Chill Factor

by Sandra Brown

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I have a few Sandra Brown books on my shelves, and I hope to read them all for 2020. The next of her books on my list was Chill Factor. I was ecstatic when I discovered it was also in Kindle Unlimited so I went with reading the e-book version which made things simpler, when I needed to read during my lunchtime at work.

Chill Factor proved to be an interesting read. The story takes place in the small town of Cleary, where nothing is secret. Gossip, blackmail and the illegal dispensing of drugs is rampant in this little town and it would appear that the chief of police had no control over the illicit activities. He could not even solve the case of the five women who had gone missing in the last two years, all because he got caught up in his own personal issues.

I thought the mystery was well done. It had me guessing from the start the identity of the person responsible for the missing women and wondering what was their motive. What made this interesting and had me thinking was the fact that the five women who had gone missing had nothing common except for their kidnapper/killer. There were so many things happening and it was hard figuring out who could be trusted. There were so many suspects, which also included the male protagonist Ben Tierney. Yep, this added to intrigue. I didn’t like how the FBI handled the situation to begin with, but they redeemed themselves.

The characters proved an interesting bunch. We have Lilly, who finds herself stranded in her cabin with a man she is attracted to, but who may be a serial killer. Ben (Tierney), who proved difficult to read and who has the hots or Lilly. Dutch, the chief of police and Lilly’s ex-husband who was manipulative, selfish, and a serial cheater. Wes, the chief’s best friend a womanizer who had an ego the size of the Pacific Ocean. Then there was Scott, who was heading down a road of self-destruction, which was inevitable with a father like Wes. Then we have William, the town’s pharmacist and his spinster sister Marilee. These two came with their own brand of issues stemming from losing their parents at an early age and a host of other problems.

The story focused on the happenings in the town and the search for the villain, therefore the romance took a back seat. One could not deny the chemistry between Ben and Lilly. They were not strangers as they had met a year ago, but only for a short time. So, their being trapped in her cabin was a reunion of sorts.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Fans of romantic suspense would love Chill Factor. It’s entertaining, riveting and filled with several twists.