From Publishers Weekly
White-hot labor disputes, family conflict, murder and romance are ablaze in bestselling Brown's latest romantic thriller (after Hello, Darkness), when Sayre Lynch returns to Destiny, La., for her brother Danny's funeral. Estranged from her family for 10 years, Sayre arrives in town believing Danny committed suicide, but suspects otherwise after a surprise encounter at the cemetery and a disquieting interview with the sheriff's deputy. The Bayou-born firebrand now San Francisco interior decorator stays to investigate her brother's last days, confronting her father, Huff Hoyle, the powerful owner of the foundry that provides most of the town's jobs and all its corruption; defying her brother Chris, Huff's heir apparent and OSHA's worst nightmare; and becoming the first woman on the floor of the hellish factory that fuels the family fortune. At every turn, Sayre crosses paths with Huff's handsome lawyer henchman, Beck Merchant, irresistible although he represents everything she despises. The steamy pair cannot escape each other or their conclusions about Hoyle Enterprises. Brown makes up in pace and intensity what she lacks in prose style, guaranteeing readers a brain vacation in print, much like watching a favorite movie: an exciting yet familiar experience, the satisfactory resolution never in doubt. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Brown's latest thriller centers on a successful but corrupt family in Destiny, Louisiana. Sayre Lynch vowed never to return to Destiny after she changed her last name and finally escaped from the influence of her controlling father, Huff Hoyle, who owns the iron foundry that the town is built around. But when Danny, her younger brother, is found dead with a shotgun in his mouth, Sayre reluctantly goes to Destiny for his funeral and is annoyed when her father's handsome lawyer and go-to man, Beck Merchant, approaches her. When the young officer investigating the case notes that some of the evidence points to murder rather than suicide, Sayre finds herself unable to leave Destiny. She's annoyed by Beck's constant presence, and she's not sure if he's trying to help her or throw her off the trail. Nor does she trust her father or her older brother, Chris, who is just like him and is a prime suspect in Danny's murder. Sayre isn't convinced of his innocence, by any means. As she tries to figure out how the intriguing, charming Beck fits into the picture, she finds herself deeply attracted to him. Although not quite as successful as her last few thrillers, Brown's latest still sizzles, thanks mainly to a compelling cast of characters. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
When she hears that her younger brother Danny has committed suicide, Sayre Lynch relinquishes her vow never to return to Destiny, the small Louisiana town in which she grew up. She plans to leave immediately after the funeral, but soon finds herself drawn into the web cast by Huff Hoyle, her controlling and tyrannical father. Hoyle owns the town's sole industry and runs the lives of everyone who lives there. Sayre can see that nothing has changed. Her father and older brother, Chris, are as devious as ever. Now they have a new partner-in-crime, a disarming lawyer named Beck Merchant, who appears to be their equal in corruption. When Sayre is thrown in closer contact with Beck, she senses something more sinister is at play. As she sets out to learn just what did happen to Danny, Sayre is inextricably drawn into a struggle with striking laborers, her unscrupulous father, and her growing love/hate relationship with Beck -- a man with mysteries of his own. A brilliant combination of hard-edged suspense and intense emotion, White Hot is master storyteller Sandra Brown at her very best.

Download Description
"When she hears that her younger brother Danny has committed suicide, Sayre Lynch relents from her vow never to return to Destiny, the small Louisiana town in which she grew up. She plans to leave immediately after the funeral, but instead soon finds herself drawn into the web cast by Huff Hoyle, her controlling and tyrannical father, the man who owns the town's sole industry, an iron foundry, and in effect runs the lives of everyone who lives there. As she feared, Sayre learns that nothing has changed. Her father and older brother, Chris, are as devious as ever, and now they have a new partner-in-crime, a canny and disarming lawyer named Beck Merchant, who appears to be their equal in corruption. Soon, Sayre is thrown in closer contact with Beck and becomes convinced that something more sinister is at play than her father's usual need to dominate people and events. As she sets out to learn just what did happen to Danny, she comes to realize that there are many secrets in Destiny -- secrets that hide decades of pain and anger, and that threaten at any moment to erupt and destroy not only her father and brother, but perhaps Sayre herself. Underneath the rigid control that the Hoyles exert over the town, trouble is brewing. Old hatreds foster plans for revenge, past crimes resurface, and a maverick deputy sheriff determines that Danny Hoyle's death was not suicide, but murder. As tensions mount, threatening to ignite a powder keg of long-held hostility, Sayre finds herself inextricably drawn into a struggle with striking laborers, her unscrupulous father, and her own emotions over the love/hate relationship that is growing with Beck, a man apparently with his own agenda, and mysteries of his own. As she has shown in the dozens of bestselling novels in which she has combined hard-edged suspense with intense emotion, Sandra Brown is a master storyteller, and in her new novel she is at her very best. "

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"When she hears that her younger brother Danny has committed suicide, Sayre Lynch relents from her vow never to return to Destiny, the small Louisiana town in which she grew up. She plans to leave immediately after the funeral, but instead soon finds herself drawn into the web cast by Huff Hoyle, her controlling and tyrannical father, the man who owns the town's sole industry, an iron foundry, and in effect runs the lives of everyone who lives there." "As she feared, Sayre learns that nothing has changed. Her father and older brother, Chris, are as devious as ever, and now they have a new partner-in-crime, a canny and disarming lawyer named Beck Merchant, who appears to be their equal in corruption." "Soon, Sayre is thrown in closer contact with Beck and becomes convinced that something more sinister is at play than her father's usual need to dominate people and events. As she sets out to learn just what did happen to Danny, she comes to realize that there are many secrets in Destiny - secrets that hide decades of pain and anger, and that threaten at any moment to erupt and destroy not only her father and brother, but perhaps Sayre herself." "Underneath the rigid control that the Hoyles exert over the town, trouble is brewing. Old hatreds foster plans for revenge, past crimes resurface, and a maverick deputy sheriff determines that Danny Hoyle's death was not suicide, but murder." As tensions mount, threatening to ignite a powder keg of long-held hostility, Sayre finds herself inextricably drawn into a struggle with striking laborers, her unscrupulous father, and her own emotions over the love/hate relationship that is growing with Beck, a man apparently with his own agenda, and mysteries of his own.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

White-hot labor disputes, family conflict, murder and romance are ablaze in bestselling Brown's latest romantic thriller (after Hello, Darkness), when Sayre Lynch returns to Destiny, La., for her brother Danny's funeral. Estranged from her family for 10 years, Sayre arrives in town believing Danny committed suicide, but suspects otherwise after a surprise encounter at the cemetery and a disquieting interview with the sheriff's deputy. The Bayou-born firebrand now San Francisco interior decorator stays to investigate her brother's last days, confronting her father, Huff Hoyle, the powerful owner of the foundry that provides most of the town's jobs and all its corruption; defying her brother Chris, Huff's heir apparent and OSHA's worst nightmare; and becoming the first woman on the floor of the hellish factory that fuels the family fortune. At every turn, Sayre crosses paths with Huff's handsome lawyer henchman, Beck Merchant, irresistible although he represents everything she despises. The steamy pair cannot escape each other or their conclusions about Hoyle Enterprises. Brown makes up in pace and intensity what she lacks in prose style, guaranteeing readers a brain vacation in print, much like watching a favorite movie: an exciting yet familiar experience, the satisfactory resolution never in doubt. Agent, Maria Carvainis. (Aug. 17) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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