Head to Head

by Linda Ladd

After moving from Los Angeles to rural Missouri, homicide detective Claire Morgan has at last adjusted to the peaceful rhythms of country life. Until a grisly celebrity murder at an ultra-exclusive... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786017171
• ISBN13: 9780786017171
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books
• Length: 380 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Very intense....

Really deliberated about this review...did not want to be like reviewers that ramble on and on until plot has been given away, or, like the ones who simply say "good book" with no real input. I had read where this author was a romance novelist and this was her first mystery. What a debut! This novel is actually two stories, a background story and an current situation. The two merge just past 3/4 way through. When they merge, all hades breaks loose. Not only is the book intense, it is also frightening....because, even tho' this is a work of fiction, you know and I know, that this "crazy" really exists, somewhere.

Great debut contemporary suspense

Ladd's Head to Head introduces us to Detective Claire Morgan, a woman with secrets trying to solve a gruesome crime at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. Very rich, very sexy Nick Black is a suspect. Sexual tension is high, suspicions abound and the killer keeps upping the stakes as Claire gets closer to solving the case. This is a fast-paced ride with a predictable ending. However, the twists this novel takes to get you there will have your jaw dropping. Those that enjoy the J.D. Robb series will notice similarities between Ladd's Nick and Claire with Robb's Roarke and Eve, but the characters in this series are unique in their own right - and live in real time, not the future. Looking forward to the second installment - and hoping to see more of the really sexy Nicky. -- Angela Wilson

Loved it!

This was a great book. Claire is a great character. The story is told in her voice and she is quite funny. There is also the side story of the serial killer which is quite gruesome, so Claire's sarcastic humor helps break the tension. The author did a great job of keeping you guessing who the killer is. I highly recommend this book!

I can't wait for the next one!

I could not put this book down. I cannot wait for the next in this series. While there were some aspects and plot twists that were unbelievably convenient for the story to continue, I realize I'm reading fiction and I thought the author did a wonderful job. I highly recommend this book for someone looking for a new contemporary suspense author. My main reason is - I did not figure out how the "bad guy" was until the author revealed it. Not very often that happens. I can always guess "who done it." Not so this time.

riveting and chilling thriller

After working Robbery/Homicide in Los Angeles and undergoing a horrible tragedy homicide detective Claire Morgan moves to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri where the biggest crimes are domestic disturbances someone stealing a lawn ornament, and x-rated phone calls. That all changes when a murder occurs at Cedar Bend Lodge which is owned and operated by the wealthy and charismatic Nicholas Black. The victim, a famous soap opera star, is found posed underwater sitting at a table covered with kitchen items as if she was waiting for a meal to be served. At first Claire thinks Nick is the most likely suspect especially when someone attacks her and puts her in the water to drown. She arrests Nick then and there she but he is released after cops prove with the security tapes he wasn't the person who attacked her. When she learns the relationship between the victim and Nick, she crosses him off her suspects list and he begins helping them profile the serial killer. The medical examiner discovers that it is the victim's body but someone else's face attached to the body. When another victim wearing the first victim's face is found in the place where they tape the soaps in L.A. is found Claire's past is exposed. Her boss is so livid he suspends her but she is later reinstated and finds herself in danger because she was the target all along. Linda Ladd has written a riveting and chilling thriller that is really two stories in one. The second story is about a child called Brat who is the victim of physical, sexual and emotional abuse who at the age of fourteen began a killing spree. He kills the victims and chops off their heads so they can keep his mother's head company. How this relates to the main storyline is an another great mystery written by an author who knows how to create two separate but parallel stories. HEAD TO HEAD IS memorizing and exciting reading and the sexual tension that exists between Claire and Nick adds an extra layer to this fantastic novel. Harriet Klausner