A secular novel…
White Hot by Sandra Brown
From Amazon.com:
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. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.====
I’ve had this book on my shelf for years. Back in the day, before I started reading inspirationals, Sandra Brown was one of my favorites. I finally pulled this novel off my shelf as I’m trying to get rid of clutter in this messy house! I started reading and I couldn’t stop. I read the bulk of this book in one day, recalling why Brown was one of my favorites.
When Sayre Lynch returns to her hometown for her brother, Danny’s, funeral, it’s the first time she’s “visited” in ten years. Estranged from her highly dysfunctional family, it takes the untimely death of her brother to bring her back. However, Danny’s suicide has left a bitter taste in her mouth and when she meets a mysterious woman at the graveyard, she realizes that Danny may have been murdered. Recently saved, Danny had gotten engaged, and his fiancé tells Sayre her doubts about Danny’s suicide, stating he’d been bothered by something shortly before his death. She also tells Sayre about Danny’s love for the Lord, and that Danny’s father, Huff, and his brother, didn’t accept his salvation. Danny’s sudden church attendance bothers his troubled family, and he keeps his engagement a secret from his father and siblings.
Beck Merchant, Sayre’s father’s business attorney is by her side, trying to make her see that the foundry is not the hellhole that she’s imagining. Beck takes Sayre on a tour of the foundry and Sayre is determined to help the foundry workers since her father is against providing safe working conditions for his employees. The foundry is her birthright, one that she does NOT want to claim. Tension rises when an employee loses a limb from a faulty machine. A strike ensues, placing a damper on the profitability of the foundry.
The attraction between Beck and Sayre jumps off the pages, making you want to continue reading. Plus, as is common with Brown, there’s a big surprise on the last few pages, ending the novel with a bang!
I especially liked how Brown used the foundry as a setting in this novel. It was very realistic, and it appeared that it took a lot of research to write this book. I emailed the author, asking about the research she had to do for this novel, and here’s her response:
Cecelia,
The foundry was a metaphor for Huff’s character. Very dangers and ugly on
the inside. The New York Times had done an expose on the dangers of
foundries, including a 30 minute video which helped me visually. I lived in
Tyler, Texas, for five years and there was an iron pipe manufacturing plant
there, so I had experienced first hand how ugly such a place could be.
Thank you so much for recognizing the research that was required, and for
appreciating it.
All best,
Sandra
I enjoyed every page. However, as I’m apt to do while reading a secular novel, in my head, I wonder how this storyline could have been made into an inspirational.
Also, on a personal note, when I was reading about the workers strike, I thought about my childhood. I recall when I was in the fourth grade, back in the seventies, the teachers at Halls Cross Roads Elementary school (as well as some other schools in the area) went on strike. I remember the teachers walking in a line, picketing. We still had school, but they had to get substitutes to fill the classrooms. I remember the librarian was our substitute during the strike!
This does sound like a good book. Although you said it was secular, I notice there are some religious themes in the book. You’d said one of the characters was recently saved.