Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown

 If a book about a mass shooting that is also a sex-fueled thriller seems baffling, that is just what readers get in Sandra Brown’s latest, Out of Nowhere, available in August. The carnage occurs during a county fair in Texas where Elle Portman and  her two-year-old son Charlie are caught up in a logjam at the entrance/exit gate. Several people were shot, some fatally. One of the injured is Calder Hudson who is hit when he makes a flying leap to rescue Charlie whose stroller goes off course and starts to tip.

Some good police work turns up a dead shooter quickly, bringing some relief to the survivors. However, when the forensic evidence does not fully support the early findings, the detectives question Elle and Calder along with three other survivors over and over, leaving them emotionally bereft. 

Adding to the confusion, the pressure from news media for the latest tidbit, including Calder’s girlfriend, reporter Shauna Calloway, is overwhelming. A support group brings together some of the survivors including Elle and a woman named Dawn who was shot in the calf. While Elle refuses all interviews, Dawn Whitley is the first to give her story to Shauna. Calder refuses to let Shauna interview him or use his name to persuade other survivors to come forth with their perspective about the attack. Their relationship comes to a breaking point causing Calder to move out. 

The devastating circumstances of the shooting are hard to read as in any news media coverage of real mass killings. The drive to get justice for those who died is a uniting force between Elle, Calder, and Dawn. When Shauna irresponsibly reveals their names, authorities swoop in to secure the three in a safe house as already one has received a death threat. 

 

Bonded by tragedy, Elle and Calder cannot ignore a growing attraction between them, but the circumstances of their meeting make them question if being together would just be too painful to create a lasting relationship from the steamy one that has developed. When the killer finds Elle, Calder, and Dawn in the secure house, their grieving turns into a fight for survival. The twist of an ending is shocking when the killer who has been an unreliable narrator throughout is revealed.

Sandra Brown, whose first novel was published in 1981, has penned more than 70 novels. Known for romantic suspense and detailed sex scenes, she once tried her hand successfully with a book of historical fiction about the Great Depression, Rainwater (2009).  Brown, who lives in Texas, has seen four of her books adapted for film.