Ricochet

By: Sandra Brown

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

New York Times best-selling author Sandra Brown is back with a spine-tingling story of murder and betrayal, and a homicide detective's struggle with his own rules of conduct.

When Detective Sergeant Duncan Hatcher is summoned to the home of Judge Cato Laird in the middle of the night to investigate a fatal shooting, he knows that discretion and kid-glove treatment are the key to staying in the judge's good graces and keeping his job.

At first glance, the case appears open-and-shut: Elise, the judge's trophy wife, interrupted a burglary in progress and killed the intruder in self-defense. But Duncan is immediately suspicious of Elise's innocent act. And further investigation quickly puts Duncan's career in jeopardy because he can't deny his increasing attraction to Elisa Laird, even if she is a married woman, a proven liar, and a murder suspect.

Ricochet's plot twists, as only Sandra Brown can write them, make this a gripping thriller, in which a decent cop's worst enemy may be his own conscience...and trusting the wrong person could mean the difference between life and death.

©2006 Sandra Brown Management, Ltd. All rights reserved (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Gripping and absorbing, this is Brown's best thriller in years and a must-read for her many devotees." (Booklist)
"Tight plotting, a hot love story with some nice twists, and a credible ending help make this a stand-out thriller." (Publishers Weekly)

Disappointing At Best

I can't believe this book was actually written by the same Sandra Brown that I have enjoyed for many years. I have listened to most of her novels but this one is a "bust". Her main character, disguised as a Detective Sargeant, is so utterly lacking in skills as a law enforcement officer that it was laughable.The rest of the charactors are equally frustrating, stupid, and unbelieveable. I know that fiction is fiction but this was ridiculously presented as a romantic/thriller/mystery, etc. and came off looking like a quickie novel with very little thought put into it. I actually gave some thought to abandoning this book half way through but continued on hoping it would redeem itself......didn't happen. Take a pass on this one and I'm sorry I didn't.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

2 ½ stars. It was not fun.

I was angry at Elise for more than half the book. She asks Duncan for help and says her husband wants to kill her. When Duncan asks what her husband’s motive is, she won’t tell him. Therefore, he has no reason to believe or help her. Finally at about the 3/4 mark, she tells him “why.” Then Duncan helps her and the story becomes interesting. I would cut a lot of the first 2/3 or so of the book. There was too much hypothesizing, pondering, and wondering. I did enjoy the last part. I enjoyed what happened to the bad guys at the end. There was a happy ending with a little romance. But the first 2/3 or so made it not worth recommending.

A similar thing happened when Duncan asked Elise about her meetings in hotel rooms with Coleman. She said they were “friends” about 20 times. But she never clarified or gave details to Duncan. Duncan did some investigating and got a different opinion, and by the end of the book, I was still unclear. I can assume something, but I wish the author had been clearer. I was annoyed that again Elise never gave details about this to Duncan when she was asking for his trust and help.

The narrator was Dennis Boutsikaris. I did not like his southern accent and tone of voice. He says too many words with a down-tone in the last syllable like: no-oo, ha-rd to sa-ay. I could take a little of it, but after a while it irritated me.

There were about four sex scenes, briefly done. One was very pleasant, passionate, and nicely done.

Genre: mystery suspense with a little romance.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Dumb Detective

The main character is supposed to be a skilled veteran police detective but he is just dumb. The story would have been better if this detective had some skills. This is the first book I've read by this author and I won't go out of my way to look for others.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

ricochet

Got about half way through before I gave up. Tried to figure out which was worse, the narration or the book. I decided the narration was worse, but not by much.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Not what I thought

It is not Sandra Brown's fault that I thought I was buying a true detective story rather than a romance genre plot (with a detective in it). I am only 4 hours into the audio book and I hope to finish it just to see how the detective part turns out. I am not criticizing those who enjoy the romance genre but personally I don't care for all the heaving chests and swooning, the breathiness and palpitating hearts. To me it is simply distracting from what might be a decent detective novel. I bought the book bargaining for a good detective story which I read a lot of and enjoy. I also agree with the earlier reviewer in that it is hard to like or identify with the heroine. The best character so far is the lady detective. Oh well. Just move it to the Romance section.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Intriguing story, good narration

Things get started when Detective Duncan Hatcher is called to the home of Judge Cato Laird's home where his wife, Elise had shot and killed an intruder. What follows during the investigation is lots of intrigue and subterfuge.

It's an interesting story with a slow start and an exciting second half. The ending had me in a twist and confused so that's a plus. However, I found it difficult to connect with anyone, especially Elise and Hatcher's partner, Dee Dee. He also ran hot and cold so often he left me on the sidelines.

It's not my most favorite but I still enjoyed the story.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good Book

I would recommend this book as the story keeps you wondering what is around the next corner and I could not put it down. I did, however, not even like the main female character, Elise, and I think this was due mostly to the narrator. I found the voice of Elise very irritating. In spite of this I enjoyed it for the most part. Wish the other female character (Dede) had been developed more - we hardly got to know her.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Ricochet - Trouble bonding with characters

Sandra Brown is by far my favorite author, and I always look forward to her novels. I will say I listened to this audiobook almost non-stop, so it gripped me to the point where I had trouble shutting it off. However, I kept looking for the book to pull me in and it never quite made it. Mostly, I had trouble bonding with the heroine, Elise. This was most likely because very little of the book came from her person. Also, I think the narrator made her sound like a dumb nimcumpoop. I enjoy and expect strong heroines from Sandra Brown and I don't think we got one here. She worked so hard to keep the intrigue with the character, that I think this took away from really appreciating her. In the end, I couldn't quite feel the love story. Oh, yes, they fell in love, but I read it and didn't feel it. Overall, the story was good and I did enjoy it...just not one of my favorites from Sandra Brown.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Ricochet

Gripping but not fulfilling. The plot moved right along with many twists and turns. However, there was somewhat of a soap opera element and the romance element never quite clicked.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not up to par with Sandra Brown's other works.

Forced myself to finish this one. Very sappy and predictable. Disappointed in a central character being such a strong focus based on her looks. The character didn't seem to exhibit exceptionally strong qualities beyond the physical.

So-so romantic suspense.

I've really enjoyed other books by this author, but this one didn't particularly grab me I'm afraid.