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Lethal

by Sandra Brown (Goodreads Author)

4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 · rating details · 9,728 ratings · 931 reviews

When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to...more

Hardcover, 472 pages

Published September 20th 2011 by Grand Central Publishing (first published January 1st 2011)

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Sep 21, 2011 Jill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romantic-suspense, 2011-4-5-5-stars

4.5 stars

Is this Sandra Brown's best novel ever? Quite possibly.
Is this my favourite Sandra Brown? Most probably.
Is Lee Coburn my favourite Sandra Brown hero? Indubitably.

Lee Coburn is a dangerous man. Accused of killing seven people, he's on the run. When Honor Gillette's four year-old daughter Emily spies a man outside their house, Honor cautiously investigates. Coburn has not turned up at her place by accident. She has something he wants, something valuable her late husband hid. But Honor k...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, fiction

3.5 stars, but 5 stars for the hero. Plot contortions aside, I enjoyed this suspenseful story, especially getting into the hero's POV. My kind of guy, Lee Coburn. Bold, cold, sexy, cynical, and fatalistic, this "lethal" former Marine is blindsided by emerging tenderness, hope, insecurity, and jealousy (the scene with the football). Kudos to Brown for this textured portrayal of character.

I especially enjoyed his taken-aback-ness with little Emily, who demands a bedtime kiss from the adored invad...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Diana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-suspense, audiobooks, soa-review, favorites, love-the-narrator, mystery, featured

Narrated by Victor Slezak

Sandra Brown specializes in the wronged, seemingly villainous hero who strikes fear and loathing in the hearts of everyone but that one special woman, and she sure has a knack for torturously testing his heroism until justice prevails. In Lethal, deep undercover FBI agent (c’mon, you didn’t really believe he was a mass murderer) Lee Coburn is about to discover the identity of a particularly nasty criminal mastermind known as The Bookkeeper when all hell breaks loose. Cob...more Narrated by Victor Slezak

Sandra Brown specializes in the wronged, seemingly villainous hero who strikes fear and loathing in the hearts of everyone but that one special woman, and she sure has a knack for torturously testing his heroism until justice prevails. In Lethal, deep undercover FBI agent (c’mon, you didn’t really believe he was a mass murderer) Lee Coburn is about to discover the identity of a particularly nasty criminal mastermind known as The Bookkeeper when all hell breaks loose. Coburn is set up as the shooter when seven people are executed by the Bookkeepers’ minions. He flees straight into a Louisiana swamp, to be found lying muddy and blood-smeared in the yard of widow Honor Gillette by her four-year old daughter Emily.

Coburn strong-arms Honor inside at gun point and demands to search her house. At first Honor fears the worst; that she and Emily will be victimized by a brutal stranger. Grudgingly, Coburn promises Honor that he won’t harm her or her daughter if she’ll help him find evidence against the Bookkeeper that he believes Honor’s late police officer husband had collected and hidden. Honor is torn when Coburn alleges that the local police are dirty, enmeshed in collusion and cover-up. Coburn convinces Honor that going underground with him is her only chance to survive and to prove her late husband’s innocence. And thus begins the thriller part of this most excellent thriller.

Brown weaves a complex mystery with a large cast of characters, villains, and possible villains thick on the ground. I wasn’t sure who was good or a player in the conspiracy for most of the book and, dang, she got me again with a diabolical twist that I did not see coming. I confess that I didn’t correctly guess the Bookkeeper’s identity, although on a second listen I realized that the clues were there.

Victor Slezak reading Sandra Brown epitomizes my idea of a perfect audiobook. He gets the cranky, I-don’t-need-no-love outlier with a secret, mushy center exactly right. Thank you, Victor, for simply reading women’s dialogue, never doing that falsetto, breathy thing that so many male narrators are guilty of. An absolutely delightful bonus is Slezak’s voicing of chatty, precocious four-year old Emily, who shamelessly flirts with our perplexed hero. Yes! He pulled it off! 100 bonus points for that alone.

Oh, and the epilogue? It's perfect. Just perfect.

This review appears at Speaking of Audiobooks at All About Romance 10/3/11.
http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=708...(less)

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Jul 07, 2012 ~Megan~ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-heroes-ever, cops-military, dangerous-dudes, romantic-suspense, scarred-tortured-hero

Another addition to my best heroes ever list!! I really want to hunt Sandra Brown down right now and make her write the scene that should have come at the end, but I can live with the way she left it since I have no other choice. So much happened to this couple, and I was so in love with their story, I just felt like he could've at least glimpsed them before the book ended. Maybe it's better the way it turned out in my brain, though, cause that was very sappy and emotional.

Excellent plot, excell...more

18 likes · like · see review

Oct 16, 2011 BamaGal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romantic-suspense, suspense-thriller

I enjoyed this book for the most part. It really was a good read. I hadn't read a Sandra Brown Suspense/Thriller in ages. I was even okay with the tired overused trope the book trotted out, (view spoiler). I was actually expecting that going in.

I liked the leads, I liked the story, and I even liked the little girl, Emily. Kids don't always work in an on-the-run-for-your-lives story like this...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Yvonne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Danielle, thanks for the heads up on this book.

What a terrific romantic suspense, although more heavy on the suspense than the romance it was still a very enjoyable read. Lee Coburn reminded me a lot of Anne Stuart's heroes and I love A.S.' heroes!
4.5 stars.

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Nov 27, 2011 ElaineY rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mf, mystery-suspense-with-some-romance, author-folder

Despite some niggles (that's for KateMc:p), I'm giving SB's latest thriller 5 stars because it kept me up reading till 5am and I don't often finish a book in one sitting.

I agree with the other reviewers about the identity of the Bookkeeper. It was implausible for that person to have masterminded that huge operation without anyone discovering or even suspecting the Bookkeeper's identity. But I'm still not taking away a star!

I also hate kids in my books, especially my Romantic Suspense, because th...more Despite some niggles (that's for KateMc:p), I'm giving SB's latest thriller 5 stars because it kept me up reading till 5am and I don't often finish a book in one sitting.

I agree with the other reviewers about the identity of the Bookkeeper. It was implausible for that person to have masterminded that huge operation without anyone discovering or even suspecting the Bookkeeper's identity. But I'm still not taking away a star!

I also hate kids in my books, especially my Romantic Suspense, because the author always uses the poor suckers to throw in the suspense bone and I, the other sucker, always fall for it. Coburn should have thrown Emily to the gators the first chance he got. Ok, so she stopped the situation from getting worse by waking him up but still, TOO EFFIN' LATE!

Coburn was fabulous. I liked that he was strong and didn't give in to Honor's protests, I liked that he was a true, hardened operative, unlike many of the romance heroes who are trained killers only because the book's blurb said so. This consistent handling of Coburn lasted all the way to the end and so while the ending left my mouth gaping open, it was the right one to give Coburn because it was Coburn's story all the way through. Very rarely does a hero steal the show for me because it depends so much on the woman he's chosen. If the author coupled him with a nitwit, I'd lose respect for him for falling for her but if the heroine is great, she can overshadow him. In Lethal's case, I could empathize with Honor but my sympathies, my support, my hopes, were all firmly attached to Lee Coburn.

For the first chapter or so, I found the pacing a little slow as Coburn went through Honor's home looking for that thing that he suspected got her husband killed. It's not long, however, that the story speeds up and gripped me from page to page and I found myself engaged, not just with the MCs but with Diego, a contract killer in love with what should have been his latest job, and also wondering whether Clint Hamilton, Coburn's superior, was a good guy or one of the villains.

Lethal definitely was a thrilling read for me but I have to just say I "hated" the way the book ended. Yes, I said it was the right way but the romance-lover in me wanted a bit more. Just one more freakin' line would have sufficed! Just "He braced himself for happiness like he’d never known in his entire life.
He watched the door they would come through. And saw them " (Bold Italics my suggested addition).

But no. When I got to the last page of my reader, my mouth dropped open. I was expecting at least 3/4 of a page of reading even though I saw it was the final page but all I saw on my reader was 'THE END'. Those were the only words on an otherwise blank page. Where's the big reunion? Where's the 'You came for me'? Where's the 'We (Emily and Honor) can't live without you.'?

W.T.F.!!! I just froze. Literally froze with my mouth open at 5am. Then I read the last 5 pages FIVE TIMES to drill it into me that Coburn got his HEA. Yea, yea, the suspense purists will say that was enough but my romance-lover buddies will know I'm not asking too much if they were to read this book. And if they enjoy romantic suspense, Ms Brown's latest is a Do Not Miss.

Anyway, after that I couldn't sleep and badly needed my romance fix even though my digital clock showed 5.15am. I needed something really predictable, formulaic and mushy. I chose G A Hauser's Two In, Two Out. Omigod. I should shoot myself:0
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Mar 07, 2012 Diah Didi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, 4-and-half-stars, english, fiction, own, paperback, sandra-brown, romance, suspense, love-the-cover

4.5 stars.
My very first of Sandra Brown' Suspense I read in English. I used to read the translation but somehow this book (and the cover) called me and I just grabbed it without thinking what it'd cause for my wallet. I mean, hey, it's Sandra Brown's! It's a must-have-item-no-matter-how-little-money-you-got. :D
And I enjoyed it a lot. I loved Coburn ... and Emily!
I enjoyed the plot, the story, the mystery ... although in my opinion, once the identity of the Bookkeeper was revealed, I was like, "H...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Keri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-read, romance-contemporary, romance-suspense, sandra-brown, reviewed

Honor was a widow, a mother and woman whose whole life was about to be blown apart by a possible mass murderer who's lonely blue-eyes said things to her soul. As Honor and Lee embark on a perilous journey to find out the truth behind her husband's death, they both fight feelings for one another. Will either one survive the trip?

The was a really great knuckle-biter in several places. It reads more like suspense with some romantic elements to it. I would have given it 5 stars, but the ending knoc...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was a nice day icing newly cooled cupcakes and planning a pizza party for grandpa. When Honor's daughter, Emily tells her that there is a man lying in their yard, she finds it hard to believe but sure enough, it's true! She goes to help the man and while doing so realizes that this is the man that she saw on the TV news who was accused of killing seven men in a shoot out at a local shipping warehouse. Coburn tells her that he won't hurt her or her daughter if she does everything that he says....more

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Jul 22, 2011 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Dangerous Hero addicts!

Shelves: arc, adc-reviews, romantic-suspense, owned-copy, read-by-august, corrupt-officials, cold-or-forbidding-hero, grumpy-surly-brooding-hero, scary-sexy-cool-dangerous-hero, undercover, fugitive, hero-black-hair-blue-eyes, set-in-louisiana, police-federal-agent-law-enforcemen, widow, kids-in-the-mix, favorites, captive-kidnapped, wrongly-accused, chubby-chunkster-2011, hero-to-die-for, heroine-i-liked, im-jealous-of-this-heroine, hero-i-want-to-lick, 2011-reading

This book was so good!! I loved Coburn. What a man!!! You can tell I was a happy reader by the number of exclamation points I've used thus far. Honor was a good heroine too. Very intense and awesome suspense. Very close to five stars. Rating: 4.5 stars.

Reviewed in the September issue of Affaire de Coeur magazine: http://affairedecoeur.com.

Dangerous Hero Rating: 5/5
Sexy as all get out hero rating: 5/5
Grumpy is sexy rating: 5/5
Hero Lickability rating: 5/5
Would I volunteer to be a stand-in for th...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Judi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-depo, purchased, hardcover, 2011, oct, rom-suspense, suspense-action, favorites

Let me get this out of the way off the top - Loved! It!

Ever since I discovered and read my first Sandra Brown book in her Texas! series 20 years ago (what! - it’s been that long?) I’ve been a huge fan and she is definitely an auto-buy author for me.

Reading Ms. Brown’s books for me are like crack…I can’t stop once I start and Lethal is no different. I started this book on a Friday night and finished it on Saturday afternoon. No mean feat - it’s over 500 pages. But those pages just flew because Le...more Let me get this out of the way off the top - Loved! It!

Ever since I discovered and read my first Sandra Brown book in her Texas! series 20 years ago (what! - it’s been that long?) I’ve been a huge fan and she is definitely an auto-buy author for me.

Reading Ms. Brown’s books for me are like crack…I can’t stop once I start and Lethal is no different. I started this book on a Friday night and finished it on Saturday afternoon. No mean feat - it’s over 500 pages. But those pages just flew because Lethal fit’s the mould of everything I have come to expect from a Sandra Brown novel...great action-packed, edge of you seat storyline and well developed characters I cared about. I was engrossed in the story, the mystery, - who was the “Bookkeeper” and of course the relationship between the Lee, Honor and sweet little Emily who stole the scenes she was in.

Lee Coburn is a tough as nails, no nonsense ex-marine, FBI agent deep undercover (one of my favorite plotlines) and now the focus of a major manhunt since he’s the main suspect in the murder of seven people at the trucking company he was working at.

On the run and out of options, Lee heads to the one person he believes may hold the clue to the case he’s been working on even if she doesn’t know she has the key.

Honor’s a young widow, a schoolteacher and a dedicated and caring mom to cute as a button 4 year old Emily. On summer vacation, busily making cupcakes her life is inexplicably changed the day Lee Coburn crashes her peaceful existence.

Then there’s sweet, little Emily - the light in Honor’s eyes. If there is anyone who can crack the tough-guy hardened exterior of Lee Coburn you just know Emily’s going to be the one. I loved the interactions between Lee and Emily even if he did use her a time or two in order to keep Honor in line and make sure she did what Lee wanted her to do.

Now this unlikely trio are trying to stay alive and solve a mystery as they try to stay one step ahead of the law and everyone else tracking them who would shoot first and ask questions later.

There are lots of character arcs in Lethal that while necessary to progress the story - I could have done without...I just wanted to read about Lee, Honor and Emily.

The identity of “The Bookkeeper” was kept well under wraps. I had no idea who it was but Sandra Brown wove all the pieces of the puzzle together and tied it up in a nice neat bow.

My only quibble is a felt a bit short-changed at the end. I definitely need and wanted more at the end.
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Apr 02, 2013 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's no surprise I wanted to read this. I've been a fan of Sandra Brown for years. From her formulaic Silhouette romance novels to her suspense romance novels, I'm in for the ride. Here we have Sandra Brown at her best, writing a suspenseful novel with romance thrown in. It's not my favorite...because there are so many of hers I've loved...but I'll add it to the list of greats by her. This novel still follows Brown's signature formula: cool, rugged man, damsel/feminist in distress, suspense, and...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Eden rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Before I write a review, I always skim other readers' to see where I fall in the rating range. I should probably stop doing that because sometimes I am tempted to second guess myself. When other people really love a book and I find it mediocre I wonder if my standards are too high. The reverse is also true. For this particular book, the ratings were all over the place, which seems appropriate because that's how I felt about the story itself.

I have read Sandra Brown books that I absolutely loved,...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Deepthi Terenz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-books

LETHAL - "A woman and her daughter are taken hostage by an accused murderer,who claims to be a deep undercover FBI agent".This would be my one line narration of the story.
Honor is a widow with a four year old daughter, Emily. One afternoon, Emily tells Honor she saw a man outside in their yard. When Honor investigates she finds herself and Emily held captive.
The still-in-mourning widow tries, without much success, to deny her attraction to the mysterious and frightening Coburn. And his revelat...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Atalyonet rated it 4 of 5 stars

this book is not a quality read, but I enjoyed it.

first of all - I'm a sucker for the "he kidnaps her and they fall in love" janre, but it has to be done right. This one I found fairly believeable, especially compared to Sandra Bronw's older ones like "Hawk O'toole's Hostage" or "Honor bound" - Unlike her older "heros" which were just jerks, basically, and I could not, for the life of me, understand why the heroiens fell for it. then came "Fat Tuesday" with the kidnapper, although also sometime...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Neil Mudde rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you have never read a book by Sandra Brown, you are in for a rare treat, this book "Lethal" to me has to be her best to date, and there have been several, there is no need for me to go into detail and spoil the plot for those of you that have not read it, I notice in the description of the book the "trailer| describers sufficient, not to give the whole story away. I got the book yesterday, read all night, and completed reading it in the early pm of today.
Great characters, this book had one, w...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense-mystery-potential-romance

3 ½ stars. Entertaining suspense story, but the author insulted me with the ending.

Boy, was I engrossed. I didn’t want to stop reading. It is a fun way to spend time as long as you can live with a let-down ending. I enjoyed 12 hours of the book, but I’ve been angry at the ending for 24 hours so far.

This is suspense and mystery. This type of story has been done hundreds of times by many authors. But this is well done because the author is a good writer. Good guy hero does smart things which pleas...more 3 ½ stars. Entertaining suspense story, but the author insulted me with the ending.

Boy, was I engrossed. I didn’t want to stop reading. It is a fun way to spend time as long as you can live with a let-down ending. I enjoyed 12 hours of the book, but I’ve been angry at the ending for 24 hours so far.

This is suspense and mystery. This type of story has been done hundreds of times by many authors. But this is well done because the author is a good writer. Good guy hero does smart things which pleased me. Bookkeeper is the main bad guy who has cops and FBI agents on his payroll. He orders murders of anyone who gets in the way. His business is transportation protection for smuggling drugs and humans (sex slave traffic) into the US from Mexico.

Coburn is accused of murdering seven people. He’s on the run and hides in the home of Honor and her four-year-old daughter. He searches her home looking for something he believes her late husband possessed. The cops, FBI, and bad guys are hunting Coburn. Honor soon learns that her life is in danger as well.

I wanted to know more about Bookkeeper. It was hard to figure out how Bookkeeper first started doing all this and so powerfully - all by phone and never in person? Then we get a tell all at the end, which is not a good way to do a character.

My biggest complaint is the ending. I wanted one more sentence at the end (see spoiler). It was such an entertaining story, but then the author jerks you around and leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I’m glad I read it, but the author insulted me, like she didn’t care if I liked her book. Before I purchased the book, I read other reviews which complained about the ending, so I prepared myself thinking this won’t be a romance. Just enjoy the story and expect them to separate in the end. I was ready for that. I was ok with that.

(view spoiler) But the author leaves it hanging. So maddening!

The narrator Victor Slezak was excellent.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook reading time: 12 hrs and 24 mins. Swearing language: some sexual slurs and a religious swear word, but only a couple times. Sexual language: mild to none. Number of sex scenes: 2. Setting: current day mostly Tambour, Louisiana. Book copyright: 2011. Genre: suspense mystery with an unknown potential romance.(less)

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Nov 16, 2012 Mitch rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Lethal" is my first ever Sandra Brown read. And, ok, call me cocky, but there is nothing that gives me more satisfaction when reading a mystery as when I predict the ending correctly. And I successfully guessed the identity of the mysterious "Bookkeeper" early on. WOO HOO! Go me. But regardless, this was still a fun edge-of-your-seat read. And although I enjoyed the first half better, I still give this thrill ride 4 stars.

The following may or may not contain spoilers.

Honor Gillette lives in the...more "Lethal" is my first ever Sandra Brown read. And, ok, call me cocky, but there is nothing that gives me more satisfaction when reading a mystery as when I predict the ending correctly. And I successfully guessed the identity of the mysterious "Bookkeeper" early on. WOO HOO! Go me. But regardless, this was still a fun edge-of-your-seat read. And although I enjoyed the first half better, I still give this thrill ride 4 stars.

The following may or may not contain spoilers.

Honor Gillette lives in the middle of nowhere in Louisiana. She is a widow with a beautiful 4 year old daughter named Emily, who is full of personality and life. Imagine Honor's surprise when Emily tells her a sick man is lying in their yard. The man turns out to be Lee Coburn, a man accused of a mass murder in town. He quickly takes Honor and her daughter hostage, hunting desperately for a secret he is convinced her dead husband has hidden. He soon abducts them, but claims that he is an FBI agent, and everyone that Honor thought were friends were actually cronies of drug pusher "The Bookkeeper" who ties up all loose ends by killing those involved. With a large cast of characters including paid killers, corrupt cops, ex miliary, FBI agents, and strong women, Honor is unsure who to trust!

So many characters, all with crazy stories and hidden secrets. I loved how Sandra Brown didn't leave anyone out, and although there are many people to keep track of, she never loses the reader and subtly helps remind the reader who each character is in case they have been forgotten. It made me happy and was easy to keep tabs on all those sneaky Southerners. Like I said above, I predicted the "Bookkeeper". I kept thinking I would be wrong though, but when I was right I was like AHA I KNEW IT!!!!! This was a quick read, went by much faster than I expected it to go.

If you like tense thrill rides that have lots of wacky twists, then this book is for you. the situation is HIGHLY unbelievable, but hey, that is why we read fiction right? To escape the real world? This is a great way to escape.(less)

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Oct 20, 2012 Amader1 rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: don-t-bother

I have to be honest, I didn't actually finish this book; I got about half-way through and decided I'd had enough. Not only were the characters very flat, I am very disappointed in Ms. Brown's research (or lack thereof) regarding her initial setting.

Having been born and raised in a small town just outside of New Orleans, LA, I don't know where she got her information. First of all, swamps do not have "salty Gulf air"; there are saltwater bayous, but if said bayou located in a swamp, it is freshwa...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Best Crime Books rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m pretty sure that in the course of my reading history I have read Sandra Brown before. She isn’t an author that pops to the front of my mind, when thinking about my favourite crime books. When I received a review copy and read the synopsis I thought it sounded surprisingly engrossing so I bumped it up the ‘to read’ list and made a start. When Honor Gillette’s daughter runs into the house and tells her Mum that there is ‘sick man’ on the front lawn, Honor does no more than go out to help the g...more I’m pretty sure that in the course of my reading history I have read Sandra Brown before. She isn’t an author that pops to the front of my mind, when thinking about my favourite crime books. When I received a review copy and read the synopsis I thought it sounded surprisingly engrossing so I bumped it up the ‘to read’ list and made a start. When Honor Gillette’s daughter runs into the house and tells her Mum that there is ‘sick man’ on the front lawn, Honor does no more than go out to help the guy. What she doesn’t realise is that the man on her front lawn is actually Lee Coburn who is wanted by the police for multiple murders.
Within the first two chapters I was hooked. Lee Coburn although armed and dangerous is also a desperate man. He insists that Honor’s late husband Eddie had something extremely valuable and he wants it. If she goes along with Coburn both Honor and her daughter would remain unharmed. The fact that this ordinary Mother and daughter are taken at gunpoint makes for extremely exciting reading very early on. I was drawn into the story as Honor fights to keep her daughter safe. She is completely unaware of what Coburn wants but is determined to make sure he gets it.
Quite a few other characters are introduced early on and even before the halfway mark I began questioning every character almost convincing myself that they were ‘in on it’! Before too long I realised that I was nearly finished and realised that although it was late I HAD to finish reading. Was I right? This is certainly a ‘whodunit’ kind of book and I loved the fact that there was so much going on. There were quite a few plot twists and although I saw one or two coming I certainly couldn’t have predicted others.
Sandra Brown to me falls into the Romantic Suspense genre, although I cannot speak for the rest of her books but this one most certainly is. The ending was brilliant and it’s certainly a book that will hold your interest and keep you reading until the early hours. This sort of book will be a definite winner for fans of Karen Rose. If you haven’t read Sandra Brown before, maybe you should give her a go!
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Feb 26, 2012 Blood Rose Books rated it 2 of 5 stars

The most recent book from Sandra Brown enters into a world where one individual has the ability to corrupt many, even those in high up positions in all forms of law enforcement and government.

Honor was expecting to spend a quit day with her daughter Emily, when Emily informs her that there is a strange man in the front yard. Honor is quick to act to see if the man needs help, only to discover herself and her daughter to be his prisoner. But this is no Chance meet Coburn has specifically chosen H...more The most recent book from Sandra Brown enters into a world where one individual has the ability to corrupt many, even those in high up positions in all forms of law enforcement and government.

Honor was expecting to spend a quit day with her daughter Emily, when Emily informs her that there is a strange man in the front yard. Honor is quick to act to see if the man needs help, only to discover herself and her daughter to be his prisoner. But this is no Chance meet Coburn has specifically chosen Honor, but Honor does not know why. Coburn is a killer, he is accused of killing seven men at where he used to work but Honor is forced to go where he Coburn and the is on the run. Honor soon realizes that Coburn is not the only one that she has to be scared of, there is more than one person that wants her dead, very influential Book Keeper.

I'm at a loss on how to review this book. While I did enjoy the book I have found that Brown likes to follow a very similar formula when writing her books (and really why not, she is very successful with what she does). But it seems like her books have an a+b=c mentality especially after reading the Witness a few months ago. I think that this formula leads to predictability and lack of overall enjoyment of the book, as if you have read a Brown book before you already know some things are going to occur. So while I was entertained, I feel that this book it was lacking in originality.

The main characters are typical of most Brown book, a strong main female character who is somewhat head strong, protective, but looking to fall in love and a strong male character who is attractive, over protective and doesn't want to commit to anyone (as I said a+b=c formula). However, I did like the introduction of Emily who brought out the protective instincts in Honor. Emily was also a handful for a man like Coburn who has never been around children and wants even the scary man to kiss Elmo good night. Some of Emily's antics made me laugh and her character was refreshing at times.

I think my favorite character in the book is Diego who is not a main characters. I would have liked to read a book that just feature Diego. Diego is something that was a little different in a Brown book and was a nice side story within the novel itself. Diego is one of the Book Keeper's assassins who has recently found something to live for other than killing. What is funny is really the book could have been written without Diego it would have had the same result. I think this shows my overall lack of investment in the two main characters and their story.

I find that Brown's sex scenes within her newer books are broaching on erotica. While I do not mind them every once in awhile, I prefer them to be short, not as detailed or as prominent in the book or plot.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and it was able to keep me some what entertained and I really wanted to find out who the Book Keeper was, I think that is what kept me going and entertained in this book. However, I did expect more from a Sandra Brown book. I think if you like Sandra Brown books you will enjoy this one, it follows a similar formula to some of her other books. I think that if you have never read a Sandra Brown book I would start some place else, The Witness for example is one of her books that I really enjoyed.

Enjoy!!!(less)

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Dec 25, 2011 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, action-adventure, suspense-mystery, non-erotic

originally posted at http://www.longandshortreviews.blogsp...

Sandra Brown excels in ratcheting up the tension and keeping it high in her books, and Lethal is no exception. When friends are traitors and the bad guy isn’t ... when you don’t know who to trust, or where to turn... when everyone is armed and dangerous, then the book is a page turner.

When Honor Gillette and her young daughter are taken hostage by the blood-covered Lee Coburn, accused mass murderer, she’s understandably terrified. But...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 13, 2011 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks-read, romance, suspense-mystery-thriller

Just meh for me.

I haven't read a romance book in some time. A few years ago romantic suspense was more my 'thing' & at that time I read quite a few Sandra Brown books. I remember finding her books amazing at the time. This, however, did not live up to my fond memories of a good Sandra Brown. It was actually QUITE a disappointment.

The plot idea was good - bad guy shows up at the home of a single mother, insists her late husband is hiding something of some worth inside the home somewhere...b...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Edward Gordon rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Lethal" (Grand Central Publishing, 2011) is Sandra Brown’s latest crime thriller. It’s a suspense novel about a widowed woman named Honor and her daughter, Emily, who are kidnapped (sort of) by a sexy undercover FBI agent named Coburn.

Coburn’s on the run from a handful of cops and other agents who are on the corrupt payroll of the Bookkeeper, a shadowy villain who will stop at nothing to cover his or her tracks and kill anyone who tries to stop him (or her). As it turns out, Honor is unknowing...more "Lethal" (Grand Central Publishing, 2011) is Sandra Brown’s latest crime thriller. It’s a suspense novel about a widowed woman named Honor and her daughter, Emily, who are kidnapped (sort of) by a sexy undercover FBI agent named Coburn.

Coburn’s on the run from a handful of cops and other agents who are on the corrupt payroll of the Bookkeeper, a shadowy villain who will stop at nothing to cover his or her tracks and kill anyone who tries to stop him (or her). As it turns out, Honor is unknowingly in possession of some very revealing information that can bring the Bookkeeper down, and the Bookkeeper knows it. So Coburn isn’t really kidnapping them; rather he’s saving their lives.

But even after taking all that into consideration, one quickly comes to the realization that the story revolves on only two main questions: Who is the Bookkeeper, and how many times will Honor and Coburn have sex?

Sandra brown is an ex-romance writer who apparently likes to keep the pornographic alive in her crime thrillers, no matter how stupid or out of place it comes across. The sexual theater of Honor and Coburn more often than not feels cut and pasted into the story rather than growing organically from it. In my opinion, the sex works only to slow down an otherwise fast-moving plot.

Ironically, while she ramps up the love/sex between Honor and Coburn she under-treats her most interesting character in the story, an assassin for the Bookkeeper named Diego. The life of Diego and the prostitute he rescues (instead of killing as ordered) is the truly romantic aspect of this story, and the treatment of Diego’s character is deeper than either that of Honor or Coburn. Unfortunately, That results in an unbalanced story that leaves the reader wanting to know more about a minor character than any of the major ones.

But even if the main characters are thinner than the paper they’re written on and the plot is so linear that even riders on the shortest bus could follow it, it is—in the end—a fun and fast read.

“Lethal” may be formula work, but Sandra Brown has some sixty novels to her credit, almost all of which have been bestsellers, and she knows how to write a story that will keep you turning the pages; without a doubt, this one does too. There’s even an unexpected twist at the end, which I’ll leave for you to discover.

“Lethal” in hardcover is very reasonably priced at Amazon.com ($15.69), and it’s available on Kindle as well. It may not be “Silence of the Lambs,” but it’s certainly an entertaining read worth picking up.

You can check out my video review of this book at The Novel Report.(less)

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Oct 20, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sandra Brown doesn't disappoint. However, I'm getting the feeling that her books are getting a bit too formulaic for my comfort level. The story does take you in right away, four year old Emily's mom, Honor, is icing chocolate cupcakes when Emily tells her mom that there's a man in the yard and that he's sick. Emily is concerned, but, like any kid, she wants some of the cupcakes. The opening few pages sets the tone of the book. Common activities of everyday people set the background for uncommo...more Sandra Brown doesn't disappoint. However, I'm getting the feeling that her books are getting a bit too formulaic for my comfort level. The story does take you in right away, four year old Emily's mom, Honor, is icing chocolate cupcakes when Emily tells her mom that there's a man in the yard and that he's sick. Emily is concerned, but, like any kid, she wants some of the cupcakes. The opening few pages sets the tone of the book. Common activities of everyday people set the background for uncommon interruptions to their lives.

I liked Honor, I thought she was written in a very believable way, she was as solid a heroine as can be written and Brown wrote Emily just as believable. We quickly learn that this man is no stranger in the yard. I liked the character of Coburn and thought Brown developed his character smoothly and with multiple layers and secrets. I didn't quite know where he was going and what he was really after. And that's always a plus for me! What did bother me was that Brown told the story using multiple points of view. I really hate that. For me, the story becomes disjointed and frays into threads.

I generally like Brown's writing, but this just border lined as a bit too cookie-cutterish for me. I was also looking for a bit more romance. Lethal is one of the books where you can't write too much about the plot because it's too darn easy to give too much away. The multiple twists and turns kept me guessing and I didn't have the reveal figured out. So that's a good thing too! However, I will say this, I hate it when the solution to the mystery is a bit far fetched. I was not happy with the way things were tied up, so to speak.

But Brown isn't the best selling author that she is by not crafting a good story with engaging characters and terrific plot lines.

I do recommend Lethal, especially if you are already a fan of Sandra Brown's. But to be honest, I'd say wait for the paperback or get it on an e-reader.

I'm giving this one 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

I hope Brown gets back to her writing skills that first captured my attention as a reader a few books ago.

This galley was provided to me by the publisher and in no way affected by review.
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Sep 25, 2011 Nikki Wilde rated it 3 of 5 stars

think this was the first Sandra Brown novel that I didn't absolutely race through holding my breath. Instead, I found myself a bit bored.

On the run for killing 7 men in a warehouse Lee Coburn is on the run. He runs straight to Honor's house. Honor will do anything to protect her daughter Emily, so she allows Coburn into her house and even helps him search for something he say's her husband was hiding.

I have to say I usually feel a connection with the characters and I was expecting the same thing...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Jayre rated it 3 of 5 stars

If you like Sandra Brown novels, you won’t hate this one. She sticks the formula; vulnerable heroine with a bit of mystery in her eyes, angry sullen hero with a lethal edge to him. The plot and characters are a patchwork of traits borrowed from her older novels. The plot was ok.
It's about a widow, Honor Gillette, lost in the rut of her tranquil domesticity with her four year old daughter, Emily. Honor gets frightened into reality by a wounded man in her back yard. It turns out that this man is L...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Tina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Honor’s young daughter discovers a sick man laying in the backyard of their rural home. As Honor runs out to help him, she realizes within moments that this is simply a ploy for him to get into her home. Terrified, she allows him into her house not understanding what’s happening or what he could possibly be seeking from her. She accepts what she’s telling him only to keep herself and her daughter safe. However, in a short amount of time, she finds herself feeling lost and not knowing who to trus...more

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About Sandra Brown

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Sandra Brown is the author of sixty-one New York Times bestsellers, including LETHAL (2011), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), HELLO, DARKNESS (2003), THE CRUSH (2002), a...more

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Quotes from Lethal

“I don't panic unless I have to. Wastes energy.” — 22 people liked it

“She shook her head slowly. “I don’t believe you. You can’t be a cop.”
“Not a cop.”
“Federal agent?”
“FBI.”
“Even more unlikely.”
“J. Edgar rolls over in his grave every day, but that’s the way it is.” — 5 people liked it

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