SMASH CUT by Sandra Brown
Sandra Brown’s latest novel SMASH CUT could also be titled STRANGERS ON A PLANE. Once you have read a few chapters you will know what I mean. It is this “strangers on a plane” incident that undercuts the rest of the story and renders it all unbelievable. If this one feature of the book had been discarded the result would have been a much more satisfying novel.
The plot concerns a robbery/murder that takes place in a hotel. It is here that business tycoon Paul Wheeler meets with his “friend” Julie Rutledge each and every Tuesday. Someone obviously knows of these meetings and when Paul and Julie enter the elevator to come down from their suite a masked man is waiting on another floor. When the elevator doors open, he opens fire ands kills Paul and robs the others.
Derek Mitchell is one of the best defense lawyers in Atlanta and Julie knows he will be the one the Wheeler family hires to protect all of them, especially Paul’s nephew Creighton. Creighton is the person who is high on the list of Julie’s suspects. She devises a plan to keep Derek from representing him and the others.
The rest of the book deals with the identification of the murderer and the blossoming love affair between Derek and Julie. It is all written in true Sandra Brown style which means it is full of suspense and full of engaging characters.
One way Brown adds to the interest of the reader is by having Creighton Wheeler be a movie fanatic. He peppers his conversation with quotes of dialogue and he knows the basic plots of thousands of films. He even manages to bring these plots into his life and uses them to his advantage.
There is a lot to like about SMASH CUT. It is fast moving, interesting, and full of romance and suspense. This is typical of Sandra Brown novels and the style in which readers expect her stories to be delivered. But this time out she stumbles at the opening gate and creates a scene that is just too outlandish to be believed. It undercuts the character of Julie and is in contrast with the way she is portrayed in the rest of the story.
If you can overlook this one plot flaw, you are in for a treat with the rest of the book. SMASH CUT is essentially Brown at her best, doing what she likes to do.
SMASH CUT is published by Simon and Schuster. It contains 384 pages and sells for $26.99.