If combining a mass shooting with a romance seems an unlikely pairing, rest assured that Sandra Brown is quite capable of making this accomplishment work wonderfully well in her new romantic thriller, “Out of Nowhere.” She first introduces us to the shooter, who brags about being uncatchable and even brags about being impervious to the risk of becoming a suspect. And until the very clever ending, we don’t understand why that would be the case.

We next meet Calder Hudson. He’s a real jerk: conceited, arrogant, smug. He’s just finished a job that resulted in a huge payoff, and he’s ready to party. When his live-in girlfriend, a television reporter, wants him to meet her at the county fair where she has to work, he’s not in the mood. But his baser instincts pitch in and he thinks that doing that for her might net him some sex later, so he goes. We also meet Elle Portman, who, with her two-year-old son Charlie, attends the fair with her best friend Glenda. While Glenda had planned to meet some friends after for a girl’s night out, Elle and Charlie are ready to head home.

But as Calder is entering the fair grounds and Elle and her son are leaving, a shooting begins. The man standing next to Elle is shot. Calder attempts to get those around to get down, and he tries to catch baby Charlie’s runaway buggy, but he is shot, and others are killed or wounded. Calder and Elle meet after the tragedy at a group therapy session. Elle has finally opened up about her feelings and pain regarding the shooting. Outside the building, they talk briefly, and the air between them sizzles.

The local police have two detectives working on the shooting, trying to determine who the killer is. The gun was left with the last victim killed, and it was made to look like a suicide, which threw off the responding police. They thought that the killer was dead, giving the real killer time to get away. But the police are questioning the five witnesses who were right at the epicenter of the shooting. Calder and Elle are two of them.

We see the sparks fly when Elle and Calder are together, but starting a romance after a mass shooting is a tricky task. Calder has some baggage to dispose of before he is free to begin a new relationship. And even more importantly, we really don’t like him much after meeting him at the start. He’s still egotistical, and perhaps Elle deserves better.

She’s a children’s book writer. Seriously, doesn’t everyone love children’s book authors? She’s kind, smart, and struggling to deal with the aftermath of the shooting. But as Calder and Elle are targeted by the killer, they realize that the detectives may not find the killer before the killer finds them. And kills them.

Is it because of something they saw that is important, but they don’t remember it? Why is the killer targeting the five witnesses? And when Calder takes matters into his own hands, and Elle is there along for the ride, we see the romance heat up and the danger intensify. What will it take for Calder and Elle to find the killer before they are killed? Sandra Brown excels at keeping the tension high while keeping the emotions (romance) strong.

And while I don’t think those who have experienced a mass shooting should read this book, (thinking of you, Highland Park friends), I think Brown does manage to impart the horror and senselessness, the cowardice and callousness and depravity of the perpetrator as well as the depths of despair of those who do escape with their lives.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.