Tough Customer: A Novel

Sandra Brown

Aug 2010 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seeing Red “charges her characters and their relationships with electricity” (San Francisco Book Review) in this sizzling, sleep-with-the-lights-on novel of suspense.

When a deranged stalker attempts to murder her daughter Berry, Caroline King has no doubts who to contact for help: Berry’s father, the cagey private investigator Dodge Hanley. It’s been thirty years since Dodge last saw Caroline, but the savvy real estate mogul still haunts his dreams. He has a whole bagful of grudging excuses for ignoring Caroline’s call—and one compelling reason to drop everything and fly down to Texas to protect the daughter he’s never met: guilt. As always, Dodge’s perseverance knows no bounds as he teams with a small-town sheriff, but the alarming situation worsens when the stalker claims other victims, leaving a trail of clues lethally pointing toward Berry. And Dodge—a street-smart fighter who has always put his life on the line—realizes that this time, he’s risking his heart as well...

Ratings and reviews

Dodge Hanley is a former cop who is now doing private investigations for a law firm. He's been divorced from Caroline King for thirty years but still has strong feelings for her. That's why he's surprised when he gets a call from her asking for his help. Before he can respond, Caroline tells him that their daughter has almost been killed by a mad man who has been stalking her. When he arrives in Houston, Caroline introduces him as an old family friend, not admitting to her daughter, Berry, that he's the father,she never knew. The women tell Dodge what happened. Orin Starks, a former co-worker with Berry entered her home and confronted her. He said he was going to kill her. However her scream for help brought her friend Ben Lofland, who had been in another part of the house. Surprised, Starks wounds Ben and flees the house. Dodge is a no nonsense, chain smoking private investigator in the Clint Eastwood-Dirty Harry mode. He begins working with local deputy sheriff, Ski Nyland, an Afghanistan War vet. As the men search for Starks, Starks goes on a killing spree and one of the bodies found by police is another former co-worker of Berry and of Starks, who had problems with Starks at their former employment. I wanted to like this book more but found the characters sterertypical and uninteresting. By the time I finished the novel, I just didn't care what happened to the plot or the characters. I have enjoyed Sandra Brown's previous novels and know she is a legend in the mystery writing field but this novel disappointed.

Loved it. Never saw the twist coming until it hit me. Fantastic ride. Sandra Brown never disappoints.

Fantastic book. when you think you have everything figured out, a new twist comes in to play

About the author

Sandra Brown is the author of seventy-three New York Times bestsellers. She has published over eighty novels and has upwards of eighty million copies of her books in print worldwide. Her work has been translated into thirty-five languages. Four books have been adapted for film. She lives in Texas.