Review: Counterpoint by Marji Lane

New Romantic Suspense Series

Amazon Description

Someone is determined to finish a murdered hit man's final assignment.

Her father's gone. Her diner's closing. Her car's in the lake. Cat McPherson has nothing left to lose. Except her life. And a madman's bent on taking that away.

Her former boyfriend, Ray Alexander, returns as a hero from his foreign mission, bringing back souvenirs in the form of death-threats. When several attempts are made on Cat’s life, she must find a way to trust Ray, the man who broke her heart.

Keeping Cat safe from a fallen cartel leader might prove impossible for Ray, but after seeing his mission destroyed and several godly people killed, he knows better than to ignore the man’s threats. Cat’s resistance to his protection and the stirring of his long-denied feelings for her complicate his intentions, placing them both in a fight for their lives.

Can she survive when ultimate power wants her dead?

My Review

I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Marji Lane’s previous Grime Beat series. The writing and editing might be better in Counterpoint, but the characters didn’t have the same enjoyable quirkiness as those in Grime Beat (hey, I think there is something intrinsically interesting about someone who makes a living cleaning up crime scenes). And it probably didn’t help that I guessed the identity of the evildoer too early, so spent half the book wondering when Cat and Ray would catch on (frustrating!)

The other frustrating thing was it was obvious Cat and Ray should be together, but Ray has male issues i.e. don’t sit down and have a sensible conversation about why you left your high school sweetheart without telling her. Just be the strong, silent type and tell yourself it’s never going to happen. Of course it’s never going to happen if you don’t do anything! Men. No matter whether it’s fiction or real life, they’re always last on board with the idea of talking about problems. On the other hand, it’s that frustration which kept me turning the pages. Will they or won’t they? Is this suspense, or am I going to get the romance hit I’m looking for?

However, there was plenty of suspense and that kept me turning the pages. There was the obvious—was someone trying to kill Cat (yes), and who? Then there was the question about the diner, and the ministry it supported—would Cat get to keep the diner? How would she keep feeding the homeless?

Then there were Cat’s own feelings of inadequacy, which were a classic lesson in how other people always see us differently to how we see ourselves. Cat worried that she wasn’t the minister her father was, that she wasn’t doing a good enough job in sharing the gospel of Jesus. Yet it was obvious to me, the reader, she was doing more than most of us, and she was using her gifts to the best of her ability. That’s all God asks of any of us.

Overall, a solid thriller with excellent characters, lots of action, and a strong underlying Christian message.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Hidden Identity by Carol J Post

2015 Reading Challenge: Mystery or Thriller

I’m always a fan of a good romantic suspense story, and this one ticks all the boxes: intelligent heroine with a secret, handsome and godly cop, and more twists than I usually find in a full-length novel, let alone a shorter Love Inspired Suspense. Even better, I didn’t see the twists coming …

Meagan Berry faked her own death and moved to Cedar Key, Florida, to escape her ex-fiancé. But then her face makes the news after she rescues a man from a plane crashed in the water … a man who turns out to be a senator. Now strange things are happening, she’s convinced her ex is here to get her, and she doesn’t want to end up like his last fiancé.

Police Office Hunter Kingston is attracted to the town’s pretty new resident, but he’s soon convinced she’s hiding something (duh). And she’s not a Christian. But that doesn’t stop him wanting to protect her … especially when it seems someone is after her.

Meagan and Hunter were both excellent characters. Hunter’s only problem was that he was perhaps too larger than life, too perfect, but that fault is easy to forgive in a romance novel. Meagan was a more complex character as we didn’t find her secrets all out at once, which added to the tension. She had plenty of struggles, both personal and spiritual – growing up surrounded by abusive men meant she found it hard to trust men at all—even the almost-perfect Hunter—and she found it even harder to trust God. If He's really on her side, why do all the bad things happen?

Anyway, Hunter was the perfect hero for a woman with issues about trusting men and trusting God, and I enjoyed getting to know him and see the way he was able to both keep Meagan safe and show her that not all men were abusive. There was also one powerful scene where he did show himself as less than perfect, and I liked the way that threw even more conflict into his relationship with Meagan.

This is the second book in the Cedar Key series (following Deadly Getaway), but can easily be read as a standalone novel. It sounds like a great location for a holiday, as long as you don't mind all the murderous crazies the town seems to attract!

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Grime Beat by Marji Lane

Fun Romantic Suspense Debut

Dani Foster is a household cleaner with a difference—she works cleaning up crime scenes. But one day, her colleague and best friend doesn’t show up to work. She’s not at home, either, and her placed looks as though it’s been trashed. Dani finds herself arrested for breaking and entering, and now she’s depending on crime scene specialist Jay Hunter to get her out of trouble … and to help her solve the mystery.

Grime Beat is a fast-paced suspense novella with more than a hint of romance. Dani is an excellent character, and there are hints that she’s hiding something as well. While I don’t necessarily related to her compulsion for cleanliness (I’d rather read than clean), I had to like her—she’s hard-working, loyal and intelligent, and knows just enough about policing to get suspicious about some things. Jay is also a good character, honest and professional, and someone who doesn’t like finding he’s missed an important detail. And he suspects he’s missed more than a few here ...

The plot and writing in Grime Beat are excellent. Romantic suspense is my favourite genre, and I’ll look forward to reading further novellas in this series. Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: A Heart's Danger by Colleen Coble

Sarah risks everything to expose the betrayal threatening the man she loves—but will the risk be worth it? Find out in book three, A Heart's Danger, of Colleen Coble's A Journey of the Heart series. Rand’s new fiancée wants to keep him from returning to Sarah Montgomery . . . for whom his heart clearly still yearns. Sarah just wants to move on with her life at Fort Laramie, but doing so under the watchful eyes of both Campbell—the man whose love she craves—and Croftner—the man whose lies have cost her everything.

Enter to win the perfect pairing giveaway: three books (books one–three in Colleen's A Journey of the Heart series) and coffee to pair with your new book!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of A Heart's Danger
• A pound of Colleen's favorite coffee, Captain Davy's Coffee Roaster Costa Rican
• A copy of A Heart's Disguise
• A copy of A Heart's Obsession

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 31st. Winner will be announced June 1st on Colleen's website.

My Review

Book Description

On the brink of war with the Sioux, Sarah risks everything to expose the betrayal threatening the man she loves.

Christmas is coming, and the air at Fort Laramie has turned cold . . . but relations with the Sioux have turned colder. As tensions between soldiers and natives approach a tipping point, a trap has been set for Rand Campbell.
Rand’s new fiancée wants to keep him from returning to Sarah Montgomery . . . for whom his heart clearly still yearns.

Sarah just wants to move on with her life at Fort Laramie, but doing so under the watchful eyes of both Campbell—the man whose love she craves—and Croftner—the man whose lies have cost her everything.

Will Rand fall victim to the conspiracy and go through with his wedding? Or will he declare his love for Sarah and make good on the promises that brought her into the rugged western territories?

My Review

The book description sounds good, but the actual book was less good. This was mostly because of the characters. Ben Croftner is basically the archetypical bad guy: evil but with no real motive. Sure, we understand he wants to marry Sarah, but why? What is it about her that he followed her halfway across the country?

Jessica DuBois is no better. Yes, we get that she’s jealous of Sarah, but Rand has promised to marry Jessica, and he’s a man of honour. He’s not going to go back on his word, even if he does still love Sarah. Of course, by choosing to align herself with Ben Croftner, Jessica shows herself to be a poor judge of character, so perhaps she really doesn’t understand she has nothing to fear from Sarah’s presence. Anyway, we get that Jessica has this deep-seated hatred and jealousy towards Sarah, but her actions still don’t make any sense. After all, all she had to do was marry Rand and the Sarah problem would go away.

As for Sarah, she's mostly decorative, a personality-less person who exists to serve as the inexplicable object of Rand's love, Ben's obsession, and Jessica's jealousy. She never does much except react to the events around her.

This is the third novella in the A Journey of the Heart series, following A Heart’s Disguise and A Heart’s Obsession. It’s better than the previous two, in that at least the plot arc comes to a satisfactory conclusion. However, it does raise the question of what (or who) the final three novellas are going to be about. Hopefully it will include characters who are a little more rounded.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

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Review: Remember Me by Lara Van Hulzen

Unexpected Twist

It’s been a long shift in ER for Tess Jansenn. It gets longer when her last patient is her ex-fiance, the man who left her a week before their wedding, leaving only a note to explain his reasons. Now he’s back, but he’s got amnesia and can’t remember anything, not even his own name. Ben is frustrated that he can’t remember anything, but is attracted to the tiny nurse, and overcome with the desire to protect her after an accident—or was it?

There were plenty of secrets, which always make for a good plot. Tess is obviously keeping one huge secret from Ben: that she knows who he is. Amnesiac Ben obviously isn’t keeping any secrets, because he has no memories, but hidden behind the amnesia is the real Ben, who does have secrets … like why he left Tess, and why he now seems to have a different name. One thing neither of them can hide is their chemistry, but that’s not enough to base a relationship on, especially when Tess knows she’s hiding Ben’s past from him.

I started Remember Me thinking it was going to be a straightforward romance, but was pleased to find it turn into more of a romantic suspense plot as we learn why Ben abandoned Tess (after all, I’m a romantic suspense fan). The plot was well-constructed with good pacing with several excellent plot twists, and the writing was very good—more than good enough to keep me engaged throughout.

I liked all the characters including the minor characters of Aimee (Tess’s sister) and Dane (Ben’s best friend), who were nicely set up to be the lead couple in Get To Me, the second book in the Men of Honor series, published on 14 April. It looks just as good!

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Nowhere to Turn by Lynette Eason

She thought her days of hiding were over . . . but the danger has just begun.

The day Danielle Harding takes her eleven-year-old son and flees from her abusive husband is the same day Kurt Harding dies. A relieved Dani believes she and her son are finally safe--but in reality, things are just heating up. When Kurt was alive, he took something important from a mysterious individual--who wants the item back and believes Dani now has it. As she and her son run for their lives, they have nowhere to turn, until she hires Adam Buchanan of Operation Refuge and goes into hiding. Unfortunately, she won't be able to hide for long . . .

From the first breathless scene, this tension-laced story will hold you in its iron grip as bestselling author Lynette Eason propels you along in a race to discover the truth.

Well, no. I yawned through the first quarter of Nowhere to Turn, then put it aside for a couple of months before forcing myself to finish it. Romantic suspense is my favourite genre, so I should have enjoyed this, but I didn’t. I didn’t relate at all to Dani, and I didn’t understand why it took her twelve years to leave Kurt. Yes, I know her husband threatened to murder her son in front of her if she ever left, but there are ways to hide from the authorities. Criminals do it all the time, and women’s refuges exist to help (we know there was a refuge—her neighbour gave her the details).

And I know this is fiction, but I found Operation Refuge too unbelievable, with their seemingly never-ending resources and hot line to the state governor (because, you know, the governor has nothing better to do than wait for telephone calls from ex-US Marshals who need a favour). It was Hawaii Five-O without the sunshine and scenery.

However, I do have sympathy for Dani and other women in her situation. Around a third of the way through the book, Dani thinks:

Was she really that needy? Was she so brainwashed that she was actually afraid to be on her own?

I think the answer is “yes”, and that’s why she couldn’t leave. But as a reader, I needed to understand this from the beginning. It was at this point where I (finally) felt able to engage with Dani.

But this wasn’t enough to rescue the novel for me. There were parts of the plot which were excellent, like the twist at the end about who was behind everything. Then there were parts which just seemed contrived, like the other plot twist at the end. And there were a couple of other plot devices which were simply too obvious. Overall, not a book I enjoyed.

Thanks to Revell and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

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Today I'm reviewing Hidden Agenda by Lisa Harris at Suspense Sisters. 

Exciting Conclusion to Series

Journalist Olivia Hamilton has been receiving mysterious emails, emails which suggest her father, Antonio Valez, is more than just a real estate developer: he’s actually involved in a drug cartel. She visits his private island to find out more, but finds herself in danger after her younger brother witnesses her father’s head of security murder one man … and torture another. Ivan convinces her that they must leave the island, but they have to rescue the stranger, or he will be murdered in the morning ...

Now click here to head over to the Suspense Sisters Reviews blog to read the rest!

Review and Giveaway: Deadly Echoes by Nancy Mehl

Good Christian Message

Eighteen years ago, six-year-old Sarah Miller hid in a closet with her older sister, Hannah, while their parents were murdered. The killers were never found, and the murders written off as a burglary gone wrong. Now, Hannah has been murdered and there are disturbing links between the two sets of murders, links the police don’t seem interested in investigating.

Sanctuary, the setting for Deadly Echoes, has a large Conservative Mennonite population. This gives the town a particular Christian feel and allows the author to have more of a Christian focus than many Christian novels, something she manages to integrate naturally into the plot without it seeming preachy, and without over-spiritualising any of the characters or turning them into Christian caricatures. This seamless integration of Christianity was a strength of the novel, and I especially liked seeing Sarah’s growing realisation of her value in Christ.

The other strength was around Sarah and her ten-year-old niece, Cicely (although I did think some of Cicely’s dialogue seemed too old for a ten-year-old). Sarah and Cicely were both orphaned by murder, and both find the bodies, so Sarah has a unique—if tragic—understanding of what Cicely is going through. I liked the way this was dealt with.

What wasn’t so strong, to my mind, was the romantic suspense plot. I found parts of it somewhat cliché (which took away from the suspense), and the romance was perhaps too understated. That’s not to say it’s not a good book—it’s just that it was missing that ‘zing’ factor that would have made it excellent.

Deadly Echoes is the second book in the Finding Sanctuary series, following Gathering Shadows. The two books have the same setting and share some minor characters, but Deadly Echoes is a stand-alone novel.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. To find out more about Nancy Mehl, visit her website. Nancy is also a member of the Suspense Sisters.

Giveaway

Bethany House Publishers are offering a giveaway with prizes for two lucky US readers. You can see the prizes in the picture to the left. To enter the giveway, click here or visit https://promosimple.com/ps/68c6.

Review: Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey

Excellent Romantic Suspense

Kirra Jacobs and Reef McKenna have been paired as volunteers supporting the annual Iditarod race in Alaska, but they quickly find themselves working together on quite a different kind of project after Kirra’s Uncle Frank doesn’t report in after one of the early stages. They locate Frank, who tells them Kirra’s cousin, Meg, has been kidnapped, and they need to find her before the end of the nine-day race so Frank doesn’t have to complete the job. And no cops, or Meg dies.

What follows is a fast-paced race against time as Kirra and Reef search for Meg and try to find why she and Frank have been targeted. Both Kirra and Reef have to address to some aspects of their past they are less than proud of, which adds a depth to the overall plot. It's hard to say anything more about why I liked it without giving away important plot details, so I'll just say I thought the suspense elements were excellent, and I loved the way the romance developed over the course of Sabotaged. Ah, Reef ...

Sabotaged is the fifth and final book in Dani Pettrey’s Alaskan Courage series, each of which follows the story of one of the McKenna siblings. Romantic suspense is one of my favourite genres, and I’ve enjoyed them all. Dani Pettrey’s writing style is similar to Dee Henderson’s, and I’d definitely recommend Sabotaged (and the rest of the Alaskan Courage series) to fans of Henderson’s O’Malley series.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Dani Pettrey at her website.

Review: The Lawman Returns by Lynette Eason

Social worker Sabrina Mayfield is concerned for one of her teenage clients, who has disappeared in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a wallet that belonged to Steven Starke, who was murdered four weeks ago. Clay Starke has returned to Wranger’s Corner as the new Sheriff’s deputy, replacing his brother, and hoping to find some clues to his brother’s murder. He isn’t expecting to find himself attracted to the lovely Sabrina, who he remembers from his high school days.

For her part, Sabrina isn’t expecting to feel this way about a Starke, not given the history between their respective families. However, they’ll all have to deal with it if they are to solve the mystery of the missing teenager, and the unsolved murder.

The Lawman Returns wasn’t Lynette Eason’s best romantic suspense novel, although that’s partially because it’s a Harlequin, which means it’s shorter, which doesn’t give the author a lot of scope to develop the plot. However, it’s also not her worst (I’m still trying to read Nowhere to Turn. I’ve started it twice and made it a quarter of the way through, but it’s just not grabbing me).

One thing that puzzled me was that the town of Wrangler’s Corner apparently only had a population of 1,037 (not sure if that was before or after the murder), but it had a police department with several officers, and a full hospital. America must have more hospitals per capita than where I live in New Zealand (which might partially explain US healthcare costs). So that required a little suspension of disbelief …

For what it is, The Lawman Returns is a good category romantic suspense novel, a quick and enjoyable read with more plot twists and spiritual depth than most.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Lynette Eason at her website.

Review: A Promise to Protect by Patricia Bradley

Even Better than her Debut

I enjoyed Patricia Bradley’s first novel, Shadows of the Past, but I enjoyed A Promise to Protecteven more. Both are set in the small town of Logan Point, near Memphis, but you don’t need to have read Shadows of the Past in order to read this. While I have read both, I have to admit I’ve read so many novels in between that I don’t remember the details.

Ben Logan has stepped into his father’s shoes as Sheriff of Logan Point, and trying to find out the truth behind his father’s shooting. Tony Jackson said he had information, but now Tony’s been shot, is bleeding out, and asking Ben to protect his sister. Ben agrees, despite his uneasy relationship with Leigh.

Dr Leigh Somerall left Logan Point ten years ago, basically run out of town by Sheriff Tom Logan, who didn’t see her as a suitable girlfriend for his son. Now she’s back with her son, working in the Emergency department of the local hospital and staying with her brother, Tony.

Ben and Leigh are both hiding secrets, Ben about his fear of children, and Leigh about why she broke up with Ben all those years ago, and married so quickly afterwards. There’s nothing like a good secret to keep the pages turning, and these work well. When will they admit they are still attracted to each other, and confess to what’s holding them back?

Intertwined with these secrets is the bigger suspense plot. It soon becomes apparent that Tony’s shooting isn’t an isolated incident. The only question is: who is the next target? Ben or Leigh? And why?

Overall, A Promise to Protect is the perfect blend of romance and suspense, and I’ll be looking out for the next in the Logan Point series. Recommended for fans of Dee Henderson, Dani Pettrey, and Irene Hannon.

Thanks to Revell and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Patricia Bradley at her website.

Review: Deceived by Irene Hannon

Irene Hannon at Her Best

Three years ago, Kate Marshall lost her husband and four-year-old son in a boating accident, and Kevin’s tiny body was never recovered. She’s now re-established herself as a career counsellor for abused women in St Louis, Missouri, far away from the rugged New York coastline which stole her family. But one day she hears a small blond boy at the mall asking a man—his father?--for a Poppysicle, a word she’s only ever heard Kevin use. She loses the boy in the crowd, and when the police aren’t interested, she approaches Phoenix Inc, an upmarket firm of private investigators, for help.


Connor Sullivan is immediately attracted to his new client, something he’ll have to ignore if they are working together. She has a strange story, but one that bears investigating. The more Connor investigates, the more he comes to believe that Kate is right, and the more he wants to see of her. But can they find out the truth before their search is discovered?

I’ve found the last couple of Irene Hannon romantic suspense novels I’ve read a bit flat. There was nothing technically wrong with them, but they didn’t have that spark of inspiration and originality I remember from her earlier books. I’m relieved to report that Deceived is back to Hannon at her best. Okay, the first meet between Kate and Connor was probably more corny than cute, but the suspense plot was excellent (and the romance worked nicely).

It’s an ambitious plot. Was the boy on the elevator Kate’s son? If so, is the man with him involved? How exactly does a four-year-old “drowning” victim resurface as a seven-year-old half a country away? Where has he been for the last three years? Who took him? And why?

At the same time as Kate and Connor are searching for the truth, we see Greg and Todd Sanders, to all outward appearances a loving father and son. This, in my view, is the real strength of Deceived, because Hannon hasn’t depicted a cliché “villain” but a likeable and well-rounded character that I sympathised with. After all, if Kate is right, Greg and Todd are about to have their worlds ripped apart. Writing likeable antagonists is a real skill, especially when it comes to their motives, and I commend Hannon on the way she dealt with Greg’s backstory. When the full story came out, it all seemed horribly plausible. Recommended.

Thanks to Revell and Netgalley for providing a free ebook for review. To find out more about Irene Hannon, visit her website.

Review: Bound by Blood by Scott Springer

Book Description

Julia has accepted the Lord and is busy returning her life to order. She is not ready for love, especially when the new site foreman at work stirs up forgotten feelings. She knows a playboy when she sees one, but to Rick Mercado the attraction between them is surprisingly real. Other girls no longer interest him, and if she wants to play hard to get that's fine with him. Let the games begin!

What he doesn't realize is that her dangerous secret is not a game.

Julia's brother has returned from the street, strung out and in trouble with rival gangs. Loyalty to her brother draws Julia deeper into a world of drug deals and thugs. Rick doesn't understand why Julia won't simply go to the cops, especially once the bullets start flying. As Julia slips further into a world of violence, Rick realizes how easily his heart can be broken. His brain says to run, but his heart isn't listening. It may already be too late.

BOUND BY BLOOD. Love and suspense, heartfelt moments and guns a blazing.

What a killer combination!

My Review

I recently read an article on gender bias in fiction—whether men are more represented as published writers, as reviewed writers, and as characters. It got me thinking, because I predominantly read and review titles written by women. I suspect, after reading the article, it’s because I mostly read and review in two areas—romance and Christian fiction—which are dominated by women (the membership of writer’s organisations such as RWA, RUAus, RWNZ or ACFW are 80% women or more).

I’ll also make an admission: I’ve discovered I prefer novels written by women, because I like the internal conflict, the character development and relationship, and I think that on average, women write people better than men. My reading history shows men are more likely to write shoot-em-up novels with little or no character development (e.g. James Patterson, Dan Brown). Yes, they make good movies. Yes, there are exceptions.

So Bound by Blood is a novelty for me: a novel written by a man. A man who knows how to write good characters with strong internal conflict who change and grow by the end of the novel. Yes, there was a lot of action in the novel, but it was action driven by the plot, not action for the sake of filling a chapter or two.

Bound by Blood has a different setting than most Christian novels. I find most of the novels I read are set in a sanitised middle-class America, where even people whose lives go wrong have strong Christian support networks to help them get back on their feet, whether family or friends. If people have financial or health problems, it’s because it’s a plot point, not a reality of daily life.

Bound by Blood is different, in that it’s showing a side of American life that’s representative of how many people live, and it’s not pretty. It’s gritty and edgy, and offers a real insight into the difficulties new Christians can face in moving away from their old lives and on in the faith. Well done.

Release Date: September 23, 2014, from Anaiah Press.



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Author Bio:

Scott Springer spent his youth playing pretend and dreaming of being a writer. As an adult he worked as a carpenter before becoming a software developer. Having produced much, his two children remain his proudest accomplishment. His wife led him to the Lord, and he’s glad that she did. You can find him at his website, on Twitter, or on Goodreads.

Bound by Blood is available to buy at
Amazon, B&N and Smashwords.

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Review: The Hesitant Heiress by Dawn Crandall

Excellent Historical Debut

It is 1890, and Amaryllis Brigham is a talented musician, but a slanderous letter from the rich influential Bram Everstone ends her study at the Boston Conservatory of Music, and sends her to the home of her Aunt Claudine. Here she is reintroduced to her childhood friend, cousin Lawry Hampton, and his friends, Jay Crawford and Nathan Everstone … Bram’s son.

Amaryllis discovers she is a rich heiress, but she must marry in order to claim her inheritance. She has no desire to marry, yet the money would enable her to return home to her beloved Whidbey Island, Washington, and establish a music school. Logic would dictate that the handsome Jay would make the ideal husband, as he’s a preacher in search of a wife to accompany him to fulfil his call to preach in Washington. Yet Amarillys finds herself attracted to Nathan, the son of the man who has ruined her life in more ways than one.

The Hesitant Heiress is written in the first person, which is an unusual choice for a historical romance, but it works. So many of the characters are hiding secrets, and first person enables the reader to uncover those secrets slowly, and means they have the same element of surprise to us as they do to Amaryllis. I liked that, as it added to the suspense.

This story has it all—fascinating characters, secret love, obsession, suspense, loads of romantic tension, and a few rather fabulous kisses. I thoroughly enjoyed The Hesitant Heiress. The only thing I didn’t like was the teaser for the sequel, because now I’m going to have to wait months to find out what happens. Recommended for fans of historical romantic suspense from authors such as Colleen Coble.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Dawn Crandall at her website.

Review: Out of Hiding by Rachel Dylan

Enjoyable Debut

Sadie Lane is a private investigator with a mission: to bring down the man who gunned down her parents when she was eight, and left her an orphan in the Witness Protection scheme—and with an abiding distrust of the FBI, who she sees as failing her family. Enter FBI agent Kip Moore, who she is forced to work with—and who might just change her mind. They are both on the trail of the same man, and the race is on to find a missing girl before they are exposed.

I’m a long-standing fan of romantic suspense, but haven’t always been impressed with the offerings from Love Inspired Suspense. I can see they are written to a definite structure (surely it’s not coincidence that they all have ten chapters?), and this can work against them. Not so with Out of Hiding. It started with a blast (well, actually with a gunshot), and the pace didn’t let up as it moved from Texas to Mexico, and then to the one place Sadie had promised never to go.

I liked both the lead characters—always important in a romance. It took a long time for each of them to get over their initial distrust, but the ending was worth the wait. My one grouch is that in the first portion, Sadie in particular was so busy being suspicious of Kip that she missed the obvious link between their cases (and so did he). They got there, and the story continued it’s fast pace, and managed to surprise me with an unexpected plot twist more than once. An enjoyable first novel, and I’ll look forward to reading more from Rachel Dylan.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Rachel Dylan at her website.

Review: Fatal Exchange by Lisa Harris

Fast-paced Suspense

Mason Taylor has had a bad start to his day. His estranged father is dying, but he’s had a desperate phone call from Rafael Cerda, a teen he counsels from the wrong side of the tracks. Rafael’s younger brother has been kidnapped by drug lords, who are asking for a ransom of $250,000, money he can’t possibly find. And things get worse …

Emily Hunt is Rafael’s history teacher at the prestigious Dogwood Academy, where he is a scholarship student, but now she and her niece, Tess, are his hostages. Meanwhile, Mason works with Emily’s sister—Tess’s mother—to negotiate with Rafael before anyone gets hurt. But who is behind the kidnapping?

Fatal Exchange is fast-paced romantic suspense. Most of the action takes place over the course of a single day, and there are no end to the twists and turns as Mason and Emily work to resolve the situation from their different positions. The plot was excellent, and kept me reading.

Along with plenty of suspense, there is a sizzling romantic undertone between a couple who have known each other for years but have never dated because of Emily’s aversion to dating a cop—and because Mason didn’t share her faith. I thought the way their relationship was handled was excellent. And the teaser at the end … I’ll be waiting for the next book with bated breath.

Lisa Harris won the 2014 Christy Award for Contemporary Romance/Suspense for Dangerous Passage, the first book in the Southern Crimes series, and Fatal Exchange is every bit as good, but can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. Recommended for romantic suspense fans.

Thanks to Lisa Harris for the ebook, which I won in a contest hosted by SoulInspirationz. You can find out more about Lisa Harris at her website.

Review: Firewall by DiAnn Mills

Underwhelming

Software developer Taryn Young has just become Mrs Francis Shepherd after a whirlwind courtship. She is about to board a plane with Shep for their island honeymoon when a bomb rips through the airport, and Taryn wakes up in hospital to find she and Shep are the prime suspects.

FBI Special Agent Grayson Hall has been assigned to interview Taryn to find the truth behind the fatal bombing. He and his partner are initially convinced she is guilty, but while she manages to convince them of her innocence, it soon becomes apparent that Shep is intimately involved in the crime. As the investigation progresses, Greyson finds himself developing feelings for Taryn.

There is something slightly ‘off’ about a romance plot in which one of the partners has only recently come out of a serious relationship (as in, serious enough that she married the guy). Even as teenagers we understood that rebound relationships never work, and while I’ve read some excellent novels about second relationships (Somebody Like You by Beth Vogt springs to mind), Firewall is not one of them.

Taryn’s emotions towards Grayson felt more like a bizarre kind of Stockholm Syndrome than real caring, and I didn’t think her emotionally-backward genius-level IT geek came across well (Ted Dekker’s Hacker on the other hand … brilliant). Bluntly, I found it difficult to care for her as a character. She felt more like a mash-up of clichés than a real person. Yes, I know Firewall is fiction, but the beauty of great fiction is it makes me feel like I’m reading about real people. Firewall didn’t.

Despite the relative failings of the romance, the suspense side of the plot was definitely up to standard. It was chilling to watch the FBI investigation progress and see how thoroughly Taryn had been duped, and Mills did an excellent job in that I never saw Taryn as stupid or naive (let’s face it, even the most intelligent of women can make bad choices in marriage, Christian or not). The finale was excellent, as it pulled of a huge plot twist that tied up all the ends of the suspense plot. However, this was not enough to squelch my ‘yuk’ factor around the ‘romance’ side of the plot. Firewall is not a book I’ll be rereading.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Diann Mills at her website.

Review: Seagrass Pier by Colleen Coble

Excellent Romantic Suspense

Elin Summerall, widowed mother of four-year-old Josie, has recently undergone a lifesaving heart transplant operation, receiving the heart of Laura Watson, a murder victim. Now she’s experiencing nightmares—memories of murder. Marc Everton is an FBI agent who believes the death of his partner is linked to Laura’s murder, and although he doesn’t really believe in residual memories, he wonders if Elin can help. But there’s a catch …

I’ve read several books by Colleen Coble, both contemporary and historical. I personally prefer her contemporary novels, and Seagrass Pier is excellent. At first I thought the plot was going to be like Double Blind: A Novel by Brandilyn Collins, but Seagrass Pier was quite different (although it came close to Brandilynn’s trademark “Seatbelt Suspense”, in that it was full of tension and hard to put down).

Nick, Elin and the supporting characters are all well developed and believable, and the plot is a tightly-woven web of suspense with a little romance added in. Seagrass Pier is Christian fiction and while Christian values underpin the lives of all the main characters, it’s not preachy fiction. My one concern is that I never saw Elin accept God’s forgiveness for her sin. In real life, God forgives us before we even ask, yet even at the end, Elin doesn’t seem to understand she is forgiven.

Seagrass Pier is the third book in the Hope Beach series, following Tidewater Inn and Rosemary Cottage. However, it can easily be read as a standalone title (I have read the previous two books—while all three books have the same location, they focus on different characters with only a few cameo appearances from the earlier books). Recommended for fans romantic suspense.



Thanks to Bethany House, Litfuse Publicity, and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Remember, the Kindle edition of Seagrass Pier is available for $4.99 if you preorder by 30 June!