When Detective Sergeant Duncan Hatcher is summoned to the home of Judge Cato Laird in the middle of the night to investigate a fatal shooting, he knows that discretion and kid-glove treatment are the keys to staying in the judge's good graces and keeping his job.

At first glance, the case appears open-and-shut: Elise, the judge's trophy wife, interrupted a burglary in progress and killed the intruder in self-defense. But Duncan is immediately suspicious of Elise's innocent act. His gut feeling is that her account of the shooting is only partially true — and it's the parts she's leaving out that bother him.

Determined to learn the dead man's connection to the Lairds and get at the truth, Duncan investigates further and quickly finds his career, as well as his integrity, in jeopardy — because he can't deny his increasing attraction to Elise Laird, even if she is a married woman, a proven liar, and a murder suspect.

When Elise seeks Duncan out privately and makes an incredible allegation, he initially dismisses it as the manipulative lie of a guilty woman. But what if she's telling the truth? Then that single fatal gunshot at her home takes on even more sinister significance, possibly involving Duncan's nemesis, the brutal crime lord Robert Savich.

And then Elise goes missing...

Ricochet's plot twists — as only Sandra Brown can write them — and palpable suspense combine to create this gripping thriller, in which a decent cop's worst enemy may be his own conscience, andtrusting the wrong person could mean the difference between life and death.

"No one does steamy suspense like Brown (Chill Factor), as shown by this expert mix of spicy romance and sharply crafted crime drama. Det. Sgt. Duncan Hatcher, a sexy Savannah homicide cop, falls hard for Elise Laird, a dishy damsel-in-distress, the moment he spots her at a police awards dinner. Too bad she's married to Judge Cato Laird, who consistently subverts Hatcher's efforts to bring local drug lord Robert Savich to justice. When Hatcher and his feisty partner, Det. DeeDee Bowen, are called to the Laird home after Elise supposedly shoots an intruder in self-defense, the desperate trophy wife confides to Hatcher that she believes her husband, a secret Savich crony, intended her to be the intruder's victim. Later, as the uncertain Hatcher grapples with his desires, Elise vanishes, leaving behind another dead body. Tight plotting, a hot love story with some nice twists and a credible ending help make this a stand-out thriller." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"My criteria for book reviewing are pretty clear: Did I believe the characters? Was it a good story, well told? Did I want to put the book down or keep reading? Bottom line, would I read another book by this author?

For 'Ricochet,' my answer to these questions is a resounding yes. It's a great, entertaining read, with lots of surprising twists and turns, credibly flawed characters and a love... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) affair that's as steamy as a Savannah summer.

Hunky yet sensitive Detective Duncan Hatcher is called to investigate the gorgeous and wildly manipulative Elise Laird when she kills a burglar in her elegant home, supposedly in self-defense. Complicating the case is that Mrs. Laird is the trophy wife of a patrician judge who dislikes our hero. Worse, her account of the murder is somewhere between sketchy and laughable.

Hatcher finds himself falling for the mysterious Mrs. Laird, even as he uncovers each new fact that seems to suggest that the murder was intentional and the burglar, Gary Ray Trotter, no stranger. Hatcher doubts Mrs. Laird's increasingly weak explanations, but he still can't help thinking about her body. Here's Mrs. Laird explaining her case to him:

'"I'd been expecting it for several months. Not a burglary, specifically. But something. This was the moment I'd been dreading." She pressed her fist against the center of her chest, right above her heart, pulling the fabric of her T-shirt tight across her breasts. "I knew, Detective. I knew." Whispering that, she raised her head and looked up at him. "Gary Ray Trotter wasn't a thief I caught in the act. He was there to kill me."

'Duncan pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as though concentrating hard, trying to work out the details in his mind. Actually, he had to do something to keep from drowning in those damn eyes of hers or becoming fixated on her breasts. He wanted to haul her up against him, kiss her, and see if her mouth delivered as promised. Instead, he pinched the skin between his eye sockets until it hurt like hell. It helped him to refocus. Some.'

Then he finds out she used to be a topless dancer. How great is that?

You've seen this femme-fatale plotline before, of course, but it's terrific when it's well done, as it is here. Mrs. Laird may be a double-crossing dame, but she's no dummy, though to tell more would ruin the fun. The story line is updated by the presence of Detective DeeDee Bowen, Hatcher's no-nonsense female partner. Naturally, Bowen suspects every scheming inch of Mrs. Laird and calls Hatcher on his crush with your basic snap-out-of-it speech. Leave it to a woman to add that touch of testosterone.

The cat-and-mouse relationship between Hatcher and Mrs. Laird kept me turning the pages, and when the mystery blonde vanished in the middle of the novel, I found myself worried about her, even though I wasn't sure I liked her or her employment history. Still, I was happy to be kept guessing until the end, which came as a genuine surprise.

My only quibble is that this best-selling author sometimes settles for phrases such as 'copious notes' and even 'silver-tongued.' She's a better writer than that, and I'm enough of a Strunk and White fan to want her to avoid cliches.

But I'm also a Sandra Brown fan, thanks to 'Ricochet.'

Lisa Scottoline is the author of 13 novels, the most recent of which is 'Dirty Blonde.'" Reviewed by Lisa Scottoline, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
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"A masterful storyteller." USA Today

"Gripping and absorbing, this is Brown's best thriller in years and a must-read for her many devotees." Booklist

"As always, Sandra Brown pulls all of the threads together and creates a satisfying tapestry." Bookreporter.com

The "New York Times" bestselling author of "Chill Factor" returns with a chilling story of murder, romance, and betrayal in high society where one rough-and-tumble detective might find his own life on the line. Available in a tall Premium Edition.

Sandra Brown is the author of fifty-six New York Times bestsellers, most recently Play Dirty which was published in August 2007 by SimonandSchuster and debuted at number two on The New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list. Her other recent bestsellers include Ricochet (2006), Chill Factor (2005), White Hot (2004), Hello, Darkness (2003), The Crush (2002), Envy (2001), all of which have jumped onto the Times bestseller list in the number one to five spot. Her new novel Smoke Screen will be published on August 12, 2008.

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published nearly seventy novels, most of which remain in print. As of 1990, when Mirror Image made The New York Times bestseller list, each subsequent novel, including reprints of earlier books, have become Times bestsellers. Her novel The Witness was recently optioned by Twinstar Entertainment for a major motion picture. Brown now has seventy million copies of her books in print worldwide, and her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco and raised in Ft. Worth. Before embarking on her writing career, she worked as a model at the Dallas Apparel Mart, and in television, including weathercasting for WFAA-TV in Dallas, and feature reporting on the nationally syndicated program "PM Magazine." She is much in demand as a speaker at book festivals and charity functions throughout the year. Court TV (now tru TV) also sought Brown to host the 2007 premier of its popular series "Murder by the Book."

Awards and commendations include a 2008 honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Texas Christian University, the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature, the American Business Women's Association's Distinguished Circle of Success, B'nai B'rith's Distinguished Literary Achievement Award, and the A. C. Greene Award. Brown is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, Literacy Partners, and is a founding member of International Thriller Writers. She will be honored as the ITW's "ThrillerMaster" in 2008.

She and her husband live in Arlington, Texas.