Mean Streak by Sandra Brown

Title: Mean Streak
Author: Sandra Brown
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (August 19, 2014)
Source: Library eBook
Rating: ☕☕☕1/2

Synopsis:(from Amazon.com) Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of "instant divorce," Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won't even tell her his name. She's determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can't turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law. Wrong becomes right at the hands of the man who strikes fear, but also sparks passion.

As her husband's deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer from those who wish her dead - and from heartbreak.

My Thoughts on The Good Stuff: Sandra Brown does a great job of filling this book with multiple layers. Sure you get  suspenseful story and a romance but you also get a multifaceted view of right and wrong. Sometimes it's not all black and white. A killer can actually be a hero and a mass murder can also be a victim. I really think this concept was delivered exceptionally well in the book. In addition to this I really liked Brown's way of slowly revealing bits and pieces to promote suspense. Oh and I think her addition of the ramifications (PTSD) of police officer involved shootings was brilliant. Very few rom/susp books even mention this even though in many of them someone is usually shot and killed by someone in one agency or another.

My Thoughts on the Bad Stuff: The romance could have been much better. Because Emory's savior is also her captor (by design or circumstance...it doesn't really matter) her attraction to him feels way to much like"Stockholm Syndrome" and he comes across as a creepy stalker which compromises any tender moments the characters have together. She is attracted to a man she suspects of bashing her in the head and kidnapping her. He has collected a trinket that he finds with her unconscious body on the running trail, so he can have a piece of her forever after knowing her, like, a day. Um....not quite romantic is it? In addition to this, there are so many silly reasons for things to have happened. For example: The reason the FBI has spent 4 years hunting Mystery Man down, the reason Mystery Man's sister goes into hiding with an alias, how someone could sneak up behind a runner (who is running) to hit them on the head multiple times and the reason Mystery Man had to hang around Emory after delivering her to safety to name a few.

In a Nutshell: Overall the bad stuff could have easily overshadowed the good stuff but I don't think it did. The suspense was delivered very well and Sandra Brown does pull of some good twists which makes this a decent thriller. However, if you are looking for more romance in your books this would not be a good direction to go.