The Crush

When a colleague is killed, Dr. Rennie Newton is shocked to find out it was a deliberate precision killing. Gossip starts to fly when it is disclosed that she and the deceased doctor were in line for the same job and fought often. Rennie's situation gets a lot worse when she finds out the man suspected of the recent death is none other than Ricky Lozada. She recently served on the jury at his trial. Wick Threadgill is on leave from the Fort Worth police force. He has been accused of losing perspective after the death of his brother Joe. It is assumed that Ricky also committed this murder. His partner Oren has asked him to come and discretely watch Rennie because Oren is convinced she is the key to finding Ricky. Wick determines early on that Rennie is innocent. As he gets closer to her, they find themselves unable to deny the attraction between them. When Wick realizes that Ricky has an attachment to Rennie, he will do anything to protect her. This is one of my favorite books by SB. Ricky is one of the creepiest killers I have ever read. He has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I also liked Rennie and Wick. They had chemistry overload!

This is the first time I have read Sandra Brown's books, and I really enjoyed this one.In The Crush, Dr. Rennie Newton, was an exacting, and impersonal surgeon. When she was summoned to jury duty, she brings to the courtroom the same level of competence and composure that she always does with her patients. It is this commitment to precision that compels her to deliver a not guilty verdict in the murder case against the notorious contract killer, Lozada.It will be the most regrettable decision of her life. Rennie's trial with Lozada doesn't exactly end there with his acquittal. Her carefully structured world begins to fall apart when a colleague of Rennie's is brutally slain. Lozada's menacing shadow looms over the murder, but it's Rennie the detectives suspect. The privacy she has culitvated and protected at all costs is violated by the police as wellas Lozada. And when he begins an earnest courtship, insinuating himself into every corner of her life, it becomes terrifingly real that he is obsessed with having her.Wick Threadgill is a detective on indefinite leave from the Fort Worth PD, who has his own personal agenda for the contract killer. Temperamental, bitter, and driven by loyalty and love, Wick is determined to destroy Lozada. And as determined is Lozada is to possess Rennie Newton.A very absorbing book all the way through.

This is another hit of Brown's. Her suspense novels are excellent. I've read a few of her romances, but her suspense romances are much better reads. I love how Brown doesn't just write from the hero and heroine's point of view. In The Crush she took us into the mind of a physcopath (Lozada)who developed a 'crush' on the forewoman of the jury who aquitted him of murder. He is obssesed with Rennie. He shows his "love" for her by murdering a collegue of hers due to the fact that he got picked for a promotion over her. Bring in Wick, ex-cop and heartthrob. (They always are) Lozada murdered Wick's brother and then ruined the investigation that would have put him in jail. He finally gets his chance to put Lozada away for good if he helps his ex-partner.At first he thinks that Rennie is in a league w/ Lozada. Then he comes to find out that she is being stalked and vows that he will do anything to protect her. They fall in love, blah, blah, blah. It really is worth the read and I rarely find a hardback that I will buy since they are so much more expensive!

My three year old grandson dropped The crush in the bathtub ad there was no way I was going to leave the second half of this page turner unfinished. Ricky Roy Lozada is a serial killer who enjoys his work after a lifetime of hating his parents, his only brother, his classmates, etc. Dr. Rennie Newton is a good surgeon who endured jury duty out of a sense of responsiblity and ended up on the jury of a trial that acquited Lozada of murder. Wick is a burned out ex-cop trying to come to grips with the death of his brother and trying to find a way to eventually "stop" Lozada.Oren Wesley is the cop who is trying to tie the current case together.When Dr. Newton's colleague is killed, Lozada contacts her and initiates what he thinks will become an intimate relationship. The Crush is a story of a stalker, a woman with a lot of baggage in her past, and a couple of good cops who are trying hard to work together. The characters are well developed and the writing keeps the suspense going to the surprise ending. Wick and Rennie Newton are an unlikely couple, but of course they get together. It would be great to see them back in another book.

This was one of those reads that you cannot put down, and I didn't! For those used to the old style Sandra Brown, this is not a book for you. Her current writings have been leaning more and more towards the suspense genre and this is no exception.Dr Rennie Newton and Wick Threadgill individually are a mess, neither is a poster child for perfection. But compared to Ricky Lozada they are uber-people. Lozada has to be one of the creepiest baddies I have come across in ages.I enjoyed the flaws found in both main characters, interesting background for Rennie that is not usually seen. As for the suspense, it is the driving force to this story. All in all, I think Sandra Brown hit is quite well with this one.