This was a reread for me and I loved it this time as much as I did the first time I read it. It's a great romantic suspense with it being heavier on the suspense than romance. Anna (h) is a widow with a young son living on her father in laws ranch in Texas. She had married the man she loved and was ready to have her HEA, and then he joined the army. She supported this decision and stood by him through it all. When he came home from Dessert Storm he was one who came down with the mysterious illness that plagued so many soldiers, Anna was with him till the end. He died without ever knowing his son David.So now Anna (who is also deaf) is raising her son and staying on the ranch in Texas that is her son's legacy.Carl Herbold and Myron Hutts are two of the worst of the worst bad guys that you can imagine. Carl has one thought and one thought only.....to break out of prison and get the revenge on his stepfather and everyone else he holds responsible for his being in prison. He knows he needs to bring Myron with him, he's his muscle and he never questions anything that Carl tells him to do. Once they break out they will hook up with Carl's brother Cecil and then look out Texas the Herbold brothers are on their way!Jack (H) has been a drifter for most of his life, working here and there for a time and then picking up and moving on. He's an easy going cowboy that nobody really knows much about. When he hears that Carl Herbold has escaped prison he doesn't think twice, he knows he has to go to Texas and make sure that the people there are protected against the Herbolds. He knows what they are capable of and he risks exposure of his own sorted past but none of that matters as long as he can protect Anne and her young son from harm.This was a much more of a suspense than a romance though the romance that builds between Anna and Jack is really sweet. I loved Jacks character, at risk to himself he shows up to protect people that he doesn't know. He's great with David, Anna's 5 year old son. The scenes with between them are great. The one thing that some might want a warning about before reading this story is that the bad guys are REALLY bad, when they escape prison they go on a killing spree and the reader follows them, it can be hard to read for some.
Sandra Brown wrote on of my favorite books, "Envy" as well as several others and reading her books is always a place I find myself going back to from time to time. Unspeakable was interesting, particularly her writing about a deaf woman. I always love when writers write about something a little different than your typical characters (the ugly duckling who turned beautiful, the beautiful one running away from someone, someone with emotional baggage). This was about a widowed deaf woman with a young son, who has a great talent for photography. I thought the research on the deaf that went into this book was great as it talked about differences in sign language (but not at nausium) and it showed the human side and issues that go with it.Now the scary brothers and their sidekick that involved with a prison break along their antics were a little too over the top for my taste. Also, the storyline of the retired cop who couldn't let the death a young woman from 20 plus years ago and what happened to her were just too much for me. Still it was pretty interesting, but didn't hold the same element of mystery, suspense and romance that she can do so brilliantly.
Sandra Brown's books are consistently good. Her narrative is well written and she develops her characters well. This book (as well as her others) does not allow me to guess the ending. The story involves a deaf woman and Sandra did a great job researching the "world" of the deaf. It does contain her usual heroine and heart throb but she builds a believable relationship between the characters and spices it up with well written hot sex! While her book(s) are not meant to be deep reading, they are a great entertaining roller coaster ride. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to "escape" real life for a few hours.
—Jane
Audiobook read by John Henry Cox, 14 hours of listening. The story arc, as a whole, is formulaic. Cowboy with mysterious past is hired by an old rancher with a widowed and deaf daughter-in-law and her small son. Guess what? Yeup, the cowboy and the widow fall in love … this was predictable early in the process of defining the characters. No surprise in a beautiful-woman-meets handsome-cowboy-scenario.Given the predictable basics, Unspeakable is a good title, because the behavior of the bad guys will make you squirm. The interesting aspects of the story are in the peripheral characters, a retired sheriff obsessed with a 20-year old cold case, the old rancher and his love for his daughter-in-law, the absolutely Unspeakable acts of his psychopathic stepsons.
—Samyann
When Drifter Jack Sawyer shows up at a Texas ranch looking for work, Delray Corbett is a little wary of him. He doesn't know Jack, but Delray needs a hired hand to help out around the ranch. He would also like to have an extra person on board since hearing is step-son, Carl Herbold, has escaped a prison where he was serving a life sentence for murder. Delray doesn't want Carl hurting his daughter-in-law, Anna, or his Grandson, David. Anna is attracted to Jack as soon as she meets him. Being deaf since birth, Anna is used to being treated differently. But Jack treats her like a normal person, even trying to learn sign language to help communicate with her.I found this book very interesting but it may not be for everyone. There are several very violent scenes involving Carl Herbold. I know some people were turned off by this, but it really just showed me this character had absolutely no redeeming qualities. There is a sub-plot involving retired Sheriff Ezzy Hardge who is investigating a 20-year-old unsolved murder that he can't forget. My favorite portions of the book were Anna and Jack's relationship, and also his relationship with her son, David. My rating: 4.5 Stars.
—Robin
