Hello, Darkness (Windsor Selection) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Sandra Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003 | Series: Windsor Selection

Paris Gibson's popular late-night radio show is both an escape and her only contact with the outside world. Since moving to Austin to ease the pain of past mistakes, Paris has led a life of virtual isolation, coming alive only at night as a wise and trusted friend to her loyal listeners. But her world is threatened when a man calling himself Valentino tells Paris that her on-air advice caused the girl he loves to jilt him. In the next seventy-two hours, he plans to kill the girl, then come after Paris. Paris joins the Austin police - including crime psychologist Dean Malloy, the man she moved to Austin to avoid - in a race against time to find Valentino before he exacts his revenge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cue another run up the charts for bestselling Brown (The Crush), who knows just the right mix to spin: a second-chance-at-love theme rocked by the rhythms of families-in-jeopardy and the hip-hop beat of an at-risk teen subplot sure to alarm the most jaded of parents. Her latest thriller, set during a steamy Austin, Tex., summer, revolves around Paris Gibson, host of a late night radio show that dispenses classic love songs along with advice for the lovelorn that turns deadly after a caller takes Paris's on-air advice to dump a possessive boyfriend who turns out to be another regular caller, "Valentino." Refusing to be dumped, "Valentino" makes the girl his captive, phones Paris that he will kill her in 72 hours ("...her death will be on your conscience") and implies Paris may die next. Paris contacts the Austin police and reunites with one-time lover, Dean Malloy, a police psychologist who was also her dead fiance's best friend. "Valentino" 's victim, Janey Kemp, is the missing 17-year-old daughter of a prominent judge and a founder of a Sex Club Web site that arranges illicit parties that Dean's son, Gavin, also frequents, connecting him to Janey's disappearance. Paris and Dean's romance is almost trivial beside Janey's dehumanizing captivity, although Brown's shallow characterizations of Janey and other Sex Club teens registers the only off note in this fast-reading thriller. The adult suspects are better developed: Lancy, an ex-con/janitor/former porn star trying to make good; Stan, a radio employee whose family connections are the only reason he has a job; John, a cop who sees nothing wrong with "hands on" undercover work; and Brad, a sex-addicted dentist. The unmasking of the killer comes with a riveting finale that will leave fans begging for an encore.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Brown's latest thriller is full of thrills and chills that will keep readers turning the pages. Paris Gibson is a late-night DJ who gives advice to the lovelorn. One night, she receives a call from a listener named Valentino, whom she's talked to many times before. This time, he's frighteningly sinister, threatening Paris and claiming that he's holding his latest girlfriend hostage and that he intends to kill her in three days. Paris takes him seriously and goes directly to the police. At the station, she's shocked to see a face from her past, handsome police psychologist Dean Malloy. Together with several detectives, Paris and Dean try to uncover Valentino's identity as well as the location of the girl he claims he's holding. Dean is shocked to learn his petulant 16-year-old son, Gavin, knows Janey, the girl they believe Valentino is holding. Janey is part of an Internet sex club of teenagers who like to flirt with danger. As Paris and Dean race to save Janey, their long-buried passion threatens to boil over. With an abundance of likely suspects, this sexy, engrossing thriller will keep readers guessing until the very end. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 680 pages
• Publisher: Chivers (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754087212
• ISBN-13: 978-0754087212
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Sandra Brown is the author of sixty New York Times bestsellers, including RAINWATER (2010), 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), ENVY (2001), THE SWITCH (2000), THE ALIBI (1999), UNSPEAKABLE (1998) and FAT TUESDAY (1997), all of which have jumped onto the Times bestseller list in the number one to five spot.

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English. Before embarking on her writing career, she worked as a model at the Dallas Apparel Mart, and in television, including weathercasting for WFAA-TV in Dallas, and feature reporting on the nationally syndicated program "PM Magazine."

She is much in demand as a speaker and guest television hostess. Her episode on truTV's "Murder by the Book" premiered the series in 2008 and she was one of the launch authors for Investigation Discovery's new series, "Hardcover Mysteries."

In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.

Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer's Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Read!!, October 23, 2003

By 

Christine Shaw "cms246" (Scranton, PA. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hello, Darkness (Hardcover)

After a tragic accident, Paris Gibson left her career as a Houston TV reporter, moved to Austin and became the areas most popular radio talk show host. One night a frequent caller, named Valentino, vented his anger at Paris because she persuaded his girlfriend to leave him. Incensed, he threatened to murder the girl within 72 hours. Her gut instinct tells her this call is no hoax and Paris contacts the Austin Police Department. It is at this time that she is reunited with former lover, Dean Malloy, the Department's crime phychologist. Along with the APD, Paris and Dean begin a race against time to save the young woman's life.

I have been a Sandra Brown fan for many years. She rarely disappoints me. This latest effort, Hello Darkness, is headed for the best-seller list. The story is awesome and I never use that word lightly. Brown weaves a story of teenagers involved with a Sex Club website. These kids communicate with members by posting messages on the website and meeting with anyone who stirs their interest. Mostly strangers. The founder of the site, a judge's daughter, is kidnapped when she tried to break up with a member who became obsessed with her.

The subject matter may offend some readers but the story is too good to pass on. It is a well-plotted thriller, with a dash of romance, that kept me on the edge of my seat. Unlike some of her recent books, Brown does not reveal who the kidnapper is until the very end. There are several suspects and she keeps you guessing. I have to rate Hello Darkness as one of the best stories I've read this year.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story- five plus stars!, October 10, 2003

By 

S. Gould "gouldpjaks" (Woodmere, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hello, Darkness (Hardcover)

"Hello, darkness" is Sandra Brown at her best and she is truely one of the premier writers of romantic suspense. This is a story of past mistakes, unintentional betrayal, haunting suspense and heated romance that leaves the reader breathless and eager for more.

Unable to get past her contribution to the lingering death of her ex fiance, Paris Gibson escapes to the darkness of the night. She is the enigmatic host of a popular late night radio program featuring soft talk and love songs. This is both her sanctuary and her only link to the world she has avoided for the past seven years. Then she receives a phone call from a deranged fan warning Paris that he has kidnapped a young woman who after Paris' on air advice has betrayed his love and trust. He offers Paris and the authorities seventy two hours to rescue the girl before he kills her and then comes for Paris.

Paris is joined by the Austin police and their newly hired psychologist Dean Malloy in a frantic search for the psychopath and his young victim. Malloy and Paris share a history rife with attraction and distrust. They must try to put their attraction and their differences aside while they investigate the many suspects in the race to save a life.

Brown weaves various strands of suspense within a sordid tale of confused youngsters from dysfunctional families who risk their lives to seek quick highs from drugs and sex with strangers they've met on unregulated websites. It is a frightening subject that is deftly and realistically handled. The characters are so capably sculpted that you hate to leave them when the story ends. I am never disappointed by Sandra Brown's books, but this one really is a stand out!

23 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not A Keeper!, January 20, 2004

By 

mahikahn (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hello, Darkness (Hardcover)

I don't care for some of Sandra Brown's books. But those have always been the ones written 20 or so years ago and that's because ideals etc. have changed so much since then.

I've waited anxiously for this new book and it was definitely not worth the wait.

1. The characters were flat and boring.
2. The coincidences were way out of control. Brad, Janey, Paris, Dean, Gavin, etc. The possibilty of all of them being connected in the same murder, ending up in the same city and having the amount of previous connections-unlikely at best.
3. What was with Paris and the sunglasses? She was sensitive to light but that sure changed in the end.
4. There was no chemistry between Paris and Dean.
5. What gave Paris the right to decide Dean couldn't see Jack? Considering Dean had known him a lot longer than she had Dean was more likely to know what Jack would want. Also they were both equally responsible for what had happened so why should she punish Jack.
6. I figured out who the murderer was as soon as he appeared in the book.
7. Paris was unlikeable and had about as much depth as a piece of paper.

I am an avid Sandra Brown fan and I can only hope her next book is a whole lot better.
I can however recommend French Silk, The Crush, Charade.