Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning is one smart story. Sandra K. Moore blends danger, romance, and mystery together in this gripping read. Chris Hampton is one smart heroine, too. Committed to rescuing her baby sister from her drug-lord husband as they bask on an uncharted island off the Florida keys, Chris is aided by a pair of hunky DEA agents who board her aging yacht. Even before they launch, an attempt is made on Chris's life, and once they're on the high seas, the attempts escalate. Afraid one of the agents is a mole, Christ can't trust anyone, especially the DEA agent who's snared her heart - and shared her bed. Moore skillfully pens another can't-put-down tale.

Book Review by Leslie Shores Dead Reckoning by Sandra K. Moore Sandra K. Moore follows her debut novel with Dead Reckoning, a face paced, edge-of-your-seat Bombshell that hurls her heroine into a race against time. Set in Galveston, Moore's talent shines bringing salt air to your every inhale, sea gulls' cries to your ears and lapping Gulf waves to your toes. Chris Hampton finds herself in the middle of a DEA sting operation trying to rescue her recently married younger sister. But is it really a DEA operation? And why does Chris keep coming to her sister's rescue? Chris battles her long standing insecurities, born of being adopted and never measuring up to her granddad's standards even after he's passed away. In his will, thinking to insult her one last time, he leaves her a rattle-trap, seventy foot yacht that hasn't seen water in twenty years. But the mechanical engineer in Chris loves the challenge and she quits her prestigious offshore rig mechanical engineering job to work full time on restoring the Obsession. Before long, Chris knows every inch of the boat from bow to stern and has high hopes to captain day, weekend and vacation cruises, once the restoration is complete. Her plans are interrupted when during a sailboat race she's just about to win, along with a $100 side bet, she's almost killed by a powerboat coming out of nowhere and heading straight for her. Only her last minute dive off her boat saves her life as the powerboat completely destroys her sailboat. Natalie, Chris' sister, begins a series of obscure phone calls describing her drug smuggling husband's increasingly controlling behavior that has escalated to physical abuse. Natalie is guarded 24/7 by her husband's bodyguard and has no opportunities to escape from his constant changes of locations. Chris' protective complex kicks in and she and Natalie make plans for her rescue. Natalie will try to obtain the location of an island that she and her husband will be staying at in three weeks and Chris vows to have the Obesssion sea worthy enough to come and get her. Chris turns to a trusted friend and former Houston Police Department officer for help. Natalie's husband has eluded DEA agents for some time. Through contacts, DEA agents are brought in on the plan and turn it into a sting operation to capture the drug lord as well as help Natalie escape. Special Agent Smith, a former Coast Guard, comes aboard and immediately provides much needed manual labor, helping Chris and working side by side with her. There's no other choice if they're to get the Obsession ready to launch. Smith's easy going charm, cut off shorts and no shirt, aren't too bad either. Smith's boss, Special Agent McLellan will join them in a couple days and when the Obsession sails to New Orleans, they will be joined by 2 other agents to complete the sting operation. When the boss, Special Agent McLellan arrives, with no boating experience, Chris' hopes of another worthy crew member lik

Though she detested her late grandfather, Chris Hampton appreciates that he left her his luxurious yacht Obsession though that needed repair. She diligently works on the vessel, but is short cash until the DEA offers her a deal she cannot refuse. They will provide her with the capital needed to fix the boat, if she helps them catch her nasty brother-in-law, drug kingpin Jerome. Chris has a greater incentive to agree; this might be the opportunity to save her sister Natalie, who has just informed her that she is scared of her abusive husband. DEA Agent Connor McClellan is assigned to protect Chris. However, his being there does not prevent attacks on her by most likely the thugs of either Jerome or a business associate. She concludes that someone inside the DEA is working for the enemy and though she is half way in love with Connor, he is the most likely culprit as few besides him has the insider information that was handed over to the enemy. Courageous Chris, needing to rescue her sibling, has reached a point of DEAD RECKONING as she must choose whether to trust in love or no one when she confronts Jerome; she makes the fast-paced thriller work as she wonders if the man who has stolen her heart is just another Jerome clone, a hunk seducing a dumb broad. Romantic suspense fans will join Chris and Connor on the aptly named Obsession as they speed to a final confrontation of the heart and with a dangerous felon willing to kill his wife, his sister-in-law, and a DEA agent. Harriet Klausner

Sandra K. Moore has a knack for continually upping the level of suspense, and with Dead Reckoning, she delivers more than promised. I highly recommend Dead Reckoning. Chris Hampton was used to bailing her younger sister out of tight spots, but discovering Natalie needed rescuing from her abusive, drug-smuggling husband, was definitely new territory. Reluctantly, Chris accepts help from DEA Special Agents "Smitty" and Connor. They set out on her 70-foot motor yacht, Obsession, to take advantage of a two-day window of opportunity before Natalie leaves her husband's private, highly guarded, island. Chris has no room for navigational error. The stakes go even higher when she finds strange equipment concealed onboard Obsession, and discovers that someone is stalking her, believing she's hiding a stolen fortune. Despite her best efforts to stay focused, Chris finds herself responding to the advances of both agents. But after an "accident" in the engine room nearly costs Chris her life and the discovery of a dead body in the salon, Chris realizes that someone on her boat will do anything to stop her. Torn, Chris doesn't know who to trust. She's drawn to Connor, but fears he is trying to seduce her merely to distract her from her purpose. And is Smitty really suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, as he claims, or is he pretending in order to further his own deadly agenda? I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Reckoning. The flow was fast paced, and I was drawn in from page one. I was there with Chris, sharing her love of boating as she risks all to go after her sister. I suffered through her upheavals, doubts, and fears. And, I was there with her in the end when she is heart-wrenchingly forced to choose between the two things she loves most in the world. Will Chris be able to survive and save her sister?