The Witness, a compelling romance mystery, by Sandra Brown is bound to get you hooked from the start with its villains that are such greasy, sick individuals that you actually rout for them to die and a down-to-earth protagonist that will do anything to protect those that she loves.

The protagonist is idealistic public defender Kendall Deaton who is running for her life from a group of sick individuals, headed by her father-in-law, Gibb Burnwood, with the able assistance of her husband Matt; known as the Brotherhood. At the time, Kendall has just discovered that she is pregnant but upon learning the truth about her husband and father-in-law’s involvement in a vigilante group supposedly ordained by God she never discloses her pregnancy to them. However, as it turns out the tentacles of the group extend outside the town’s borders and without knowing who she can trust Kendall escapes to Denver where her baby, Kevin is born. From that point on everything Kendall did was motivated by her desire to protect the infant from harm.

What Kendall didn’t know, at the time of her sojourn in Denver, was that the Brotherhood was already under investigation by Agent James Pepperdyne who wanted her as a material witness. Upon finding her Pepperdyne enlisted the help of his friend, former FBI agent, John McGrath to return her to South Carolina. However, plane travel was not an option so they were forced to rent a car only to find themselves victims of a car accident that left John with amnesia. At the hospital Kendall leads John and the staff to believe that the two of them are married and that Kevin is their son.

As John struggles to regain his memory and Kendall fearing discovery by the Burnwood clan the two develop feelings for each other. However, even Kendall is not who she says is and with a relationship built on a lie, it’s only a matter of time before John discovers her betrayal and Kendall is forced to come to grips with the past that has kept her running and lying to the man she has come to love. As for John, if he regains his memory he will be forced to decide between returning Kendall and Kevin to South Carolina for the trial or protecting them from possible execution by the Brotherhood.

A secondary plot includes the Crook twins who seek misguided revenge against Kendall because their brother was convicted and unjustly sentenced by the town’s judge (a member of the Brotherhood). Other subplots include the budding romance between John and Kendall and John’s overcoming guilt regarding a hostage situation in New Mexico that had resulted in the death of a young mother and her two small children.

As Brown weaves her web of intrigue, the reader is left with a compelling tale of suspense filled with colorful characters, violence, infidelity, revenge, and racism keeping readers on edge. A definite stay up late at night ending concludes this better than average story as the author delves into a small town’s secrets, bigotry, hatred and deceptions.

Tags: book review, sandra brown, the witness, fiction, murder, mystery, violence, sex, romance, revenge, vigilates, racism, fbi investigations, public defender