Thriller

Tailspin
4 Stars

An Afghanistan war vet, Rye Mallett works as a "freight dog", a pilot willing to fly anything, anywhere, at any time, regardless of the dangers. Rye's current job delivering a mysterious black box in dense fog goes awry from the start. First, his plane crashes due to sabotage, and then the wrong doctor arrives to accept the package. Soon Rye and Dr. Brynn O'Neill find themselves in a race against time to deliver the box with both the police and an unknown pair of thugs on their trail.

This is classic Sandra Brown in the vein of her older romantic suspense works, such as Mirror Image and Exclusive

Rye is similar to many Brown heroes. Gruff, broody and reclusive, he is determined to maintain his distance from others, but a strong core of honor and integrity means he cannot resist aiding those in need. Brynn is intelligent and resilient with a profound need to make a difference. Her willingness to sacrifice her life's work for the greater good makes her a very appealing heroine. Rye and Brynn get off on the wrong foot, but their snarky bickering conceals an intense attraction that leads to its inevitable conclusion.

The secondary characters are well-developed from the small-town cops determined to get to the truth to the vicious thugs with their own motivations and the intended recipients of the box who evoke conflicting emotions - I initially sympathized with the senator and his seemingly loving wife before their intentions are revealed

The intrigue surrounding the strange black box keeps the pages turning even though some of the plot points do not initially make sense. That said, it all ultimately comes together cohesively. The chapters leading up to the climax are heart-poundingly intense and the final twist at the end is the icing on the cake.

Overall, a gripping story with engaging characters and an interesting message. ( )

A little disappointed in this one. I didn't like it quite as much as the last few from SB. The main reason really is two fold. The story line was a bit too far out there as to everyone's motivations. Secondly I didn't really care for either the hero or the heroine. You knew the hero slightly better than the heroine but both were pretty cardboard and bland as main characters went. The tension was good especially near the end but that didn't really make up for how blah I found the rest of the book.

Don't judge SB on this one though. A few of her other recent books have been much better. ( )

Dr. Brynn O'Neal is in a race with time to get a lifesaving drug to Senator Richard Hunt. Pilot Rye Mallett is hired to transport the box containing the drug through a heavy fog from Columbus, Ohio to Atlanta because he is the only pilot who is reckless enough to attempt the flight. When he wrecks the plane as he is landing at an airfield outside of Atlanta and discovers the manager of the airfield has been attacked, Ryan knows there is more going on than just transporting the box. After meeting Brynn, she makes it clear to Ryan that she is interested in getting the drug to a young girl on the verge of dying instead of the Senator, which puts them both in danger. Although Ryan says he doesn't want to be involved, he couldn't be more involved if he tried.
In Tailspin, it isn't clear why Ryan continues to involve himself until almost the end of the book. There are a couple of weak twists which show up at the end of the story, but they are fairly predictable. The villains in the book that create some of the suspense are mostly one dimensional and the romance lacks emotion. Overall, this isn't one of Sandra Brown's best efforts. ( )

The pilot, Rye Mallat, flies a box through a vicious storm, but when he crash lands, finds Dr. O'Neal waiting for him. She won't tell him what is in the box. Although Rye has a "no involvement" policy, he is intrigued by the mystery of the box and and the beautiful Dr. O'Neal. The story takes them to Atlanta and Tennessee, rushing to get the box to its destination before time runs out. They are followed by thugs, law enforcement and must learn to trust each other or possibly be killed.
This book is a great read that is impossible to put down. ( )