Product Description

FEAR NEVER DIES

Theodore Glenn loves to inflict pain . . . both on his victims and on those who later find the mutilated corpses. At his trial seven years ago, Glenn vowed vengeance on Detective Will Hooper, the cop who nabbed him, and beautiful Robin McKenna, the stripper whose testimony put him behind bars.

When a catastrophic disaster sets Glenn free, he blazes a freshly bloodied path across San Diego County. But the death he craves most is Robin McKenna’s.

Putting aside their past troubled relationship, Will rushes to protect Robin, now a savvy businesswoman operating an upscale club. As the killings mount and Glenn proves a master manipulator, Robin and Will become snared in a twisted web of horror. But the shocking truth is even worse: The evil they are to face is even deadlier than they fear.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #280623 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-29
• Released on: 2008-01-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 448 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780345502711
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Allison Brennan is the author of The Prey, The Hunt, The Kill, Speak No Evil, See No Evil, and Fear No Evil. For thirteen years she worked as a consultant in the California State Legislature before leaving to devote herself fully to her family and writing. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Northern California with her husband, Dan, and their five children.

www.allisonbrennan.com

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
One

Present day

Dear Robin:

I think of you every day, dream of you every night. So clear are my visions of your perfect naked body dancing just for me that when I wake each morning I see you at the foot of my bed in this godforsaken prison you sent me to.

I will come for you, but you won’t know the day or the hour. I long for the wonderful moment when I watch your face next to mine, the truth in your eyes as you surrender to me.

Theodore folded the letter and stuffed it back down his pants as he leaned against the fence of San Quentin’s East Block exercise yard. Exercise? Most of the men stood in groups talking or arguing or hiding an illegal smoke, easier in the cold when smoke could be mistaken for breath.

Defeated. That was the expression on most faces. Fated to spend the rest of their miserable lives in a crumbling, foul-smelling prison. Urine, fungi, and the stench Theodore could only describe as “wet dog”—but worse—permeated the interior. But here, in the pathetically small exercise yard, he tasted salt in the air, heard seagulls call, and remembered freedom.

Freedom that had been stolen from him by a stripper whore and the cop she was screwing.

The fog hung like a wet blanket over the exercise yard. Depressing and unnatural—Theodore despised the entire area. He missed the sun of San Diego, its warm beaches and hot days.

His appeal was only two months away, and he wouldn’t be returning to prison no matter what happened in court.

He pulled out the letter to Robin and tore it into tiny pieces. Fucking lying bitch, you will pay for what you did to me!

As Theodore watched the paper float to the ground, the earth began to shake violently, back and forth. It threw him to the ground. What he would remember most about those thirty-two seconds was the overwhelming sound. He’d never realized an earthquake could be so loud.

It wasn’t just the quake that caused the ear-splitting noise, but the collapse of the twenty-foot-high concrete wall separating the condemned inmates from the San Francisco Bay.

There were six guards posted on the catwalk outside the East Block wall, with .223 caliber mini rifles trained on the yard. But if Glenn couldn’t stay upright, they certainly wouldn’t be able to. He was banking on it.

Dust hung heavy in the air, burning his lungs, but Theodore Glenn jumped up and got moving. He’d felt more than seen the collapse of the concrete walls. Right in the middle they’d tumbled down, the weight of the crumbling rock yanking more of the wall to the ground, including at least one of the guards.

He ignored the sirens vibrating through the complex. Freedom was only a dozen yards away—over the concrete rubble. Theodore couldn’t see the guard tower outside the fence. Had that collapsed as well? He could hope. If not, he would hope that enough of the condemned ran and he would not be shot.

Barely heard over the squeal of the alarms, there was erratic gunfire. Shouts from the catwalk caught Theodore’s attention. He looked up, barely able to see the guard at the far south of the walk. The man was limping, but functional. Where were the others? Had they fallen to the other side? Twenty feet probably wouldn’t kill them, but they’d likely be immobile.

Theodore carefully started up the slope that had been the wall. Razor wire, embedded in the destroyed wall, was now everywhere. While his sturdy shoes protected his feet, he couldn’t use his hands for fear of slicing them. If he made it over the debris, he didn’t want open cuts because there was only one way out:

The San Francisco Bay.

He sensed other inmates following him, and two were ahead. He saw the crooked arm of a guard, his green uniform covered in dust. Trapped by the concrete when it fell. Dead? Very likely. Theodore scanned the area for a rifle as he continued moving forward, up the concrete mountain. The weapon must be buried with the dead guard.

A voice from the far side of the catwalk ordered Theodore to stop. He didn’t hesitate, but continued climbing the collapsed wall. He spied another guard near the top of the rubble, this one not dead but injured, blood pouring from a head wound. He kept shaking his head as if to clear it, but held fast to his rifle, which swung erratically to and fro. It didn’t look like the guard could see much of anything, blood covering one eye. His expression was panicked. Fearful.

Theodore realized then that the guard who had ordered him to stop was trapped on the far side of the catwalk, which had partially collapsed, pulled down by the weight of the falling wall. Where were the other guards? The air was thick with dust and fog, Theodore wasn’t sure what he was seeing.

“Stop!” the guard called again, but he was aiming his gun behind Theodore. How many were following him? Why wasn’t the guard shooting? Afraid to hit a fallen officer?

Over the loudspeaker, a voice commanded, “Down! Lay facedown, hands behind your head or you will be shot.”

Theodore ignored the warning. A guard was pursuing him, but the yard guards had nonfatal rubber bullets. Behind him were shouts and screams.

Reaching the wounded guard, without hesitation Theodore ripped the rifle from his shaking hands. The bastard should have shot first, he thought with a tight grin. With the stock of the rifle, Theodore hit the fallen guard twice—wham! wham!—on the head.

He collapsed, unconscious and more likely dead. Gun in hand, Theodore rolled down the far side of the wall.

“You bastard! You didn’t need to kill him!”

Theodore turned to fire the rifle, thinking it was a pursuing guard. Instead, he saw convict Thomas O’Brien, another condemned man recently transferred from North Seg, the country club of death row. O’Brien rolled down behind him, cutting his hand on razor wire.

Theodore aimed the rifle at the traitorous prisoner. He’d had a suspicion about O’Brien ever since he walked into East Block last week.

A bullet whizzed past Theodore. He wished he’d had time to retrieve the guard’s sidearm, but it was buried along with the dead guard’s legs. Instead of killing his fellow prisoner, Theodore turned and returned fire. Enough to give him cover.

The earth rolled beneath him. Aftershock.

He didn’t fall, but O’Brien did. The guard pursuing them also stumbled.

Gunfire echoed around him and he zigzagged through the short open space. He spared a glance toward where the main guard tower should be.

It wasn’t there.

Sirens, shouts, gunfire sounded all around. Theodore ran. The two convicts in front of him jumped into the bay. He followed.

He swam northeast, away from San Francisco and the violence of the bay; toward the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge. If he could reach the bridge, he’d have a better chance of escaping.

The cold water burned his hands. He realized he had cuts all over them, small nicks that the saltwater turned to searing pain.

He slung the gun over his shoulder. It would be worthless in the water, but he could dry it out, use it again, if he was lucky.

He swam. Heard splashes behind him, others following suit. His active, rigorous lifestyle before prison had given him physical strength, which he’d maintained over the last seven years. If anyone could survive the San Francisco Bay, it was him. He was certain of it.

The more convicts on the run, the greater chance he had to escape. They would be slower than him. Already he had passed the two convicts who’d jumped ahead of him.

The water froze and burned, it was early February, light was fading, all he needed was the cover of dark and stamina, and he would be free. He’d been waiting for this opportunity, the first chance to be free. To think he’d wasted the last seven years on appeals when all he’d had to do was relax and wait for an act of God!

He almost laughed. Instead, he gritted his teeth against the pain and cold of the San Francisco Bay, found his rhythm, and swam hard through the choppy water.

Adrenaline surged through his blood, triggering every cell in his body. He’d never felt so alive.

Customer Reviews

Brennan does it again
Allison Brennan is becoming a major talent in the suspense thriller genre. This book is no different and continues the stories of the Kincaids and their associates. I loved it.

Carina Kincaid's partner is Will Hooper, seven yrs ago Will was on the task force that caught and put Theodore Glenn in prison on death row. During the course of the investigation Will met and fell in love with Robin McKenna. She was one of the strippers at RJ's, Theodore glenn killed four other strippers who were her friends before he was caught. The last one was her roommate. Robin found her and has nightmares still, about falling over the body and sliding through the blood.

Will is a detective with the SFPD, he is divorced and has only had short affairs with other women since he lost Robin. Will lost her trust when he didn't believe her about Glenn. She never had an affair with him. Will finds that the news of Glenn's escape brings back all the feelings for Robin and when he sees her, he knows he will do everything he can to protect her and if he is lucky win her back into his arms.

Robin started stripping to pay for college, but every man she has dated has equated stripping with prostitution. She has lost all trust in men until she met Will. She opened her heart to him and thought he trusted her, but his questions about her relationship with Glenn destroyed what trust and love she had for him. Now Robin owns RJ's and it is an uptown night club. Very chic and understated the club has been rebuilt and refurnished while the area was undergoing a rejuvenation. However Robin still sleeps with the lights on.

When an unknown fault causes an earthquake at San Quention, Theodore takes the chance with many others and escapes. He knows he is a genius and has made plans already for a future escape so this just moves up his timetable. Now he intends to finish what he started and that is to kill Robin and all the others who put him in prison.

The story is intriguing and the twists and turns keep you guessing. Did he kill all four girls or is there another killer out there? I could not put it down, but that is true for her other books too. Do not miss this one. Good Reading.

Incredible!
If you're familiar with the author and had read her previous 'Evil' trilogy, you'll be familiar with some of the characters in this one; Carina and Nick, Julia and Connor, and Dillon. I'm glad they were part of this book.

I had read Crystal's review on this one and had to pick it up. I'd read the previous trilogy and loved it, so this was pretty much a no-brainer. I'm glad I did.

Brennan has a way of creating fictional characters that seem absolutely real. I could feel Robin's fear, her courage, her motivation to be able to take care of herself. I could feel Will's determination to bring Glenn down.

And Glenn scared me - right out of the book, he scared me. I had never read a character as alive as this one; a sadistic sociopath with absolutely no remourse for what he's done or is about to do. His goal is to hurt Robin, a former stripper that saw Glenn for what he was and disliked him. He sees himself as above everyone else and hates Robin for choosing Will over him. He gave me the shivers!

And I agree with Crystal on the ending. Way too rushed! All of it squeezed into three chapters. Had it been stretched out a little with a little more action, this book would be a perfect 5-star. Excellent book! If you like thrillers, you'll love this book!

I guess I didn't read the same book
This is my first time reading this author and while the book was okay I firmly believe Lisa Gardner and Karen Rose write a much better romantic thriller. I did not care much for Robin, the female main character. I didn't sympathize with her. I found her reaction to William juvenile. I didn't find it particulary suspenseful or "on the edge of my seat." I actually felt like skimming but since I hadn't read any of her work before I made myself read the entire book. There was nothing new here. Based on this book alone, I would not buy another book from Allison Brennan.