Smoke Screen: A Novel [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Sandra Brown (Author), Victor Slezak (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2008

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown is back, with a blistering story about corruption, betrayal, and the ultimate abuse of power.

When newswoman Britt Shelley wakes up in bed with the handsome and hard-partying Jay Burgess, a rising star detective in the Charleston PD, she remembers nothing of how she got there...or of how Jay wound up dead.

Five years earlier, Jay was a hero of a disastrous fire at Charleston's police headquarters, which would have been even deadlier if not for the bravery of Jay and three other city officials who led others to safety. Firefighter Raley Gannon, Jay's lifelong friend, had been assigned to investigate the fire, but the investigation ended in a scandal that shattered Raley's world, and forced him to surrender the woman he loved and the work to which he'd dedicated his life. For five years his resentment has festered, but he was helpless to set things right. That changes when he learns of Jay's shocking death.

As suspicion against Britt Shelley mounts, Raley realizes that the newswoman might be his only chance to get personal vindication -- and justice for the seven victims of the police station fire. But there are powerful men who don't want to address unanswered questions about the fire, and will go to any lengths to protect their reputations. As Raley and Britt discover more about what happened that fateful day, they realize that they're not only chasing after the truth but running for their lives. Smoke Screen is Sandra Brown's most intense novel yet.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of this scorching if somewhat formulaic thriller from bestseller Brown (Play Dirty), Charleston, S.C., TV reporter Britt Shelley wakes up in bed next to the dead body of police detective Jay Burgess. While Jay had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, the authorities suspect foul play. Jay's former best friend, ex-fireman Raley Gannon, suffered a similar shock five years earlier, waking up next to party girl Suzi Monroe's naked corpse after a party at Jay's home. Raley had been investigating a fire at a local police station that took seven lives, despite the heroic efforts of Jay and several other cops, one of whom is now South Carolina's attorney general. Cleared of Suzi's death, Raley eventually teams with Britt to look into a nasty arson coverup. Brown laces her dependable romantic fireworks with a solid action-filled plot, though readers should be prepared for a few stereotypes, including a limp-wristed gay, a macho skinhead and a power-mad female politician. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Sensational...a bang-up tale of corruption, betrayal, revenge, and reversal." -- Liz Smith, New York Post

"Excellent indeed." -- The Dallas Morning News

"GRIPPING AND ELEGANTLY STRUCTURED... A TRUE MASTER OF SUSPENSE." --THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL (RI)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1436123356
• ISBN-13: 978-1436123358
• ASIN: 0743572270
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,157,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best one in a while, August 15, 2008

By 

Elaine C McTyer "avid reader" (Dawson, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Smoke Screen: A Novel (Hardcover)

I got SMOKE SCREEN in the morning from Amazon and I sat right down and read it. I could not put it down. The story is amazing and the characters are great. Sandra Brown has been one of my favorite authors for a while. I have all her books and they are mostly keepers. This one is definitely a keeper.

Britt Shelley is a news reporter for a TV station in Charleston. She made her first big break on a story about the Charleston PD and Fire Dept. An arson specialist with the Fire Dept was found in bed with a dead woman at Jay Burgess's apartment. That was five yrs ago and she and Jay had a short liasion. Jay's friend who was found in bed with the dead woman left town and has not been heard from in all that time. She is not surprised when Jay calls and invites her out for drinks. He has been one of her informants in the PD since the day she met him. She knows he is a player but now they just are friends.

She meets Jay and has a drink while he tells her he has a big story to tell her. He also tells her he has cancer and only a few weeks to live. They go to his apt for some privacy to talk, and imagine her horror to wake up in bed with Jay and he is dead.

Raley Gannon was the friend of Jay's who was found with the dead woman. He not only was disgraced and lost his job he lost his fiance. He has not forgotten the experience. When he hears about Britt's experience it sounds alot like his, because he does not remember anything about how he wound up in bed with the dead woman, when he went to a party at Jay's. He was engaged at the time and very much in love with his fiance. Britt is insisting she has no memories of going to bed with Jay.

Raley kidnaps her and interrogates her about Jay. Finally he tells her what really happened to him. Jay had convinced him to not mention anything about drugs because the dead woman had OD'd on coke. But now Raley is sure he was set up and so was Britt. They join forces when the autopsey says Jay was smothered.

From here on out this is a major ride and I loved it. There are some quaint characters and the roller coaster ride is chilling. How can they prove anything while she is wanted for murder and he is still thought of as a looser. Do not miss this one.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lack of character development but an interesting plot, September 29, 2008

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Smoke Screen: A Novel (Hardcover)

Reporter Britt Shelley awakens next to the corpse of a police detective with no memory of the night before. Accused of murdering Jay Burgess, a decorated police officer cited for bravery after rescuing several people from a deadly fire at the Charleston police station five years earlier, Britt takes to the airwaves and professes that she must have been slipped a date rape drug. Listening to the newscast is former arson investigator Raley Gannon, who while working on the investigation into the police station fire attended a party at Burgesses home and also work up with a corpse with no memory of events. The similarities are chilling. Britt's reporting of the events surrounding the party girl's death resulted in the destruction of Gannon's career. Now with two of the four heroes dead, and Raley and Britt joining forces, a new conspiracy might be brewing, one with a mastermind who is not above murder to cover up the past.

While this is a huge step up from the last novel by Brown, I am still on the fence from an overall standpoint and felt like she phoned this one in. I liked the suspense and the way the rest of the plot unfolded. Although well written, her once signature formula for romance was sadly missing and never really developed; these two started off disliking each other, then suddenly disrobed. I never got the feeling that there was a connection between the characters. As surprised as I was by the revelation of the culprit, I hate the plot device of a killer unveiling their master scheme as they prepare kill someone - after telling why they did what they did, unsuccessfully killing their prey and getting caught, I expected them to say "and I would have gotten away with it had it not been for you meddlesome kids" like the Scooby gang always heard when they caught their baddie.

© Tracy Vest, September 2008

27 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 13, 2008

By 

Book Worm (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Smoke Screen: A Novel (Hardcover)

I wish that I could write half as well as Sandra Brown so that my review could give this book and all her other books the write up they deserve. As usual Sandra Brown doesn't disappoint. All of her books have awesome storylines and characters that are always so real that they stay with you long after the novel ends. A truly gifted writer has the ability to completely immerse their readers in the story that the reader forgets that they are even reading at all. That is what the majority of the books written by Sandra Brown do for me. Many of my favorite author's new releases I seldom get excited about because their new books as of late just aren't up to par anymore. Not so with Sandra Brown and Smoke Screen, this author and book does not disappoint.