Dead Giveaway [Kindle Edition]

Brenda Novak (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brenda Novak spins a taut, spine-tingling story with imagery so vivid it leaves you breathless." -- Christine Feehan

Product Description

The Reverend Lee Barker went missing nineteen years ago…

And the people of Stillwater, Mississippi, believe they know why. They're convinced he was murdered—by his stepson, Clay Montgomery. But only Clay—and his mother and sisters—can say for sure. They were the only ones there that fateful night, the only ones who know what really happened. And they're not talking.

Allie McCormick is a cold-case detective from Chicago. After a particularly difficult divorce, she's returned to Stillwater with her six-year-old daughter to find the peace she once knew in her hometown, and to work for the local police force while she's starting over. But when Clay's powerful enemies join forces to put him behind bars, Allie feels duty bound to uncover the truth. Her instincts tell her he didn't murder the Reverend Lee Barker.

Maybe Clay's a dark and brooding man with more than his share of secrets, but he was just sixteen at the time. And he's not a cold-blooded killer. At least, that's what Allie believes—until she finds proof that behind the preacher's pious demeanor lurked the heart of a monster.

Then she has to ask herself whether justice has already been done.…

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 289 KB
• Publisher: Mira (February 1, 2007)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000NJL804
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,202 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Brenda Novak Bio

It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak's career as a bestselling author--she caught her day-care provider drugging her children with cough syrup to get them to sleep all day. That was when Brenda decided she needed to quit her job as a loan officer and help make a living from home.

"When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book," Brenda says. But she sold that book, and the rest is history. Her novels have made the New York Times, USA Today and Borders/Waldenbooks bestseller lists and won many awards, including two Rita nominations, the Book Buyer's Best, the Book Seller's Best and the National Reader's Choice Award.

Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are proud parents of five children--three girls and two boys. When she's not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually working on her annual fund-raiser for diabetes research--an online auction held on her Web site (www.brendanovak.com) every May. Brenda has raised over $1 million to date.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mayra Calvani - Armchair Interviews, February 16, 2007

By 

Mayra Calvani "Multi-genre author and reviewer." (Brussels, Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Giveaway (The Stillwater Trilogy, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Talented author Brenda Novak weaves yet another tale of romance, suspense and deception in this the second book in the Stillwater trilogy, Dead Giveaway.

After a painful divorce, detective Allie McCormick comes back to her childhood town of Stillwater to start a new life with her six-year old daughter. Of course, it doesn't hurt that her father happens to be the chief of police and offers her a job. Immediately, Allie begins to work on a cold case--the strange disappearance of Reverend Lee Barker nineteen years ago. But the time factor is not the problem. The main problem is the chief suspect, handsome and brooding Clay Montgomery, who everybody in the town hates and believes to have murdered the Reverend.

As the investigation unfolds, and Allie falls deeper into her relationship with Clay, she realizes the man she has fallen in love with could not be capable of murder. She decides to help him to the end, even if that means putting herself in danger and fighting the whole town and its most important family. Will she succeed? And what if the famous Reverend, who everyone respected to much, turns out to be the most despicable of criminals?

Surprising twists and turns and a couple of interesting sub-plots keep the story moving at a fast pace until the very startling ending. Novak has a keen gift for combining suspense and romance, as well as for creating real, sympathetic heroines and darkly mysterious heroes that beautifully stand out from the typical stereotypes of the genre. The way Allie `solves' the case at the end is smart and unexpected. Dead Giveaway will draw the reader in different levels--both intellectually and emotionally, making this a very compelling read. Highly recommended.

***This review originally appeared in Armchair Interviews.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Romantic Suspense, February 27, 2007

By 

Jo Robertson "Avid Reader" (ROSEVILLE, CA, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dead Giveaway (The Stillwater Trilogy, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Brenda Novak's Dead Giveaway represents the best of the current romantic suspense on the market today. After reading Dead Silence, I was dubious that Novak could keep the suspense alive for a second book, but her character insight and development, her pacing, and tension make the second book as pleasurable and exciting as the first one in the Stillwater triology.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you on the edge of your seat with suspense!, February 5, 2007

By 

M. Gaines "Romance Writer One" (Ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Giveaway (The Stillwater Trilogy, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Brenda a Novak is a talented writer who is one of the best on the market at writing suspense. If you read one of her books you will be hooked and come back for more.

Her characters are always very interesting people and I challenge you to figure out the ending a head of time. No peeking at the back of the book. I can't wait to read the next one due out this August.