‘Overkill’ Has Sandra Brown’s Fingerprints All Over It [REVIEW]

If you were asked to decide between life and death for your ex who is on life support, what would you do? Could you perform as their medical power of attorney without bias, even if your relationship did go down in flames? That’s exactly the situation Sandra Brown’s protagonist faces in Overkill, her latest emotionally fraught thriller.

Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger hasn’t seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, in five years. Then he sees the news report about her death while on vacation. Upon returning to the States, he is informed that he is still her medical power of attorney. Therefore, the decision of whether or not to keep her on life support following a violent assault rests on his shoulders.

His former father-in-law places the blame for this unfortunate scenario squarely at Zach’s feet, but whether this is true or not remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Zach makes arrangements for Rebecca’s care and walks away from the situation, letting her parents make the ultimate decision.

Four years later, Georgia State Prosecutor Kate Lennon tracks Zach down in North Carolina to tell him that Evan Clarke—the man who attacked Rebecca—was released early from prison. Although Zach is shocked and outraged at this miscarriage of justice, he feels rehashing and reliving the events would be futile. Kate doesn’t agree and continues to try to convince him to take action.

In Overkill, Brown captures Zach’s emotional turmoil with such realism it takes readers on a powerful psychological journey that is both touching and authentically realistic. Couple this drama with the attraction Zach feels for Kate—who is temporarily on loan to the North Carolina DA’s office—and it provides a conflict of interest that makes this novel both juicy and irresistible.

Add in attempts on their lives, plenty of near misses, high-octane thrills, and characters whose dark and twisty backstories can’t be suppressed, and the result is a tale that has Brown’s fingerprints all over it. Clever, insightful, and impossible to put down, Overkill over delivers!

Sandra Brown is the author of 73 New York Times bestsellers. There are more than 80 million copies of her books in print worldwide, and her work has been translated into 34 languages. Four of her books have been made into films.

In 2008, the International Thriller Writers named Brown its Thriller Master, the organization’s highest honor. She has served as president of Mystery Writers of America and holds an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Texas Christian University.

She lives in Texas.

To learn more, visit SandraBrown.net, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

OVERKILL
By Sandra Brown
416 pp. Grand Central. $29.

Purchase Overkill direct from Jathan & Heather Books or from one of these other fine online retailers: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Half Price Books | Hudson Booksellers | IndieBound | Powell’s | Target | Walmart.

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