Tuesday 17 November 2009

Book ~ "Smash Cut" (2009) Sandra Brown

From Amazon ~ This superlative romantic thriller from bestseller Brown features a particularly memorable villain, sociopath Creighton Wheeler, who's obsessed with re-enacting scenes from films like Strangers on a Train and Frenzy. When Creighton's wealthy uncle, Paul Wheeler, is shot dead in an apparent robbery at an Atlanta hotel, Paul's close friend, gallery owner Julie Rutledge, attempts to persuade the police that Creighton ordered the hit. Creighton's father asks Derek Mitchell, a criminal lawyer, to represent the accused Creighton but Derek declines because he had a plane tryst en route to Paris with Julie after Paul's murder. Angered by Derek's refusal, Creighton stalks Julie; targets Derek's dog, Maggie; and plots to kill the ex-girlfriend of his henchman, Billy Duke, after Billy has second thoughts about helping Creighton. Brown skillfully charts Julie and Derek's quest to catch the slippery fiend. Multiple smash cuts (abrupt scene shifts) lead to a wonderfully frenzied finish.

Not a great story ... kind of far fetched and ludicrous at times.

The ending has a twist that was silly and too compact ... but we're left with a happy ending. I thought the death of Maggie the dog was extreme.

But I enjoyed the writing style and that kept me going.

4 comments:

Teresa said...

Haven't found a spare moment to read myself. Glad to see someone has the time. Enjoy your next read.

Tatiana said...

Doesn't sound like my cup of tea, but I'm glad someone's read it so I know not to :) Thanks!

JCB said...

I enjoy Sandra Brown and I haven't read this one yet. I am feeling discouraged by a few of the authors I like (Brown, Cornwell etc) who seem to be more about publishing on a schedule than really writing GREAT stories anymore. What do you think?

Teena in Toronto said...

You're so right, LM! I'm finding the more established authors are just pushing out books for the sake of making $$ and meeting obligations rather than writing meaningful stories.