SUDDEN DEATH

Author: Allison Brennan ISBN: 9780345502742 4/2009 SUSPENSE Publisher: BALLANTINE

Heroic Justice When a homeless veteran is found dead in a squalid Sacramento alley, FBI special agent Megan Elliott vows to find the murdered hero’s killer. Her investigation gets complicated fast, for the victim, a former Delta Force soldier, is just one link in a nationwide spree of torture and murder. Straight off a job rescuing medical missionaries, soldier-for-hire Jack Kincaid returns to his home base in the Texas border town of Hidalgo only to receive the news that one of his closest colleagues–also ex-military–has been brutally murdered. Faced with an inept local police force, Jack takes matters into his own hands. Now, as part of a national task force to stop the sadistic killings, by-the-book Megan and burn-the-book Jack form a tense alliance, sparked with conflict and temptation. But they struggle against more than passion, for a vicious pair of killers has only just begun a rampage of evil . . . and the primary target is much closer than Megan suspects.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Leave it to Allison Brennan to create vividly creepy killers who are the stuff of nightmares. In fact, the bogeyman has nothing on the divine Ms. B's baddies. Ms. Brennan, who excels at delivering really chilling serial killers (along with dynamite suspense), again skillfully delves into the broken mind in SUDDEN DEATH.

The ruthless, relentless SUDDEN DEATH opens with a real attention-grabbing scene and never stalls, never falters. Ms. Brennan keeps the pace wicked and the villains wickeder. And the rest of the cast isn't bad, either.

I almost groaned when I realized Megan Elliot was the female lead in SUDDEN DEATH. Elliot, who had a supporting role in PLAYING DEAD, was a cranky, uh, witch. And unpleasant. Surprise! Ms. Brennan makes Special Agent Elliot human in SUDDEN DEATH. And pleasant. Teamed with incredibly hunky Jack Kincaid (black sheep of the Kincaid clan), Megan becomes downright warm. In his protector role, Jack is downright delicious. This pair raise the heat factor of SUDDEN DEATH to an instant sizzle.

In SUDDEN DEATH, Ms. Brennan takes the 'bad seed' concept and runs with it. Her insight into the fractured mind is amazing and, at times, realistically gruesome. This edgy, compelling thriller is guaranteed to grab a reader's attention quickly and will not let go. The shocks and surprises just keep on coming. And the divine Ms. B just keeps her standard of excellence.

Debbie Jett