Customer Reviews

White Hot

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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

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.

While I love Sandra Brown's writing, this book fell short by a long shot. I couldn't like any of the characters and just wanted the book to be finished. I even considered skipping a few pages towards the end to get it back to the library on time. It's sad to think a SB book took me almost 14 days to read. Better luck next time!

Ten years previously to this story beginning, Sayre Lynch left her small home town in Louisiana to escape from her father and eldest brother whom she loathed.Her manipulative father had destroyed her relationship with her college sweetheart and her lying,conniving brother had made her life a torment. She had recieved a call from her younger brother Danny, asking her to get in touch with him but had ignored it, feeling that she couldn't bear to see her family again after all the pain that they had caused. When she recieves a call telling her of Dannys' suicide, she immediately feels remorseful at her refusal to contact him and returns home for his funeral.
At the funeral, she meets Beck Merchant, her fathers' lawyer and right hand man and, despite recognizing the fact that she is physically attracted to him, refuses to feel anything but loathing as she considers that he is merely one of her fathers' yes men and therefore, unscrupulous.
An horrific accident occurs at her fathers' factory, after which its safety precautions are called into question, with labour problems and lack of safety measures causing huge unrest among the workers.
As may be expected in a book by Sandra Brown, there are some sizzling sex scaenes which are very well written, but the outcome of all this trouble is pretty well evident from an early stage, with no surprises.

I"m really surprised that people gave this book so many stars! I have been a Sandra Brown fan from the beginning and I love her books and look forward to each one. The last book I really loved was "Envy" and it seems that every book after lacked a little something. This book was slow and none of the characters did anything for me. I felt no reaction good or bad towards any of them. I felt this wasn't what I have come to expect of her books. I usually finish her books in one sitting because I cant put them down...I struggled to get through this book.

Sandra Brown's cross from the romance genre into mystery has been an excellent move in my opinion. Of the many authors who have made this switch, she is one of the best!

In WHITE HOT, Sayre Lynch returns to Destiny, LA for her brother Danny's funeral. Even though she's not had contact with her family for over ten years, she is tossed into the middle of a minefield, some of which is her own doing. Huff, her father, is still the same egotistical, domineering person he always has been. He continues to run his foundry with an iron fist, and dares union reps and government officials to try to make him change the way he does business. Chris, Sayre's brother, is his father's yes-man. The sad part is that he's been spoiled by Huff and in growing up in this environment has been corrupted into Huff's way of thinking. Beck Merchant, Chris' college buddy, and now legal counsel to Hoyle Enterprises, is just like a member of the family and his level of corruption is often at the center of debate between he and Sayre.

As Sayre says a final farewell to Danny at the grave, she meets his fiancée and begins to doubt that her brother committed suicide. This begins the journey into corruption, self indulgence, and a good old fashion "who dun it" that at times leaves the reader just as breathless as those in Destiny trying to endure a heat wave. Between the accidents at the foundry, the union strike, the attacks by a local reprobate (Slap Watkins), flying sparks between Beck and Sayre, and other incidences the reader isn't given a chance to relax!

Character development is excellent, as usual for Brown. Sayre lives up to her redhead temperament, and her bouts with Beck will make the reader chuckle, and also feel the electricity between the two. A bit predictable, we are not surprised when Sayre and Beck give in to temptation and begin an affair.

Being fooled very seldom as to the villain's identity, Brown did have me wondering if I was correct in my choice. She confused the issue right up until the last 20 pages, and the twist left me smiling and being thoroughly entertained! But a few of the loose ends that she tied up were not a surprise even if they were extremely minor!

Overall, WHITE HOT was fast paced, action packed, and full of life. The story had life, as well as the characters. This book emphasizes why Sandra Brown is one of my favorite authors!

I just finished reading the book and it was great. I was even surprised a few times, usually I can predict the out come, but it was a big surprise. The plot was great, and so were the characters. Their personalities were so life like. The books is a lot like a soap opera. So If you like mystery, suspence, and a little romance, This book is for you.

I love Sandra Brown Books. Her Books are such a great read!! However, I was not turning the pages as fast as I am used to with her other books like Envy, Switched. My opinion its a okay read, not one of my favorites!!!

I don't think there's ever been as unlikable a heroine as Sayre in any Sandra Brown book. The woman hates her family and cuts all ties with them, yet she suddenly throws herself into bringing them down on her return to town 10 years later? If you hate them, cut them out of your life and keep it that way -- don't go overboard sticking your nose into every aspect of their lives trying to stir up trouble. It made me dislike her even more. She was spoiled, selfish, arrogant, snobby and someone you couldn't care about in the least. Even when I found out her "secret," I felt nothing, other than wishing she'd run her convertible off a cliff somewhere.

The other characters weren't any better, save for Beck. However, all I could think of throughout the book was why on earth this man would want anything to do with a chick like that. Her "Beige Marilyn" pedicure must've been something else.

All in all, don't waste your time or money. Very disappointing to see Sandra Brown put out such a complete flop.