Chaos, Betrayal and Deceit Abound in Sandra Brown’s ‘Tailspin’ [REVIEW]

A skilled pilot is determined to get his cargo to its destination in one piece in Sandra Brown’s Tailspin. (Photo courtesy Canva)

A daring pilot. A mysterious package. A race against time. Will he be able to keep his cargo from getting into the wrong hands? Find out in Sandra Brown’s thrilling novel,  Tailspin.

Grand Central

Rye Mallet isn’t one of those cargo pilots who worries too much about regulations, especially if they get in the way of meeting a deadline. A rough-and-tumble veteran who served in Afghanistan, he has a reputation as a man who delivers—no matter the weather, time, or cargo—so when his latest mission has him transporting a black box to a Dr. Lambert in fogbound northern Georgia, he doesn’t ask question.

Upon his arrival, however, he’s greeted with more than a barren airstrip and low visibility. He barely survives a crash landing when he finds Dr. Brynn O’Neal searching the cargo hold, dressed all in black, claiming she’s picking up the box for Dr. Lambert. Despite Rye’s strict “no-involvement policy,” his decision to tackle an assailant changes his life forever and draws him irrevocably into a web of intrigue… and toward the alluring Brynn.

Soon the two are drawn into a 48-hour race to deliver the precious box in time, evading both law enforcement and hired guns in an effort to protect their cargo from those who would kill to get it.

After a long day at work, I enjoy reading novels which force my mind to focus on the mystery behind the actions of another, especially when that story takes me on the ride of a lifetime. That’s why I enjoyed Tailspin so much. It moves in a pattern of unlikely chaos until the reasons behind the characters’ deceits and betrayals becomes clear, thus making for a thoroughly engaging tale of pure escapist fiction.

In Rye, Brown has once again delivered a plausible and delicious character readers will connect with. Like many vets, he is a truly tortured character, one who doesn’t let anyone close because attachment leads to involvement, which results in caring and connecting with others. All of these sentiments keep Rye detached and unable to embrace happiness, and as a result he avoids the ideas of family or even life with a significant other. As such, we find ourselves hoping he finds a way to get just that. With a deft pen and a flair for getting to the emotional heart of her characters, this is perhaps Brown’s greatest gift to her readers and one I enjoyed until the very last page. If you’re looking for a multi-layered novel steeped in intrigue, don’t miss Sandra Brown’s Tailspin. 

Sandra Brown
(Photo by Andrew Eccles)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sandra Brown is the author of 69 New York Times bestsellers, including Seeing Red, Sting, Mean Streak, Friction, Deadline, and Rainwater.

Writing professionally since 1981, Brown has published over 75 novels and has upwards of 80 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Her work has been translated into 34 languages.

Her episode on truTV’s “Murder by the Book” premiered the series in 2008. She appeared in 2010 on Investigation Discovery’s series, “Hardcover Mysteries.” Television movies have been made of her novels French Silk, Smoke Screen, and Ricochet.

Brown holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University, where she and her husband Michael Brown, have instituted the ELF, a scholarship awarded annually. She has served as president of Mystery Writers of America, and in 2008 she was named Thriller Master, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other honors include the Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011 she went on a USO tour to Afghanistan.

Visit Sandra at her home on the Web at SandraBrown.net, like her on Facebook, subscribe to her channel on YouTube, and follow her on Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Wattpad.

TAILSPIN
By Sandra Brown
432 pp. Grand Central. $27.

Purchase Tailspin at one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, IndieBound, and Powell’s.