystery leaving the audience to wonder if she is a clever murderer or an innocent dupe. Duncan¿s feelings for her and the sexual encounters make his come down harder on her than he normally would. His need to find answers about the connections between all the players makes for an exciting reading experience. --- Harriet Klausner
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 23, 2012
This story is hampered by unlikable characters. Duncan comes off as shallow and gullible. It would have been far more interesting if he had seen through Elise and fallen for his partner. Dee Dee is the only character I could stand. It is irritating that the author seems to delight in making her as unattractive as possible.
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Posted March 10, 2012
This is one of Sandra Brown's better books. Full of mystery adn a little lovin' too!
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Posted January 9, 2012
Worth every penny!
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Posted January 7, 2012
This would make a great movie!
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Posted December 30, 2011
Another great book by sandra brown
al70
Posted July 20, 2010
never read anything by sandra brown, but really enjoyed this book, lots of twists and turns. I thoough I had it all figured out a couple times, but I was wrong!
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Posted March 23, 2010
I'm not real fimiliar with Sandra Brown but a friend recommended this book and thank goodness she did! I had a hard time putting it down and when I did I couldn't stop thinking about it. It is well written and descriptive, at times it felt like a movie rather an book. Just when you think you have it all figured out the book turns and twists. The characters are loveable (especially Duncan), complexed, and entertaining. This book is more about the thrill rather than the romance, but when there is romanace WOW! Very steamy! Great book, would recommend it anybody that enjoys a good steamy, suspenseful story!
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Posted April 17, 2009
This was a very good book. You could hardly ever go wrong with Sandra Brown, but I find I enjoy her suspense/mystery books much more than the romance. This book had just the right amount of suspense and romance. I found it hard to put down and read it in 2 days! I highly recommend it.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This was a excellent book. It's about love & crime and it is a hard one to put down. I loved the it! I will keep reading more.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 23, 2008
I have read many of Sandra Brown's books, and I felt that this was one of her better ones. I was surprised at some of the reviews about how bored some readers were when they read it. I couldn't put it down! I found it to be very fast-paced and entertaining. Sandra Brown's novels always follow a formula, and the ending was a bit unrealistic, however it still was a solid read. If you just want a brainless book to unwind to, I would recommend this one. It's solid.
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Posted June 6, 2008
This is one of the best books i have ever read. i loved the idea of crime and love at the same time. i wish this book never ended. Irecomend it 100%
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Posted April 20, 2008
I love her novels. This story was well written. Great characters with depth. I kept hoping for some redeemable aspects the Savich, but alas, I am a dreamer. That¿s why I love romance!!! Duncan is definitely the MAN!!
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Posted April 22, 2008
I have started reading a few of Sandra Brown's books recently and have really enjoyed them so far. 'Ricochet' is a book I would recommend that you take the time to read. Many different angles to this story, keeps you guessing.
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Posted April 16, 2008
This was the only book I've read by Sandra Brown. Usually, I read a book in 2-3 days (I have a long commute to and from work). However, Ricochet took 11 days to complete! The story unfolded much too SLOWLY and the characters did not hold my interest. A few times I started to push it aside because I was bored. I found the BEST parts of the book were a few chapters BEFORE the epilogue. If I purchase another Sandra Brown book, it will CERTAINLY have to be on the clearance table - EXACTLY where I found Richochet.
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Posted March 5, 2008
I did like the book but I had 3-men tell me this was one of the BEST books they have ever read so I thought well it must be great. This is my first Sandra Brown book and I will try another one but ricochet was not that great to me.
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Posted February 9, 2008
At first I wasn't so crazy about it because it was slow moving. But you gotta love Duncan.
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Posted November 18, 2007
Homicide detective Duncan Hatcher is a gung-ho, and sometimes sort of a rogue cop who pushes all the issues to the fullest envelope content. When he sees outlandish criminal Robert Savich released by Judge Cato Laird when Hatcher knew there was enough evidence on this man to put him away for a long time, he becomes obsessed at finding more evidence to keep Savich off the streets. DeeDee Bowen is Hatcher¿s partner. She is very gung-ho but not to the extent of Hatcher. She has to attempt to calm Hatcher down when he allows his anger to get into his official police work. The situation intensifies when several connected with Savich¿s past and present life turn up missing or dead. Everyone knows that Savich is a bad criminal capable of anything, but since Judge Laird had released him the police had to dig deeper to find solid evidence on Savich. Savich was extremely careful not to leave a trail of evidence that would lead to him for any of the crimes he is suspected of committing. When the police delve into these older disappearances Judge Laird seems to be involved somehow in most of them. One night Judge Laird¿s house was broken into and his lovely wife, Elise, shot and killed the man in the judge¿s study. A strange trail of evidence was found in the house. Elise had gone downstairs from their bedroom to get some milk, as she did many nights due to ¿sleeplessness!¿ She claims she heard a noise as she moved around the downstairs area. She grabbed a hidden gun and claimed that the burglar shot at her, missed her, and she shot and killed him. Hatcher was one of the many law authorities that arrived but Hatcher was having a hard time taking his eyes and mind off of the so gorgeous Elise Laird, making his concentration on the actual case very hard. But between he, DeeDee, and all the other law enforcement agency people that were to work on this high profile case, things return to a huge workload for all involved. Hatcher was fine until he thought or saw Elise Laird. He was caught on her. The authorities were finding too many pieces of evidence, some possibly just coincidence, linking Judge Laird to Savich. This made Hatcher and Bowen delve into old mysterious murder cases that seemed to connect to the judge. Duncan and DeeDee made a great team seemingly to know what is on the others mind while investigating. DeeDee only had qualms regarding Hatcher¿s actions some times. When Elise goes missing Hatcher goes even more radical than before. He has to find this woman for who he has so many feelings. At this point I don¿t want to ruin any of the many plots and twists and turns in Ricochet. Sandra Brown has come through with another top story. The surprises go to the very end. The reader can follow the story easily the way the author has written it. I have always enjoyed her books especially the crime stories. Her characters are real and their actions place you in the midst of every crime scene and interrogation. Don¿t pass this book up.
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Posted September 17, 2007
Two detectives, Duncan Hatcher and DeeDee Bowen were trying to convict a local gangster, Robert Savich, but Judge Laird rules a mistrial, causing Hatcher to sound off and he winds up in jail for contempt of court. Several days later the judge's wife, Elise, kills a burglar in her home and the same detectives are assigned to investigate the shooting. Things are complicated by sexual tension between Elise and Hatcher. The story continues with a number of twists in the plot that are completely unexpected by the reader of this great story. I won't spoil the surprises for the reader, but suffice it to say that this book, and any book by Sandra Brown, is worth reading.
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Posted August 21, 2007
I could not put this book down!
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Overview
#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown presents a spine-tingling story of murder and betrayal in high society Savannah, where a homicide detective finds his career — and life — on the line.
When Savannah detective Duncan Hatcher is summoned to an unusual crime scene, he knows discretion is key. Influential Judge Cato Laird's beloved trophy wife, Elise, has fatally shot a burglar. She claims self-defense, but Duncan suspects she's lying, and puts his career in jeopardy...