Retro Books
Thick as Thieves
Author: Sandra Brown
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 9781538751930
Year Published: 2020
Sandra Brown returns with a crime thriller that combines family secrets, a decades-old mystery and a present-day investigation in Thick as Thieves. The story begins with a crime that has haunted Laurel Armand for years. Her father, wealthy businessman Hunter Armand, was murdered in the family home, while her mother was left seriously wounded. Laurel was only a child at the time, but the unanswered questions surrounding the murder never disappeared.
Decades later, Laurel is determined to uncover what really happened. Her search leads her back into the complicated history of her family and into the lives of people who have their own reasons for keeping the past buried.
Brown is particularly good at creating characters whose motives are not immediately clear. Laurel is not simply searching for the truth about her father's death; she is also trying to understand the people she thought she knew. Memories, loyalties and old relationships become increasingly unreliable as the investigation progresses.
The title itself reflects one of the novel's central themes: the bonds between people who share secrets. Brown explores the idea that loyalty can survive for decades, but so can resentment, guilt and betrayal.
As Laurel digs deeper, she crosses paths with a man connected to the events surrounding her father's death. Their relationship adds another layer to the story, bringing romance and suspicion together. As is often the case in Brown's novels, attraction does not necessarily make trust easier.
The novel offers readers a gradual revelation of information. Brown does not simply present a mystery and solve it; she keeps peeling back layers of the past. Each discovery changes the reader's understanding of the characters and raises another question.
There is also a strong sense of place and family history. The world surrounding the Armand family is one of privilege, money and influence, but Brown shows that wealth offers little protection from secrets. Behind the impressive homes and family connections lies a history of conflict that refuses to stay buried.
The pacing is generally brisk, with the investigation providing the suspense while the character relationships supply the emotional tension. Brown knows when to withhold information and when to provide a revelation, keeping the reader moving towards the eventual explanation.
Fans of Sandra Brown will find familiar elements here: suspense, romance, dangerous secrets and characters who cannot always be trusted. New readers may also appreciate the way she combines a traditional murder mystery with a family drama spanning generations.
Thick as Thieves is ultimately a story about the consequences of secrets and the difficulty of separating truth from the stories people tell themselves. Brown keeps the suspense alive while gradually bringing the past into the present.
For readers who enjoy crime thrillers with a strong romantic and family element, Thick as Thieves offers an absorbing combination of mystery, betrayal and long-buried secrets