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 The Alibi Jul 16, 2009
Hammond Cross is a sexy Assistant DA in Charleston, SC. He is in a very prominent spot, and expected to take over the top office soon. Hammond has had this planned as everything else in his orderly life. One reckless night, he meets Alex Ladd, and his life is changed forever. After an unforgettable night together, she disappears. When Hammond gets back to his normal life, he is distraught to find out Alex is suspected of murdering a local prominent businessman. If he provides Alex an alibi, that would be career suicide, so he sets out to find out who the real murderer is.
This was a disappointing story. I had trouble buying the love at first sight forgoing all else between Hammond and Alex. The chemistry wasn't there, and the pairing just didn't work, so that made the rest of the story hard to accept. The buildup was lacking, as if a lot of the important steps took place behind the scene. The big reveal at the end was also a let down because there wasn't one.
The Alibi Jul 01, 2009
Hammond Cross is a sexy Assistant DA in Charleston, SC. He is in a very prominent spot, and expected to take over the top office soon. Hammond has had this planned as everything else in his orderly life. One reckless night, he meets Alex Ladd, and his life is changed forever. After an unforgettable night together, she disappears. When Hammond gets back to his normal life, he is distraught to find out Alex is suspected of murdering a local prominent businessman. If he provides Alex an alibi, that would be career suicide, so he sets out to find out who the real murderer is.
This was a disappointing story. I had trouble buying the love at first sight forgoing all else between Hammond and Alex. The chemistry wasn't there, and the pairing just didn't work, so that made the rest of the story hard to accept. The buildup was lacking, as if a lot of the important steps took place behind the scene. The big reveal at the end was also a let down because there wasn't one.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Mystery and love combined very well Jan 05, 2009
Davee Pettijohn was too happy for a woman whose husband had just been found murdered in a hotel room. Lute Pettijohn was a very well known figure about Charlestown who was known to be involved in many unlawful activities. Davee and Lute were also well known as straying from their marriage many times and both knew this fact. Hammond Cross is a county prosecutor who has high hopes of his present boss recommending him to be the next head prosecutor upon his retirement. Steffi Mundell is another person that wants the head prosecutor position too, which partially caused the breakup of Steffi and Cross, a fact that Steffi did not want to accept for a while. Rory Smilow is one of the detectives that was working the murder and was also involved with most of the above-mentioned cast of characters.
Hammond Cross was out driving and came across a county fair and decided to stop to get his mind off of things. As he sat around the dance floor he noticed an attractive woman across the dance floor staring at him. He could not avoid staring too since she was quite attractive. Eventually Cross roamed towards her and started a conversation. The attraction seemed to be emblazed in both of them towards each other. Eventually they did dance and despite the woman trying to leave, Cross kept her dancing and talking. They both left the dance knowing they had made a connection that stayed with them even through questioning the woman, who seemed to be somehow involved in the Pettijohn murder.
This investigation becomes so widespread that all involved are constantly mystified at the many suspects the evidence points to with most of them quite well known by each other. This familiarity causes many in the investigation, police and prosecutors alike, to suspect each other. When Cross learns that the woman that he has fallen very deeply in love with is Dr. Alex Ladd, and is also a main suspect in the investigation, he, of course couldn't believe this. Even Cross's dad, Preston, tells his son to get away from a woman that is such a strong suspect. But, what Hammond knows is that his father is also involved in some shady dealings and tells his father to mind his own business.
This excellent story takes many turns that will leave you dizzy. There are many characters introduced who you think might be suspects. You will love "The Alibi" as it deeply attempts to find the person with the real alibi. You will be surprised as was I. Sandra Brown has a knack of writing mystery and love stories that are combined so well that there are no boring areas. If it seems to get boring it will immediately turn around making you gasp as you wonder `What next?"
 Too Much Sex and Profanity Jan 02, 2009
A beautiful, sophisticated, successful, beloved, Charleston psychologist has a checkered past which her evil half brother wants to exploit. In exchange for keeping mum about her past, he sends her to pick up a bribe from a hated, wicked businessman whom he is blackmailing. She goes to visit the businessman Lute at his room in his expensive hotel, but so do at least 3 of the other main characters within an hour. He turns up dead that same day with a head wound and 2 bullets in his back. Not knowing that he is dead but feeling she might need an alibi anyway, the psychologist Dr. Ladd spots the county assistant DA and follows him to a carnival where she tricks him into falling for her and spending the night with her. She becomes a suspect in the murder when another hotel guest recognizes her -- he saw her on the same floor as the dead man's room. He did not see the other 3 visitors who were there that same afternoon. By now the assistant DA (Hammond) and the psychologist (Alex Ladd) have had a night of erotica and are in love. They do and don't suspect each other of the crime. By now the evil half brother has engaged in sex with several women for money. Half the characters have reminisced about previous lustful encounters. The dead man's widow tries to seduce Hammond though she's really in love with a cop. His coworker tries to seduce Hammond -- she's been having him for a year already, but he turns everyone down because he's in love with Alex Ladd, the suspect, whom he's supposed to be prosecuting. Then comes a lot more explicit sex. Finally Hammond figures out who did it and sets up a sting and catches the true culprit. This would make a great pornographic movie and has about as much plot. The language is both vulgar and profane. One star is for the book having a beginning, a middle, and an end. The other is for the dialogue which moves the story along at a rapid pace. Lots of people like this type of book, but it's not my cup of tea.
Murder, deceit and political greed Oct 28, 2008
On a sultry Saturday afternoon, Lute Pettijohn, one of Charleston's most prominent citizens, is found dead in his hotel. With no murder weapon and many wanting him dead, the police needs to narrow it down to one suspect before Hammond Cross can prosecute. For Hammond, this is the biggest case of his entire career and one that will cement his position to win the coveted role of Charleston's District Attorney. But things go awry when the main suspect turned out to be the woman with whom he had spent the weekend. Hammond believes that the police have the wrong woman, but dare he tell the truth when he knows that doing so will spell the end of his career? Or is she really innocent of the crime? Was he indeed set up to be the perfect alibi?
Murder, deceit and greed sum up the theme of THE ALIBI. Sandra Brown delivers a fast read that would have you guessing from the start. The suspense is carefully built and had me turning page after page wanting to know who the perpetrator is. The characters are colorful, each harboring their own secrets and desires that could implicate them in the murder. The author provides much needed relief from the tension through the flamboyance of the widow Davee Pettijohn. She is as outrageous as they get and would have you hanging on to her every word. Is the merry-widow guilty of her husband's death? Then you have Detective Rory Smilow, cool as ice, who has threatened to kill the victim. Did he finally make good of his threat?
So why just three stars? While I enjoyed the mystery in this book, I was dissatisfied with the conclusion. There was such a lack of build up that it left me really disappointed. The motive didn't seem plausible enough. Had it been fleshed out more, I believe I would have been really wowed by it. Instead it was rushed and all of a sudden everyone knew who the murderer was? How did they come to that conclusion? There was nothing that alluded to them knowing who the killer was. And the romance between Hammond and Alex was a disaster. I agree with the reviewer who said it was an overkill. I found it hard to believe that someone as ambitious as Hammond would risk everything for someone he's had a one-night stand with. Alex's character needed more weight. I felt she was underdeveloped compared with the secondary characters. She merely served as the basis for Hammond's moral dilemma, providing his Achilles Heel, but not providing enough reason for the reader to be convinced that their feelings went beyond lust.
In summary, all the elements that I loved in The Witness were missing in this novel. There were too many questions left unanswered. An epilogue would have been helpful but it was obvious that Brown has reached her limit and wasn't able to squeeze in a few more pages.
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