Tough Customer: A Novel [Hardcover]

Sandra Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2010

Colleagues, friends, and lovers know Dodge Hanley as a private investigator who doesn’t let rules get in his way—in his private life as well as his professional one. If he breaks a heart, or bends the law in order to catch a criminal, he does so without hesitation or apology.That’s why he’s the first person Caroline King—who after a thirty-year separation continues to haunt his dreams—asks for help when a deranged stalker attempts to murder their daughter . . . the daughter Dodge has never met. He has a whole bagful of grudging excuses for wishing to ignore Caroline’s call, and one compelling reason to drop everything and fly down to Texas: guilt.Dodge’s mind may be a haze of disturbing memories and bad decisions, but he arrives in Houston knowing with perfect clarity that his daughter, Berry, is in danger. She has become the object of desire of a co-worker, a madman and genius with a penchant for puzzles and games who has spent the past year making Berry’s life hell, and who now has vowed to kill her.Dodge joins forces with local deputy sheriff Ski Nyland, but the alarming situation goes from bad to worse when the stalker begins to claim other victims and leaves an ominous trail of clues as he lethally works his way toward Berry. Sensing the killer drawing nearer, Dodge, who’s survived vicious criminals and his own self-destructive impulses, realizes that this time he’s in for the fight of his life.

From acclaimed best-selling author Sandra Brown, Tough Customer is a heart-pounding tale about obsession and murder, the fragile nature of relationships, and, possibly, second chances.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Brown’s latest thriller reintroduces a character from her previous outing, Smash Cut (2009): Dodge Hanley, a grizzled investigator who used to be a cop. Dodge is awakened one morning by a call from Caroline King, a woman he hasn’t seen in 30 years—since the day their daughter, Berry, was born. Now Berry is the target of a frightening stalker who has just broken into Caroline’s house and shot Berry’s coworker, Ben Lofland. Dodge reluctantly agrees to travel from Atlanta to Texas to help the police hunt down Berry’s tormentor, the vengeful Oren Starks. The police deputy on the case, Ski Nyland, is suspicious of Berry and convinced she is hiding something. As Dodge works with Ski to track Oren, his feelings for Caroline resurface, and he recalls how they first met—and the reason their torrid relationship came to an end. Though a late-in-the-game twist seems somewhat farfetched, the draw here is the appealing Dodge, a character Brown fans will have no problem rooting for. --Kristine Huntley

Review

Praise for Sandra Brown -- : 'It's a great, entertaining read, with lots of surprising twists and turns, credibly flawed characters and a love affair that's as steamy as a Savannah summer.' -- Lisa Scottoline, Washington Post on RICOCHET 'A masterful storyteller, carefully crafting tales that keep readers on the edge of their seats' -- USA Today 'Perfectly plotted' -- People Magazine 'An edge-of-seat thriller that's full of twists ... Top stuff!' -- Star 'Fast fun' -- Cosmopolitan 'Millions of readers clamour for the compelling novels of Sandra Brown. And no wonder! She fires your imagination with irresistible characters, unexpected plot twists, scandalous secrets ... so electric you feel the zing' -- Literary Guild 'If you want romantic suspense that has teeth ... Sandra Brown is your gal.' -- Stephen King 'Brown's novels define the term page turner' -- Booklist --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (August 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416563105
• ISBN-13: 978-1416563105
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,189 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

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sandra Brown is still awesome!, August 13, 2010

By 

W. Smith "4everSLAUGHTERED" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tough Customer: A Novel (Hardcover)

Tough talking, chain smoking Atlanta Investigator Dodge Hanley (from Smash Cut: A Novel) receives a late night phone call from the love of his life Caroline King who lives in Texas. Dodge has not seen Caroline in 30 years and now their daughter, Berry, is being stalked by a former co-worker who wants her dead. He immediately returns to Texas. Sheriff Deputy and Afghanistan war veteran Ski Nyland, who is the local investigator on the case, is immediately attracted to Berry. Ski will do anything to keep her safe, but is suspicious of her story. Does she hold secrets that may have provoked her stalker turned killer? I really didn't care. The search for Berry's stalker isn't that exciting and didn't contain any mystery or suspense for me.

Thankfully Brown intermittently flashes back to 1978 to tell the love story of young police officer Dodge Hanley and aspiring realtor Caroline King. The flashbacks were the best part of Tough Customer -- how dramatically they met, how passionately they fell in love, how tragically they split apart, how remarkably differently their lives turned out, and most importantly of all, how enduring their love was.

For me, this was not a story about a murderous stalker, but a story about setting bad decisions right and having hope for second chances.

49 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Was this actually written by my once favorite author?, August 31, 2010

By 

Movie Lover - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tough Customer: A Novel (Hardcover)

I hate to say it, but this book was terrible. I almost couldn't get through it, and for me that's rare, especially for a Sandra Brown book. It was so difficult to read, that it took me weeks rather than days to work my way through to the last page.

The characters were flat and uninteresting. I felt like I didn't know who they were at all. You barely even got a feel for what they looked like, so it was hard to get lost in the story. I felt like I was being forced to study for a test rather than reading a novel for enjoyment.

The only saving grace for this story were the few glimpses of Dodge and Caroline's relationship from the 70's. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough of their story to actually make this a good book.

Her books haven't been the same since changing publishers, but they still felt like Sandra Brown books. Not so with this one. It felt like a young Literature student wrote this book, not my once favorite author. Save your money, borrow this from the library if you feel like giving it a try.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Apt Title, Because Customers Should Expect More From Brown., April 26, 2011

By 

Carlisle Wheeling (The World of Diversity) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tough Customer: A Novel (Hardcover)

Let's start out by saying I got the audio book. Sl-o-o-o-ow! The characters were unlikable and flat. Dodge is so unappealing with his crude sexual references and his look-it-me-I's-a-cool-hick, I can't imagine him being in even one book, let alone a series. Caroline is a tramp, and her spitting image daughter is the same, only with zero personality. Why was Orin stalking her at all? Let's not get on Orin, because anyone who's read this book knows about the Lifetime-styled copout ending. Sandra needs inspirational and appealing characters. In the meantime, read some Lisa Gardner and Tami Hoag if you want something to grab and entertain you. LOL, I love it when a hillbilly calls another hillbilly...well, a hillbilly!