Brink of Death (Hidden Faces Series #2) [Hardcover]

Brandilyn Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2006

The noises, faint, fleeting, whispered into her consciousness like wraiths passing in the night. Twelve-year-old Erin Willit opened her eyes to darkness lit only by the dim green nightlight near her closet door and the faint glow of a street lamp through her front window. She felt her forehead wrinkle, the fingers of one hand curl as she tried to discern what had awakened her. Something was not right . . . Annie Kingston moves to Grove Landing for safety and quiet---and comes face to face with evil. When neighbor Lisa Willet is killed by an intruder in her home, Sheriff's detectives are left with little evidence. Lisa's daughter, Erin, saw the killer, but she's too traumatized to give a description. The detectives grow desperate. Because of her background in art, Annie is asked to question Erin and draw a composite. But Annie knows little about forensic art or the sensitive interview process. A nonbeliever, she finds herself begging God for help. What if her lack of experience leads Erin astray? The detectives could end up searching for a face that doesn't exist. Leaving the real killer free to stalk the neighborhood . . .

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Recommended. -- Romantic Times

(Romantic Times ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

The noises, faint, fleeting, whispered into her consciousness like wraiths passing in the night.

Twelve-year-old Erin Willit opened her eyes to darkness lit only by the dim green nightlight near her closet door and the faint glow of a street lamp through her front window. She felt her forehead wrinkle, the fingers of one hand curl as she tried to discern what had awakened her.

Something was not right . . .

Annie Kingston moves to Grove Landing for safety and quiet—and comes face to face with evil.

When neighbor Lisa Willet is killed by an intruder in her home, Sheriff’s detectives are left with little evidence. Lisa’s daughter, Erin, saw the killer, but she’s too traumatized to give a description. The detectives grow desperate.

Because of her background in art, Annie is asked to question Erin and draw a composite. But Annie knows little about forensic art or the sensitive interview process. A nonbeliever, she finds herself begging God for help. What if her lack of experience leads Erin astray? The detectives could end up searching for a face that doesn’t exist.

Leaving the real killer free to stalk the neighborhood . . . --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 425 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (December 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786291710
• ISBN-13: 978-0786291717
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,290,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brandilyn Collins is an award-winning and best-selling novelist, writing her trademarked Seatbelt Suspense®--fast-paced, character-driven suspense with myriad twists and an interwoven thread of faith. She also has written the distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons).

You can read excerpts from all her books at her Web site: www.brandilyncollins.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will keep you jumpin!!!, April 13, 2004

By 

Winnie Hines (Haslett, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brink of Death (Hidden Faces Series #1) (Paperback)

I finished "Brink of Death" in about 3 days, had to sleep some of the time.....
The whole book was so great but the last 140 pages had me
jumpin(g)through sentences so fast that I had to go back and re-read the paragraphs over again.
This is the kind of book I just love and hate at the same time. Love because it is so darn good and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Hate, because it is so good that I read it to fast and it is over, gone, done POOF!!! , and I don't want it to be over. Oh yes, something else. You brought the Lord throughout the whole book so beautifully that as Annie was fighting him and reaching out to him at the same time, you could identify with her easily.
I can hardly wait for the next one. I am utterly amazed at the skill and talent you have to put something like that together. Thank you.
Winnie

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Brink of greatness..., August 23, 2008

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Brink of Death (Hidden Faces Series #1) (Paperback)

Thirty-something divorcee Annie Kingston moves out of the Bay Area and to the suburbs of Grove Landing to afford her two children a quieter and safer place to grow up in. And so, moving to her late father's house -- a big-name, albeit hated attorney -- seems like a sound choice. That is until one of her neighbors turns out dead. Lisa Willit wakes up to noise in her husband's office, and gets murdered. Her young daughter is a witness to the crime. Annie had worked in courtrooms in the past and knows a bit about drawing and forensics, so she offers to draw a sketch of the culprit, a man with the most sinister bright-blue eyes the little girl has ever seen. But then Annie realizes that she's seen this man before. Who is he? What does he want? And is the Willit household the one he had intended to break into? The plot thickens when Annie is forced to use her eye for forensic evidence and discover the truth before it's too late.

This is a good enough suspenseful novel. The story is well woven and its conclusion is sound. Annie is a fleshed out heroine who has film-like visions of scenarios as they unfold in her head. However, Brink of Death is far from perfect. The main problem I had with this book is that it isn't a very clever thriller because I was able to figure things out before the heroine and other characters did. Also, the killer's identity is a tad disappointing. Once you've discovered who the killer is and you know where the climax is headed, there's no point reading further, is it? Still, I kept reading... and felt like I'd wasted my time. This is a Christian thriller where the heroine is supposed to discover Jesus by the time the book comes to an end. Even though I don't like overly preachy Christian novels, I don't like said novels that hardly ever mention Christ either, so I felt that this is more like a regular thriller with the Christianity thrown in as an afterthought. It doesn't feel relevant to the story at all. It might as well have been cut off altogether. All in all, Brink of Death could've been a riveting read if it hadn't been for the above flaws. Still, it is good enough of a read if you're in the mood for a film-like thriller. This is the first part of a series. I don't think I'll be checking out the other books though.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRINK OF DEATH by Brandilyn Collins, April 11, 2004

By 

Lynette B. Eason (Spartanburg, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brink of Death (Hidden Faces Series #1) (Paperback)

Wow...Wow...Wow...If you're interested in serious edge of your seat, bite your fingernails to the nub, and flinch at every sound suspense, then here's your book. Surprising twists and turn will keep you up until the wee hours of the morning. Don't start reading this book after dark and definitely don't read it ALONE! Thanks, Brandilyn, for another winner! I am anxiously awaiting the second in the series as my fingernails grow back - just in time to chew them all off again, I'm sure.