June TBR Challenge---Tortured Heroes
Griff Burckett had a difficult childhood, but thanks to a talent for football and the help of a mentor he was able to make something of himself. He was the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, a job that gave him money, fame and access to all the toys and women, he could want. Unfortunately the scars of his early life left him isolated and self-destructive. The thrill he got from playing football soon wasn't enough and he turned to gambling to get the rush he craved. When he fell behind on his payments to his bookie he threw games in order to pay off his debt. His whole life fell apart when he was caught and sent to prison.
After five years in prison Griff is happy to be out, but he has nothing to go home to. His condo and most of his possessions had to be sold to pay fines and legal fees. He's banned for life from the only job he ever had and he's so notorious that it will be almost impossible to find any other kind of job. With no money and no prospects it will be difficult to abide by the terms of his parole, but Griff has to find a way because he is determined never to go back to prison. Just as Griff begins to realize exactly how desperate his situation is he receives a call from eccentric millionaire Foster Speakman.
Speakman has been a paraplegic since a car accident several years ago. What no one realizes is that his injuries also left him impotent and infertile. He and his wife Laura want a child, but Speakman refuses to consider adoption. In fact, he never wants anyone to know that the child isn't his. Because Griff shares basic physical characteristics with him Speakman wants him to act as a sperm donor. He's willing to pay handsomely for Griff's services and a lifetime of his silence. The deal sounds great to Griff until he finds out that there's a catch---Speakman insists that the child must be conceived naturally. Griff knows that this arrangement is trouble, but he has no other prospects and the money is too good to turn down.
His encounters with Laura create complications that Griff doesn't need. The detective who arrested Griff five years ago is determined to pin an unsolved murder on him and terrorizes Griff and those close to him in the hopes of getting him to lose his temper and implicate himself. Griff holds it together until Foster Speakman is found dead and Griff's feelings for Laura make him the prime suspect. Griff doesn't trust the police to find the truth so he has to track down the one person who can clear him.
I have mixed feeling about this book. One the plus side, I found Griff an interesting character because he wasn't falsely accused. He was guilty of the crime that sent him to prison. Beyond that, he simply wasn't a nice guy. He treated the people in his life quite badly and discarded them when they were no longer useful to him. His time in prison, and the circumstances in which he finds himself when he is released, cause him to do some serious soul-searching. His growth felt real to me and so did the steps that he took to try to redeem himself and make a new life.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book didn't work nearly as well. The plot was convoluted and unbelievable and I didn't find Laura anywhere near as interesting as I found Griff. My main problem though was that the circumstances that brought Griff and Laura together were so skeevy that it was hard for me to root for them to end up together. This was definitely not one of my favorite of Sandra Brown's books.
Grade: C-
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