White Hot [Paperback]

Sandra Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2005

#1 bestselling author Sandra Brown ignites crackling suspense and fiery emotion in an unforgettable novel of passion and vengeance.

When her younger brother, Danny, commits suicide, Sayre Lynch breaks her vow never to return to her Louisiana hometown, and gets drawn back into her tyrannical father's web. He and her older brother -- who control the town's sole industry, an iron foundry -- are as corrupt as ever. Worse, they have hired a shrewd and disarming new lawyer, Beck Merchant...a man with his own agenda. When the police determine that Danny's suicide was actually a homicide, Sayre must battle her family -- and her passionate feelings for Beck -- as she confronts a powder keg of old hatreds, past crimes, and a surprising plan of revenge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

White-hot labor disputes, family conflict, murder and romance are ablaze in bestselling Brown's latest romantic thriller (after Hello, Darkness), when Sayre Lynch returns to Destiny, La., for her brother Danny's funeral. Estranged from her family for 10 years, Sayre arrives in town believing Danny committed suicide, but suspects otherwise after a surprise encounter at the cemetery and a disquieting interview with the sheriff's deputy. The Bayou-born firebrand now San Francisco interior decorator stays to investigate her brother's last days, confronting her father, Huff Hoyle, the powerful owner of the foundry that provides most of the town's jobs and all its corruption; defying her brother Chris, Huff's heir apparent and OSHA's worst nightmare; and becoming the first woman on the floor of the hellish factory that fuels the family fortune. At every turn, Sayre crosses paths with Huff's handsome lawyer henchman, Beck Merchant, irresistible although he represents everything she despises. The steamy pair cannot escape each other or their conclusions about Hoyle Enterprises. Brown makes up in pace and intensity what she lacks in prose style, guaranteeing readers a brain vacation in print, much like watching a favorite movie: an exciting yet familiar experience, the satisfactory resolution never in doubt.
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.

From Booklist

Brown's latest thriller centers on a successful but corrupt family in Destiny, Louisiana. Sayre Lynch vowed never to return to Destiny after she changed her last name and finally escaped from the influence of her controlling father, Huff Hoyle, who owns the iron foundry that the town is built around. But when Danny, her younger brother, is found dead with a shotgun in his mouth, Sayre reluctantly goes to Destiny for his funeral and is annoyed when her father's handsome lawyer and go-to man, Beck Merchant, approaches her. When the young officer investigating the case notes that some of the evidence points to murder rather than suicide, Sayre finds herself unable to leave Destiny. She's annoyed by Beck's constant presence, and she's not sure if he's trying to help her or throw her off the trail. Nor does she trust her father or her older brother, Chris, who is just like him and is a prime suspect in Danny's murder. Sayre isn't convinced of his innocence, by any means. As she tries to figure out how the intriguing, charming Beck fits into the picture, she finds herself deeply attracted to him. Although not quite as successful as her last few thrillers, Brown's latest still sizzles, thanks mainly to a compelling cast of characters. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; 1ST edition (July 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743466764
• ISBN-13: 978-0743466769
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,811 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

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars White Hot, February 24, 2008

By 

Kelly "Reviewer for The Sinfully Sensuous" (Littleton, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Hot (Paperback)

Sayre Lynch never intended to return to Destiny until she receives word that her brother Danny has committed suicide. Immediately she feels like an unwelcome presence as nothing has changed even though she has had no contact with her brother Chris and father Huff since she left. When it comes to light that Danny may have been murdered, Sayre decides to stay until the mystery is solved.

Beck Merchant is the attorney that handles the family business, and the one that clues Sayre in on the suspicious events surrounding Danny's death. He and Sayre clash every time they are together, but they are undeniably attracted to one another. Sayre doesn't know what to make of him because she suspects he has to be corrupt to be working for her family.

Her family runs the foundry, and when she sees things haven't changed there, she is horrified. There are constant accidents and even deaths that are glossed over by the locals. Sayre wonders if her brother's death is just one more incident being covered up.

This is a very well written suspense. As we are taken on Sayre's journey to come to terms with her past, so that she can have a future, it may be more of a burden than she can handle.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not Brown's best., August 23, 2004

By 

Nick G - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Hot (Hardcover)

Sayre Lynch left Destiny, the small Louisiana town where she grew up, vowing never to return. Sayre planned on starting a new life as far away from her controlling father and older brother Chris as possible. Everything has been going great for Sayre, until she receives the news that her younger brother Danny has committed suicide.

Sayre returns to Destiny for the funeral and meets her family's newest partner in crime, Beck Merchant, a shady lawyer who's hiding something. Sayre takes an immediate disliking to Beck, but she is forced to have close contact with him when the new sheriff determines Danny's death a murder.

As Sayre races to find her brother's killer she finds herself at war with striking laborers and her manipulative father, as well as fighting feelings for Beck, a man with an agenda of his own.

'White Hot' is a good read, but not one of Sandra Brown's best. The murder story line is interesting, but it takes awhile to get going and once it does get moving it slows down towards the end. There is way too much going on in this novel and the overall story suffers because of it; Sayre investigates her brother's murder, Sayre digs into her family's past to find they have been hiding dirty secrets, her father's company is in trouble, long-held hostilities are reaching the boiling point and pretty much everyone in the town of Destiny is hiding something. `White Hot' does have an action packed ending and it does tie everything together nicely, but by that time it's too late.

Sandra Brown is a very good writer and while her newest remains very readable it's not her best. `White Hot' will provide entertainment for some readers, but fans of Brown's earlier novels will be disappointed.

Nick Gonnella

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It'll keep you glued and guessing, June 20, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Hot (Hardcover)

Estranged from her family for over 10 years, Sayre Lynch returns to her hometown of Destiny, Louisiana to attend her brother Danny's funeral. Not really convinced it was a suicide, she continues to probe into it, as well as events from her family's past, such as an unsolved murder, and the hung jury that resulted in her brother Chris' murder trial five years earlier. She suspects that like her father years earlier, Chris has gotten away with murder.

Her family owns a foundry, and has a history of OSHA violations and lack of respect for safety in general. Maiming, death and other industrial accidents on the job are just the cost of doing business for her father, Huff Hoyle. Because she has a long-standing hatred for her father, she takes the side of laborers, and plans to help them organize into a union, with some tragic results to a man from her past.

Her father's right hand, lawyer Beck Merchant is sent to deal with her. Soon the two find a strange attraction to each other that neither wants to admit or act on. But is Beck who she really thinks he is?

The story is fraught with nail biting suspense, and keeps you guessing until the end.