Mean Streak

By: Sandra Brown

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

From number one New York Times best-selling author Sandra Brown comes a heart-pounding story of survival, that takes the age-old question, "Does the end justify the means?" and turns it on its head.

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.

Combining the nail-biting suspense and potent storytelling that has made Sandra Brown one of the world's best loved authors, Mean Streak is a wildly compelling novel about love, deceit, and the choices we must make in order to survive.

©2014 Sandra Brown (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Fun and twisty, but also pretty silly.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Some friends, but not all. If we were talking TV shows, the quality of this book would be like "True Blood". Yes, it's sexy and entertaining, but it's also kind of shallow and stereotypical. As far as the mystery genre goes, though, it's one of the better ones I've read or listened to.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I've been a lover of mysteries for many many years. At this point, I can almost always figure out the twists in advance. This book was no different, but I still enjoyed listening to find out how they unraveled.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes... I've listened to a couple of them. He always does a great job, but this is his best that I've listened to. I actually think Mr. Davis's performance saved this book for me. I don't think I'd have liked it at all if I had read it.

Could you see Mean Streak being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Oh yes... It has many things we all (women especially) love to see in a movie. There's the slightly damaged man with a heart of gold, the determined woman who rescues him, sex, twisty murder plots, and more sex. As for who would star, I kept seeing Joe Manganiello as the unnamed man.

Any additional comments?

There were many parts when I was yelling at the characters because they often said and did things that felt very unrealistic to me. It felt like a lot of the issues and struggles the characters faced could have easily been resolved if they would just talk to each other like any real human beings would have. I also felt like the characters were a bit cliche. It wasn't awful, but without Jonathan Davis's fabulous narration, I probably would have stopped listening to it.

Wiish Sandra Brown would just ditch the soft porn.

She's actually not a bad writer. The plot is a little contrived, but doesn't bog down.

The problem is what a friend of mine calls "Mommy porn."

Does Brown have an editor or an agent who has persuaded her that she has to shoehorn at least a couple of salty sex scenes into each book, and sprinkle in sexual longing and talk-dirty-to-me dialog every few scenes?

This is my second book by Brown. The first was a number of years ago and I guess I'd hoped she'd grown up. Wrong.

If it hadn't been a daily deal I'd return it but hey, it was like buying a scratch ticket. Most of the time you know you're just throwing away five bucks.

I finally resorted to jumping ahead a chapter whenever the designated hot couple started panting--just so I could finish.

I gave it three stars because maybe it's the kind of book other readers just love. Ick.

Oh Sandra!

Sandra! Sandra! Fifty shades of Brown. Pretty explicit! Very good narration. Overall enjoyable and entertaining.

The best one yet!!!

Where does Mean Streak rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The best of 5 books I've listened to so far!!!!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hayes!!

What about Jonathan Davis’s performance did you like?

EXCELLENT!!! Diverse in tones and cadence!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but couldn't!!!

Any additional comments?

Loved the ups and downs of suspense to the very last chapter!!! No idea of that turn of events!!! Just awesome awesome!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to look for the next one!!!!

Great book

Nicely done. Great narrative. On the edge of my seat until the end. Excellent thriller

Interesting Character Twists!

I was somewhat apprehensive about purchasing this book with a different narrator, since all the other Sandra Brown books I've listened to have been narrated by Victor Slezak. I was pleasantly surprised with both the book, being somewhat different than her typical plots, and for the great narration!

My first book by Sandra Brown

Looks like I have a new author i really like. Great story and the narrator was very good. Now back to audible to check her other books

Great story & excellent narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, story has lots of twists, and the narrator was amazing - great repertoire of voices.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

most of the time - hard to turn recording off

What about Jonathan Davis’s performance did you like?

Definitely terrific - amazing - great repertoire of voices. loved the variety. Great voice of main guy character, really of all the characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Hard to put down

Excellent book. The first part was a bit creepy, but an important part of the story. Lots of suspense here with lots of unexpected twists. Definitely recommend. The narrration was very good too.

Overly Vulnerable

This was a moderately entertaining story, but entirely to far-fetched for my taste. The narrator is annoying, frequently putting emphasis on the wrong word or words in sentences. And I really wish the author would use a thesaurus and come up with an alternative for the word “vulnerable” as it was used over and over. What’s worse, it was used too frequently to describe a smart, successful, athletic woman. This is basically a Harlequin romance with a not very believable murder plot. Don’t use a credit.