Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lots of twists & turns in this one! With an astronaut, a cult leader, a sexy FBI agent, and a set of successful female twins, the Switch has enough going on to always hold interest. I’d definitely recommend this Sandra Brown novel to fans of her books and suspense in general.
Please see all of my reviews on my blog at www.robinlovesreading.com.
They did it when they were kids, so what harm would it cause now? Gillian and Melina Lloyd decided to switch places when Melina was assigned to escort astronaut, Christopher “Chief” Hart, at a publicity event. Things turned out quite horribly. Sadly, Gillian was brutally murdered after returning home.
Melina is devastated, quite naturally. One of the reasons is she feels that it should’ve been her not Gillian. She feels this way not only due to switching places, but also due to the horrific messages painted on the walls where her twin was murdered.
Chief and Melina become reluctant partners, in large part, this is due to the fact that a Chief was the last person to see Gillian alive. Through no fault of their own, they had become embroiled in something mysterious and potentially dangerous.
This certainly is no cut-and-dried mystery. The reason for the brutal murder is due to incredibly nefarious and far-reaching reasons. The story is built on several levels, with a diabolical tale that has affected many lives. The element of danger and suspense never lets up, not even for a minute. All the while the emotions that are shared between Melina and Chief have an undeniable intensity.
The twists and turns are top-notch and comes with a lot of guesswork. I absolutely loved what has been done in this story in terms of plot and how it lends itself to keep readers guessing.
This is not the first time that I have read this mesmerizing book. Each time I have read it I still found it just as captivating. Amazingly, I read this 512-page book from cover-to-cover in one sitting. I look forward to continuing to read books by this favored, prolific author. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy thrillers. The Switch is an excellent way to showcase the talent of Sandra Brown for new readers of hers.
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
They did it when they were kids, so what harm would it cause now? Gillian and Melina Lloyd decided to switch places when Melina was assigned to escort astronaut, Christopher “Chief” Hart, at a publicity event. Things turned out quite horribly. Sadly, Gillian was brutally murdered after returning home.
Melina is devastated, quite naturally. One of the reasons is she feels that it should’ve been her not Gillian. She feels this way not only due to switching places, but also due to the horrific messages painted on the walls where her twin was murdered.
Chief and Melina become reluctant partners, in large part, this is due to the fact that a Chief was the last person to see Gillian alive. Through no fault of their own, they had become embroiled in something mysterious and potentially dangerous.
This certainly is no cut-and-dried mystery. The reason for the brutal murder is due to incredibly nefarious and far-reaching reasons. The story is built on several levels, with a diabolical tale that has affected many lives. The element of danger and suspense never lets up, not even for a minute. All the while the emotions that are shared between Melina and Chief have an undeniable intensity.
The twists and turns are top-notch and comes with a lot of guesswork. I absolutely loved what has been done in this story in terms of plot and how it lends itself to keep readers guessing.
This is not the first time that I have read this mesmerizing book. Each time I have read it I still found it just as captivating. Amazingly, I read this 512-page book from cover-to-cover in one sitting. I look forward to continuing to read books by this favored, prolific author. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy thrillers. The Switch is an excellent way to showcase the talent of Sandra Brown for new readers of hers.
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Almost a 4 then the stupid twist at the end. I normally like a good twist but I didnt like this one.
I pretty much know what to expect when I grab a Sandra Brown book. Her female characters are pretty similar. The story lines follow familiar paths. There's always going to be some huge plot twist that is meant to make us completely rethink what we had read before. It's predictable, but sometimes it's nice to grab a predictable story and snuggle in for a comfortable read. But this time ... not so much. I get that plot twists are supposed to be surprising. We aren't supposed to see them coming. But they need to make sense! They have to be events that, when looking back, seem like they should have been obvious from the start. Just throwing out crazy twists in a story doesn't hack it. And the twist in this story is COMPLETELY ridiculous! I can't say a thing about it without spoiling things, so all that I'll say is ... NO WAY would this every happen in real life. No way! I can see the decision being made that led to the tragedy, but I can't go along with the character keeping everything to herself for the ENTIRE novel. There are A MILLION times when it would have made sense for her to come clean, and in none of those situations did it make sense for her to continue to deceive EVERYONE. The reasoning laid out in the finale of the story doesn't make a lick of sense. It ruined the entire story. I wish I could say more.
But putting that aside ... it was a weak story to begin with. The villain of this story is apparent from the get-go. Usually in a Sandra Brown thriller that means that the villain is not who we think it is. I get prepared to find out that everything I believed was wrong. In this case, that doesn't happen. The bad guy is the bad guy from the beginning. Figuring out all of his associates adds some mystery, but not a lot. It's pretty obvious who is working for Father Crazypants. This villain is almost cartoonish in his villainy. I find it hard to find the 'thriller' aspect in a story where villains are so ridiculously over the top. Find me an ordinary person who ends up being a psychopath. THAT's scary. An obviously crazy and unrealistic megalomaniac makes me feel like I'm watching a cartoon. No drama there. And I'm not saying that there aren't super crazy religious cults out there in the world, but ... I don't know ... I guess I felt like Sandra Brown was REALLY stretching things here and making an exaggerated dig at religious devotion. It didn't land, in my opinion.
The story felt REALLY dated as well. It was sort of surreal to hear Chief explaining the cool new technology used by NASA that was now being released to the general population ... GPS. ha! The narration of this story doesn't help this either. Jan Maxwell does a nice enough job. I'm not sure if it's her narration, Sandra Brown's story, or a combination of both, but whenever I hear her narrations I feel like I'm listening to a story that my grandma might have enjoyed. It never feels modern to me, no matter what's going on. So I guess I'll land with giving this two stars. It was just okay. I did finish it, and it kept my interest generally, but I didn't really enjoy the experience.
But putting that aside ... it was a weak story to begin with. The villain of this story is apparent from the get-go. Usually in a Sandra Brown thriller that means that the villain is not who we think it is. I get prepared to find out that everything I believed was wrong. In this case, that doesn't happen. The bad guy is the bad guy from the beginning. Figuring out all of his associates adds some mystery, but not a lot. It's pretty obvious who is working for Father Crazypants. This villain is almost cartoonish in his villainy. I find it hard to find the 'thriller' aspect in a story where villains are so ridiculously over the top. Find me an ordinary person who ends up being a psychopath. THAT's scary. An obviously crazy and unrealistic megalomaniac makes me feel like I'm watching a cartoon. No drama there. And I'm not saying that there aren't super crazy religious cults out there in the world, but ... I don't know ... I guess I felt like Sandra Brown was REALLY stretching things here and making an exaggerated dig at religious devotion. It didn't land, in my opinion.
The story felt REALLY dated as well. It was sort of surreal to hear Chief explaining the cool new technology used by NASA that was now being released to the general population ... GPS. ha! The narration of this story doesn't help this either. Jan Maxwell does a nice enough job. I'm not sure if it's her narration, Sandra Brown's story, or a combination of both, but whenever I hear her narrations I feel like I'm listening to a story that my grandma might have enjoyed. It never feels modern to me, no matter what's going on. So I guess I'll land with giving this two stars. It was just okay. I did finish it, and it kept my interest generally, but I didn't really enjoy the experience.
The first book that got me hooked on Sandra Brown while I was in Basic Training.
Gillian and Melina Lloyd are identical twins. On the day Gillian is artificially inseminated, Melina suggests she take her place as media escort to a famous astronaut, Christopher "Chief" Hart. She eventually agrees and ends up sleeping with him--Melina spending the night at Gillian's apartment. Unknown to her, Gillian was inseminated by Brother Gabriel, a lunatic evangelist. By having sex, she is seen as sullied. So she is murdered. However, since they swapped, it is her sister who is killed, not Gillian. Unfortunately, Hart is the prime suspect. He and Gillian team up to solve the crime.
The body count continues to rise and the mystery gets more convoluted. Hart also becomes a target. Gabriel's plan is far-reaching, but flawed. But justice is served and all ends well for Gillian and Chief.
The body count continues to rise and the mystery gets more convoluted. Hart also becomes a target. Gabriel's plan is far-reaching, but flawed. But justice is served and all ends well for Gillian and Chief.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No