Ricochet
© 2006 Sandra Brown
385 pages
I didn't intend to read this book this week, but borrowed it from my sister while staying at her home. Ricochet is a fairly straightforward police mystery novel which my sister recommend to me after discussing Phillip Margolin's The Undertaker's Widow. In both books, the wife of a prominent man shoots a burglar breaking into their home, but what appears to be a straightforward claim to self defense is actually part of a bigger story. In Ricochet, the bigger story involves a honest cop's burning passion for justice and personal revenge -- and his burning passion for a judge's wife -- calling his integrity into question when he is called to the home of the very poorly named Cato Laird, a judge who plays politics from the bench and who allowed the book's thug to walk on a technicality. Further still, as the book progresses, our honest cop falls hard for the judge's wife -- who is herself somehow linked with the criminal. Although the case looks fairly simple -- she shot a man breaking into her home -- Honest Cop finds her story hard to believe, and when he presses the investigation, she requests a private meeting, at which point she informs him that her husband was attempting to assassinate her. I found the story to be a fairly enjoyable detective story with enough plot twists to keep things from being predictable, although I did not care for Sandra Brown's choice of words in some respects -- "nekkid" is a word that belongs on cellphones, not in books.
Ha ha! Sandra Brown, huh? I love your diverse book choices! Have you read The Education of Little Tree? I suggested it to Crissey, too. I read both your blogs. I'd love to hear your "take" on this classic book.
ReplyDeleteWell, I ran out of books to read while babysitting and so poked around in my sister's stack of library books. This was the only thing I hadn't read. ;-)(Of course, the rest of the books in her stack were by John Grisham.)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it, but I will be sure to look for it on Wednesday. :)