• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
  • Release Date: August 18, 2015
  • ISBN-13: 978-1455581160
  • Available Formats: Audio, e-Book, Print

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A Texas Ranger with a tarnished badge…
An enemy hell-bent on revenge…
And the lady judge caught in the middle.

Crawford Hunt wants his daughter back. Following the death of his wife four years ago, Crawford, a Texas Ranger, fell into a downward spiral that left him doing deskwork and his five-year-old daughter Georgia in the custody of her grandparents. But Crawford has cleaned up his act, met all the court imposed requirements, and now the fate of his family lies with Judge Holly Spencer.

Holly, an ambitious and confident judge, temporarily occupies the bench of her recently deceased mentor. With an election upcoming, she must prove herself worthy of making her judgeship permanent. Every decision is high-stakes. Despite Crawford’s obvious love for his child and his commitment to being an ideal parent, Holly is wary of his checkered past. Her opinion of him is radically changed when a masked gunman barges into the courtroom during the custody hearing. Crawford reacts instinctually, saving Holly from a bullet.

But his heroism soon takes on the taint of recklessness. The cloud over him grows even darker after he uncovers a horrifying truth about the courtroom gunman and realizes that the unknown person behind the shooting remains at large . . .and a threat.

Catching the real culprit becomes a personal fight for Crawford. But pursuing the killer in his customary diehard fashion will jeopardize his chances of gaining custody of his daughter, and further compromise Judge Holly Spencer, who needs protection not only from an assassin, but from Crawford himself and the forbidden attraction between them.

FRICTION will keep you on the edge of your seat with breathtaking plot twists and the unforgettable characters that make Sandra Brown one of the world’s best-loved authors. It is an extraordinary novel about the powerful ties that bind us to the ones we love and the secrets we keep to protect them.

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A Note From Sandra


First of all, when I say that my hero Crawford Hunt is a Texas Ranger, I’m not referring to the baseball team. He’s an officer in the elite law enforcement agency around which much Texas lore has been spun– from chasing gunslingers and renegade Comanches, to the deadly ambush of Bonnie and Clyde, to the much more recent apprehension of the man convicted of murdering Chris Kyle, the American Sniper. These legendary lawmen are fodder for storytelling. I wanted to tell one, and it became FRICTION.

As in all good tales, my protagonist had to be placed in a dilemma, caught between a rock and a hard place, trapped in terrible trouble. (You get the idea.) So, in addition to providing Crawford with a seemingly unstoppable bad guy to either capture or kill, I also gave him the thing most irreconcilable with his chosen profession: a five-year-old daughter named Georgia. Upon the accidental death of his wife, Crawford, suffering from grief and guilt (you’ll learn the cause of his guilt when you read the book), had conceded temporary custody of then one-year-old Georgia to his late wife’s parents. Now, four years later, he’s petitioned the court to return full custody to him. You think it’s incongruous for a rough and tumble Texas Ranger, bent on going after bad guys, to be rearing a five-year-old little girl alone? No matter how much he loves her, or how much his adoration is reciprocated, is that a stable and workable situation? Well, family court judge Holly Spencer also nurses some reservations. The story opens just as the custody hearing convenes.

The courtroom is redolent with tension, especially when Crawford takes the witness stand. Events turn disastrous when a masked gunman barges into the courtroom firing a semi-automatic handgun. Crawford reacts instinctually. His swift actions save Judge Spencer’s life, and that of many others, but at what cost to him personally? His bravery is considered by some to be sheer recklessness, and matters become worse when the investigation into the shooting takes a horrifying turn.

Crawford is then forced time and again to choose between performing his duty in his “one riot, one Ranger” modality, or risking his chances of ever getting his daughter back. And, in case you think he’s getting off lightly, he has an incurable itch for the judge, the one woman in the world who is off limits to him. Not only must Holly adhere to a strict ethical code that prevents her from indulging her increasing attraction to Crawford, but she also represents the court that might ultimately deny him custody. I think you’ll be fully engaged as the protagonists wage their battle with the villain as well as with their forbidden lust for each other. I also believe you’ll be entertain by the array of colorful secondary characters – which only Texas could spawn!

  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
  • Release Date: August 18, 2015
  • ISBN-13: 978-1455581160
  • Available Formats: Audio, e-Book, Print

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