Tough Customer - Sandra Brown

Written by Sandra Brown
Read by Victor Slezak
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Mitchell, Book 2
Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Release date: November 20, 2014
Duration: 13:39:28

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.

Publishers Weekly…
Introduced in 2009’s Smash Cut, Atlanta PI Dodge Hanley makes this entertaining, if slightly talky romantic thriller from bestseller Brown a must-read for anyone who appreciates a tough guy hero with a heart of gold. Late one night Dodge receives a phone call from his lost love, Houston realtor Caroline King, who asks him to come to Texas to help catch Oren Starks, a creepy over-the-top stalker who’s out to kill Dodge and Caroline’s 30-year-old daughter, Berry Malone. Dodge rushes to the rescue. While Merritt County deputy sheriff Ski Nyland, who falls for the equally smitten Berry, is no slouch on the case, the relentlessly ruthless Dodge plays the most crucial role in the effort to stop the bad guy.

 AudioFile
… “With a back-story that stretches over 30 years and a broad cast of characters, there are plenty of plot strands to weave together. Narrator Victor Slezak does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. He approaches one of the key characters, tough-talking, tough-living Atlanta investigator Dodge Handley, with particular relish. Slezak successfully portrays the female characters as well, using a more gentle reading style. Given the substantial portion of romance in the story, Slezak’s ability to switch seamlessly between the pursuit of an unstable killer and the romantic plotlines helps to ensure a credible listen.”

This is one of Sandra Brown’s least satisfying novels for me. There is too much back story to get in the way of the present story and it left me wondering what Dodge ever saw in Caroline, and the present story made me want to give Berry a swift kick in the pants. She needed a strong father in her life.