The Chase: A Novel - Softcover

Joyce, Brenda

3.58

351 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 031298376X ISBN 13: 9780312983765

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2003

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New York Times bestselling author Brenda Joyce delivers her most breathtaking, suspenseful, and romantic novel yet-the story of one woman whose perfect life comes to an end when she is caught up in the chase for a brilliant and cold-blooded killer...

The Chase

Claire Hayden has no idea that her world is about to be shattered. At the conclusion of her husband's fortieth birthday party, he is found murdered. He has no enemies. He has committed no crimes. He has no shady past. Or, at least that's what Claire thinks...

Claire's search for information leads her to the mysterious Ian Marshall, a stranger who first appeared in her life on the night of her husband's death; a stranger who appears to be involved. Someone has been killing this way for decades. Someone who will do anything to make certain no one finds out. The mystery brings them from San Francisco, to New York, to London, and to a tangled web of secrets, family intrigue, and a jealous heir whose murderous impulses don't stop with the first killing. Is Claire unknowingly connected to the killer? Does Ian Marshall know more than he can say? And Ian proves himself to be a dangerous man: dangerous to Claire's mind, heart, and emotions. As Claire and Ian team up to track down the killer, they make a terrifying discovery: The killer may be someone very close to Claire-and Claire may be next...

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Review:

Great destinies are never for the faint-hearted in Brenda Joyce's romantic thrillers, and never has that been more true than in The Chase, the tale of a 50-year-old horror and its shocking legacy for an innocent woman. Busy, beautiful Claire Hayden, wife of a prominent San Francisco attorney, heiress to a tidy fortune, and fundraiser for numerous pet causes, watches her superficially secure life unravel during her husband's 40th-birthday party. Not only does Claire decide in the midst of festivities that she wants a divorce, but she discovers her preoccupied spouse gruesomely murdered, her assets evaporated, and a handsome stranger igniting her repressed sexual passion.

Faced with dark, new challenges, Claire toughens up in the gales of a multigenerational mystery, including the nightmarish possibility that her own father has been an assassin since the 1940s. Crucial to the story is Claire's ticklish crime-solving partnership with sexy Nazi-hunter Ian Marshall; unfortunately, their love-hate, bicker-flirt relationship quickly becomes monotonous. Far better is the tragic, evocative subplot concerning the marriage of a poor, orthodox Jew and a Christian aristocrat in pre-World War II Britain. In The Chase, the past always lurks, like a killer biding his time, behind the enigmas of one's life. --Tom Keogh

From the Inside Flap:

Extraordinary praise for the novels of Brenda Joyce

The Chase
"Joyce skillfully weaves together past and present to create an amazing story of intrigue, wartime passion, and thrilling twists and turns."-Publishers Weekly

"Fast pacing and dual plot lines from the past and the present make this thriller a riveting read. Powerful and dynamic, this is a book not to be missed."-Romantic Times

"Non stop...filled with action, mysteries, romance, and an awesome ending!"-Huntress Reviews

House of Dreams
"A first-rate tale." -People

"A page-turner...excitement and lots of sensuality." -The Belles and Beaux of Romance

"An unquiet ghost stalks her living descendants, seeking vengeance for a long-ago betrayal...sure to delight readers." -Kirkus

"Nicely textured characters." -Publishers Weekly

"Twists and turns...plenty of passionate embraces." -Booklist

"This is one book you won't want to miss."-Beachlife Magazine on House of Dreams

The Third Heiress
"Sexual intrigue, betrayals, and century-old coverups...this genealogical thriller is a page-turner and could perhaps prove to be her breakout novel."-Publishers Weekly

"Real suspense!"-Kirkus Reviews

"Exciting!"-Booklist

"Taut suspense, deep character analysis, intricate plotting, and superb writing technique characterize Brenda Joyce's new novel and offer her fans another book for their keeper shelves. Combined with nail-biting suspense, The Third Heiress kept me reading long into the night; it is Ms. Joyce at her best."-Under the Covers Book Reviews

"Bestselling author Brenda Joyce mixes intrigue and romance into a page-turning tale you'll be loath to put down."-Playgirl

"A tense and atmospheric thriller. The Third Heiress adds gothic and ghostly overtones to a story of one woman's obsessive quest for truth and justice." -Romantic Times

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