วันศุกร์ที่ 5 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2551

Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown

Author: Sandra Brown
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1416563067
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54

Book Description

New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown returns with a tale of corruption and betrayal, revenge and reversal - where friends become foes, and heroes become criminals in the ultimate abuse of power.

When newswoman Britt Shelley wakes up to find herself in bed with Jay Burgess, a rising star detective in the Charleston PD, she remembers nothing of how she got there...or of how Jay wound up dead.

Handsome and hard-partying, Jay was a hero of the disastrous fire that five years earlier had destroyed Charleston's police headquarters. The blaze left seven people dead, but the death toll would have been much higher if not for the bravery of Jay and three other city officials who risked their lives to lead others to safety.

Firefighter Raley Gannon, Jay's lifelong friend, was off-duty that day. Though he might not have been a front-line hero, he was assigned to lead the investigation into the cause of the fire. It was an investigation he never got to complete. Because on one calamitous night, Raley's world was shattered.

Scandalized, wronged by the people he trusted most, Raley was forced to surrender the woman he loved and the work to which he'd dedicated his life. For five years his resentment against the men who exploited their hero status to further their careers -- and ruin his -- had festered, but he was helpless to set things right.

That changes when he learns of Jay Burgess's shocking death and Britt Shelley's claim that she has no memory of her night with him. As the investigation into Jay's death intensifies, and suspicion against Britt Shelley mounts, Raley realizes that the newswoman, Jay's last sexual conquest, might be his only chance to get personal vindication -- and justice for the seven victims of the police station fire.

But there are powerful men who don't want to address unanswered questions about the fire and who will go to any lengths to protect their reputations. As Raley and Britt discover more about what happened that fateful day, the more perilous their situation becomes, until they're not only chasing after the truth but running for their lives.

Friends are exposed as foes, heroes take on the taint of criminals, and no one can be trusted completely. A tale about audacious corruption -- and those with the courage to expose it -- Smoke Screen is Sandra Brown's most searing and intense novel yet.

Review

I got SMOKE SCREEN in the morning from Amazon and I sat right down and read it. I could not put it down. The story is amazing and the characters are great. Sandra Brown has been one of my favorite authors for a while. I have all her books and they are mostly keepers. This one is definitely a keeper.

Britt Shelley is a news reporter for a TV station in Charleston. She made her first big break on a story about the Charleston PD and Fire Dept. An arson specialist with the Fire Dept was found in bed with a dead woman at Jay Burgess's apartment. That was five yrs ago and she and Jay had a short liasion. Jay's friend who was found in bed with the dead woman left town and has not been heard from in all that time. She is not surprised when Jay calls and invites her out for drinks. He has been one of her informants in the PD since the day she met him. She knows he is a player but now they just are friends.

She meets Jay and has a drink while he tells her he has a big story to tell her. He also tells her he has cancer and only a few weeks to live. They go to his apt for some privacy to talk, and imagine her horror to wake up in bed with Jay and he is dead.

Raley Gannon was the friend of Jay's who was found with the dead woman. He not only was disgraced and lost his job he lost his fiance. He has not forgotten the experience. When he hears about Britt's experience it sounds alot like his, because he does not remember anything about how he wound up in bed with the dead woman, when he went to a party at Jay's. He was engaged at the time and very much in love with his fiance. Britt is insisting she has no memories of going to bed with Jay.

Raley kidnaps her and interrogates her about Jay. Finally he tells her what really happened to him. Jay had convinced him to not mention anything about drugs because the dead woman had OD'd on coke. But now Raley is sure he was set up and so was Britt. They join forces when the autopsey says Jay was smothered.

From here on out this is a major ride and I loved it. There are some quaint characters and the roller coaster ride is chilling. How can they prove anything while she is wanted for murder and he is still thought of as a looser. Do not miss this one.

Buy it at Top-BuyersGuide.com

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