Overkill

Book: Overkill
Author: Sandra Brown

Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger hasn’t seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, for some time—not since their volatile marriage imploded—so he’s shocked to receive a life-altering call about her. Rebecca has been placed on life support after a violent assault, and he—despite their divorce—has medical power-of-attorney. Zach is asked to make an impossible choice: keep her on life support or take her off of it. Buckling under the weight of the responsibility and the glare of public scrutiny, Zach ultimately walks away, letting Rebecca's parents have the final say.

Four years later, Rebecca's attacker, Eban—the scion of a wealthy family in Atlanta—gets an early release from prison. The ludicrous miscarriage of justice reeks of favoritism, and Kate Lennon, a brilliant state prosecutor, is determined to put him back behind bars. Rebecca’s parents have kept her alive all these years, but if her condition were to change—if she were to die—Eban could be retried on a new charge: murder.

It isn’t lost on Zach that in order for Eban to be charged with Rebecca’s murder, Zach must actually be the one to kill her. He rejects Kate’s legal standpoint but can’t resist their ill-timed attraction to each other. Eban, having realized the jeopardy he’s in, plots to make certain that neither Zach nor Kate lives to see the death of Rebecca—and the end of his freedom. -Goodreads

Review: This book was a pleasant surprise. A retired NFL player has medical power of attorney over his ex-wife, who is brain dead after a violent assault. He defers to the wishes of her parents, who are extremely religious, and chose to keep her on life support for years. His feelings on Rebecca (the ex-wife) and how to handle the situation seemed very realistic. The insta-romance with the state prosecutor was not necessary (slow burn romance would have worked with the plot) and Eban, Rebecca's attacker was almost cartoonishly evil, but I couldn't stop turning the pages. 

Grade: 3.5/5