Customer Reviews

Where There's Smoke

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Dr. Lara Mallory is a fallen woman since a tabloid incident involving her and Senator Clark Tackett. She had been married at the time, and found anything but a forgiving attitude following the scandal. Finally, after Clark Tackett dies and leaves her a medical practice in his home town of Eden Pass, Texas, she decides to start over there. Besides, she believes the Tackett family owes her, and she's in town to collect a favor from Clark's younger brother, notorious playboy Key. Things are even tougher in Eden Pass, however, because Clark's powerful mother, Jody Tackett, has it out for her. Key seems to share his mother's low opinion, as does his mouse of a sister, Janellen, and the rest of the town. Key despises himself for falling for his dead brother's bimbo, but he can't seem to resist her. At the same time, 33-year-old Janellen is finally breaking out of her shell. When an ex-con named Bowie Cato comes in to Tackett Oil looking for a job, there's something compelling about him, and pretty soon Janellen starts restyling her hair and wearing make-up while she and Bowie sneak around to build their romance.

Sandra Brown can write one heck of a gripping thriller, but sometimes her books seem to have somewhat of a hard edge to them, and this is one of those books. It's as if the author was undergoing difficult personal turmoil at the time, and it came out in her writing. The judgmental attitude that pervades this novel seems appropriate for a small town like Eden Pass, but doesn't fit quite so well with the rest of the country, considering that infidelity did not sink the political aspirations of Bill Clinton, and notoriety has become a form of fame. She tosses words like whore, tramp, and trash around quite liberally, which made it difficult to warm to several of the characters. Perhaps it was done on purpose to underscore the hypocrisy inherent in these characters, but it was still somewhat distasteful.

The story was a good one, with a few good twists and turns along the way, but I also was not horribly fond of the ending. She created and fleshed out a couple of characters simply to kill them off at the end, and another rather innocuous character meets a bad end that didn't seem fitting to his actions throughout the book. Aside from those complaints, however, this is a pretty good novel with a compelling storyline. I just think I would have liked it better if everyone within its pages wasn't quite so mean.

She's not someone I'd normally read but I figured it might be an interesting experience. My female colleagues teased me about reading this. Someone told me this was "trashy stuff" (which I found out that it means it deserves a X-rated label of sorts -- I guess that's why it's so appealing!). Anyway, I told them that a good "salesman" (I'm a librarian) has to know all his wares, so...

The plot is nothing to shout about. I felt it was the typical "hero gets his girl" romance story, where all the women seem hungry for men, and the men (looks not withstanding) seem to get the women. Hmm... was this book really written for women?

It's entertaining read, really. So I gave it 4-stars. It doesn't set out to be intellectual stuff in the first place, and like any adult Romance novel, it has its fair share of love scenes. All in clean fun, and some love scenes are quite amusing 'cos it's so cliche. A good read for those who want to just lose themselves for a few hours on the train, or before bed.

I can now understand why it's popular among women readers. Heck, men should read such books once in a while.

After surviving the media onslaught from a notorious affair and subsequently losing her child and US Ambassador husband while caught up in a Central American military coup, Lara is willed a medical practice by the man everyone accuses her of ruining, Senator Clark Tackett, who took his own life.

His estranged brother Key is injured and requires the attention of a doctor and finds himself attracted to Lara, only to be warned off by his mother who cherishes the memory of her fallen son and vows to rid their Texas town of the harlot that caused his downfall. As Key grapples with his feelings for a woman he should hate, he tries to reconcile what he has heard about her verses what he has observed, and is not real interested in his brother's sloppy seconds. While she never denies the affair with Clark, she is not willing to discuss it either. When she asks for his help to retrieve her daughter's remains, Key reluctantly agrees and the two embark on a journey that will alter both their lives.

Savvy readers will be able to predict the path that the story will take, so for the most part, the suspense is light, though there are a couple twists that you won't see coming. The secondary romance between Key's spinster sister and a crusty ranch hand adds much needed heart to the story. While not a standout in Brown's lengthy body of work, "Smoke" is an interesting story, marking her transition from genre romance to romantic suspense.

DO NOT READ THE REVIEW FROM 'SMOKE - OKEY DOKE.' THIS PERSON HAS PUT IN A MAJOR SPOILER RIGHT IN THEIR FIRST PARAGRAPH. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO LOOK! IT WILL RUIN THE BIG SURPRISE ENDING!!!

This book is awesome. I absolutely LOVED it. It was so hard to put down and I thought about it long after I finished. This book is right up there with Chill Factor, maybe better. If you like Sandra Brown or if you've never read her, don't miss this one! The characters were outstanding and Sandra really worked overtime to include difficult situations including foreign-country information - all the while maintaining believability and intrigue. I absolutely think this book should have been made into a movie. It would be a chick flick, but a damn good one!

I've read many of Sandra Brown's books and I would have to rank this one in my top 3. I just think it's excellently written, there's great character development, there are two main characters (Key Tackett and Lara Mallory), but there are also subplots involving other interesting characters, so it's like reading a mini-series about the lives of several people in this small Texas town. Lara has returned to Eden's Pass to take over the medical practice that was willed to her by Key's deceased brother with whom she was romantically linked while married to another. He committed suicide and the Tackett family, especially the matriarch, Jody, blame Lara for his death. Key is a torn soul who wants to hate Lara, yet there's a spark that the two of them feel for each other. But Lara has a purpose for returning to Eden Pass that involves Key. Just a great great read. I have already read this book three times and I know that I will read it many times again in the future.

I believe this is the best book by Sandra Brown that I have read. This story had the most intrigue of any of the novels by her that I have read. I thought that she did an excellent job of keeping the five relationships in this story well defined, and extremely understandable. There was no need for me to keep a separate pad and pen to keep track of who was who. The ending was just super and I hope the next book I read by Sandra is just as good as this story. Highly recommend.

I have read several of her books, and this one had the most intrigue of any of the ones before. I have a lot more to read of hers and I will definitely read every thing of hers I get my hands on. She had 5 relationships going fluidly in this book and I wanted to know everything she would write about every character. You will love how this book ends! If you havent decided whether or not to get this book, think no more! It is worth every penny! I just hope all her books continue to be as enjoyable as the ones I've read so far!

This is a story of a young woman accused of being the adulterous wife of an US Ambassador who destroys the career of Senator Clark Tackett. Because of scandal and the media, Lara finds herself thrown into the angry and political upheaval of a small Central American country where her husband is stationed. Through an ambush on their car while driving to a diplomatic dinner, Lara loses the life of her daughter and husband. In the states, Senator Tackett committs suicide. In his will he leaves Lara a small piece of property in Eden Pass, his hometown, for her to continue her medical pratice. Once arriving, Lara finds herself the hated woman, the adulterous hussy. Jody Tackett, the mother of Clark, wants Lara driven from town and will go to any lengths to do just that. Janellen Tackett, the unmarried daughter of Jody's, cannot decide if Lara is friend or foe; she's content to follow in her mother's shadow. Key Tackett, Clark's younger brother and the prodigal child of the Tackett family, finds himself drawn to Lara and yet, at the same time, hating her for the disruption in his family and blaming her for his beloved brother's death. But the Tackett family isn't the only ones after Lara. Darcy, the town's party girl and the wife of the prominent leader in town, wants Lara gone, considering her the rival of Key's attentions. Lara must prove herself time and time again if she wants to survive in this town. But she cannot leave just yet, no matter how much she and the citizens of Eden Pass wants her to. The Tackett family owes her one favor and she is determined to collect the favor at any cost to gain the answers of her past. And to conceal the one truth that could be devastating to all in the Tackett family. If you want romance, this is the book. If you want political intrigue, this is the book. If you want a mystery that will keep you guessing, this is the book. Sandra Brown has done a wonderful and compelling job of storytelling. This is a book that will keep you reading, unwillingly to put it down for even a minute.

Fun read to just getaway but frustrating too. Many of the characters just didn't feel real, and even after the motives and reasons behind some of their actions were revealed I still didn't see any logic behind many of their relationships. Plots twists became outrageous and felt contrived.

Like other reviewer, I also think this book is not one of Brown's best story. This story to me at times got too predicable but the worst part of the book was the hero. Key was so MEAN! He kept on calling Lara an adulteress whore but, yet, he was sleeping with a married woman too. Through out the whole book Key keeps on ridiculing Lara and she takes without a fight. Even after Key learns the truth he still doesn't apologies to Lara, not even once. I wish in the end Key would have done something or said something to show that he really did love Lara but nothing happens. The end made me wish there was an epilogue to this story and I want to see how things turn between Key and Lara, like if they had a kid or something