title: Deadline
author:  Sandra Brown 
description: "Deft characterizations and eye for detail make this a winner...Satisfying, vintage Brown storytelling."<b>Kirkus on DEADLINE</b><br /><br />"DEADLINE is both a breathtaking and heartbreaking story; one that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished."<b>freshfiction.com</b><br /><br />"Sandra Brown meticulously develops a stellar cast of characters, weaving them into a tense, gritty thriller that offers numerous plot twists leading to stunning revelations and a nail-biting conclusion....I'm now wondering why I waited so long to enjoy this talented author's work. I highly recommend Brown's Low Pressure. Its multilayered, intricate and suspenseful storyline is enriched with vivid descriptions and crisp dialogue. If you enjoy romantic suspense, <em>Low Pressure</em> is a book you'll want to read in one sitting."<b>USA Today on LOW PRESSURE</b><br /><br />"A good old-fashioned thriller, and a winner..."<b>Kirkus on LOW PRESSURE</b><br /><br />"Sexual tension fueled by mistrust between brash Denton and shy Bellamy smolders and sparks in teasing fashion throughout."<b>Publishers Weekly on LOW PRESSURE</b><br /><br />"Hair-raising . . . a perfect mix of thriller and romantic suspense."<b>USA Today on LETHAL</b><br /><br />"Sandra Brown delivers a Hitchcockian thriller that reads like a bullet . . . No one is better in the genre than Brown, and she has written her best book to date."<b>Associated Press on LETHAL</b>
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  Sandra Brown
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../Images/00004.jpg)  
  
  
  
  
  
  New York Boston
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../Images/00003.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Begin Reading](../Text/Exclusive_split_002.html#filepos1811)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Table of Contents](../Text/Exclusive_split_056.html#filepos912974)
  
  
  
  
  
  [A Preview of Deadline](../Text/Exclusive_split_051.html#filepos897804)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Also by Sandra Brown](../Text/Exclusive_split_053.html#filepos910022)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Newsletters](../Text/Exclusive_split_055.html#filepos911749)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Copyright Page](../Text/Exclusive_split_057.html#filepos917260)
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter One](../Text/Exclusive_split_056.html#filepos913238)
  
  
  
  
  
  “You’re looking well, Mrs. Merritt.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I look like hell.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vanessa Merritt did indeed look like hell, but Barrie was embarrassed for
  having been caught paying an insincere compliment. She tried to recover
  gracefully. “After what you’ve been through, you’re entitled to look a little
  frazzled