The Crush

September 2, 2002
Brown's latest thriller pits the infamous Ricky Lozada, an unscrupulous killer for hire, against Wick Threadgill, a wily, disgruntled detective on leave from the force. Threadgill's former partner, Oren Wesley, lures him back with the news that Lozada—against whom Threadgill has a personal vendetta—has murdered a respected doctor. The author ups the stakes by giving Threadgill and the killer the same love interest: Dr. Rennie Newton, a no-nonsense surgeon who unwittingly attracts Lozada's obsessive attention while serving on a jury that acquits him for murder. Newton's secret past raises doubts about where exactly her loyalties lie, and Brown deftly builds suspense around the romantic aspect of her story. She also scores points for her insight into the sociopath's mind, despite a rather facile explanation of how he went bad. (Not everyone with a handicapped younger sibling who gets all the parents' attention ends up a ruthless killer.) Similarly, the underlying reason for Dr. Newton's startling transformation from a young adult who lived on the wild side to a cold, controlled professional is too pat. Worst of all, Brown's prose seems aimed at an audience of eighth-graders, padded throughout with a slew of adjectives, useless descriptions and catch phrases ("Is that your final answer?"). But once things get rolling, the plot crackles with tension moving toward the final showdown between Lozada and Wick. Brown fans will not be disappointed. (Oct. 8)Forecast:Brown is a regular on bestseller lists, and a huge ad campaign—print, TV and radio—pretty much guarantees a repeat performance.

June 15, 2002
If you served on a jury, would you want the accused murderer you just helped acquit have a crush on you?

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2002
Dr. Rennie Newton thought she was doing the right thing when she voted to acquit contract killer Ricky Lozada while serving on a jury. After all, the prosecution had not proved its case. But when Lozada is released, he begins calling her and leaving her flowers. When a rival doctor at Rennie's hospital is murdered, suspicion falls on Rennie, and the police suspect she has a connection to Lozada. Detective Wick Threadgill, who has deeply personal reasons to hate Lozada, begins to investigate Rennie. Though he discovers surprising information about her past, he does not believe that she is in league with Lozada. When he approaches Rennie to garner information, Wick is surprised to find himself attracted to her, despite the fact that she rebuffs his advances. Rennie battles both her growing attraction to Wick and the fear that Lozada may have been behind the death of her colleague. Lozada, who hates Wick as much as Wick hates him, is angered by Wick's attentiveness to Rennie and steps up his plans to remove Wick from the picture permanently and to make Ronnie his. This novel delivers a menacing villain and page-turning suspense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)