Flight Risk - A Review

Flight Risk

by

Cara C. Putman

A legal thriller on two fronts - the first was brought by a client of Savannah Daniels that was being sued by a competitor for stealing programming code for a new technology for gathering data from planes in flight. The other came about when a reporter, Jett Glover, wrote an exposé pointing out that Savannah Daniels ex-husband was actively involved in child trafficking out of Thailand.

But Savannah Daniels and Jett Glover find they have more in common than just the one case. By the final chapter, they would both be putting their lives on the line. The result is an exciting faith-based thriller that will hold the reader’s attention without fail.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

End Game - A Review

End Game

 

by

Rachel Dylan

Short Summary: 
He saved her life;
she saved his life;
they had fallen in love.

The story was more involved than that simple summary. This faith-based romantic thriller was an alphabet soup of police agencies working to solve multiple murders in the Washington DC area: NCIS, JAG, Army CID, Seal Team 8, FBI, CIA, the Arlington Police Department, and the Arlington DA’s Office. Each had a role in bringing a group of criminals to justice - and they wanted to do it before any other innocent person was killed.

As expected, Rachel Dylan has created an exciting and complex story worthy of the genre. The author has indicated that there will be future stories in this series; this reader hopes that the series brings back many of the same characters from the various federal agencies in future volumes, they worked well together as a team and some friendships were just beginning.   

The book would be a welcome addition to a church or public library. It would be enjoyed by those familiar with the author or genre.  

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Seconds To Live - A Review

Seconds To Live 

by

Susan Sleeman

Deputy U.S. Marshal Taylor Mills, assigned to the WITSEC detail in Portland, OR, must work with FBI Agent Sean Nichols, assigned to the RED (“Rapid Emergency Deployment”) team from Seattle, WA, to identify and apprehend a hacker using the alias of Phantom. Phantom’s crime - hacking the WITSEC database containing the names of thousands of individuals being offered protection by the U.S. Marshals Service. Phantom’s first target appeared to be Dustee and Dianne, twin sisters. Dustee had a nasty habit of not following the WITSEC rules designed to protect their charges, and now the twin’s lives were in danger.

Solving the clues would take the technical IT and forensic skills of both the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI’s RED team. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep most readers of faith-based romantic thrillers happy and engaged. The romantic component was a bit more than what this reader usually likes, but the book still is easily a 5-star read.

This book could easily find a home in many reader’s personal libraries, a local public library, or the church library.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Dark Ambitions - A Review

Dark Ambitions 

by

Irene Hannon

The hired gun had missed his target! He had found him, but he had not killed him - now he had until the end of the week to do so. And he promised results, even if he had to do it his own way.

On the other hand, Rick Jordan was also looking for Boomer -- not to kill him but to save him. He had not seen him, but Rick knew he had been there. He had seen the blood, he found the items that only Boomer would have left, and he had made a promise as well.  And he would keep it.

Thus begins Irene Hannon’s newest thriller. Set in rural Missouri, the search for Boomer and his hunter would press Rick to his limits and would involve the team of private investigators from Phoenix, Inc. in an increasingly dark case. The book held this reader’s attention from page one - actually before page one, if one counts the prologue.  

Hannon’s faith-based thriller will provide a great winter read for those who enjoy the genre. The book will easily fit into the church library collection as well as that of many public libraries. For the reader looking for the perfect book to read this winter, Dark Ambitions may fill the bill.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Vow of Justice

by

Lynette Eason

Justice and Revenge are not the same things - a lesson that would be difficult to learn and to live out for FBI Special Agent Allison Radcliffe. She would come face to face with people who had killed her family 15 years ago, she would also see the brother she thought she had lost in the same events and whom she thought dead. The tears would flow. But in the middle of all the pain and confusion, her faith would grow in unexpected ways.

Lynette Eason has written a faith-based thriller that would compete well with the likes of NCIS:LA or Criminal Minds if found on TV. The plot is solid with just enough turns to keep the reader wanting more. And if the hint embedded at the end of the book is any clue, more is to come.

Unlike her earlier book, Code of Valor, the book does not focus on a cultural issue, but on more personal issues that many face, Maybe not as intense as Allie’s, but just as real. The book would be a welcome addition to the church library - either as part of the set of four books in the series or as an independent purchase. It would also serve as a welcome addition to the public library willing to include faith-based books in its collection. Any reader enjoying well-written thrillers would find the book a good weekend’s worth of reading.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Fire Storm - A Review

Fire Storm 

by

Nancy Mehl

Fire Storm is the second book in a series featuring Kaely Quinn, trained as a profiler, but because of her irregular methods is currently serving as a special agent out of the St. Louis, MO, office of the FBI. Though there are many who question her methods, her supervisor, SAC Solomon Slattery, has grown to appreciate the skill and talent she brings to her work with the FBI.

Though the relationship she has with her mother is not great, Kaely Quinn still wants to make the effort to travel to Darkwater, Nebraska, before her mother’s health deteriorates. She has been granted time off and as the story begins, we find her on the road to her mother’s home.

Stopping at a small diner to eat before going home, Kaely picks up a local paper and is intrigued by the front-page story that describes a series of fires that have hit homes in Darkwater. The local fire chief attributes the fires to misused space heaters. Kaely’s intuition tells her something more sinister is going on.

During the course of the plot, we watch the faith of three characters being challenged as they and the local police and fire departments seek to identify the arsonist that is attacking families in the Darkwater community. Jason, Kaely’s brother and most solidified in his faith is not immune to the pain around him. Kaely’s faith is growing but finds it challenged as she faces her mother and the arsonist. Noah, Kaely’s FBI colleague and partner (and boyfriend?), is the youngest believer in the group and is watching the others as they respond to their faith.

The book will easily find a home in the church or public library. Its intensity matches that of criminal minds and fits naturally after Nancy Mehl’s earlier Mind Games.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Fragments of Fear - A Review

Fragments of Fear

by

Carrie Stuart Parks

Evelyn Yvonne McTavish (‘Tavish’ for short) is not being believed. She is convinced that her fiance has been murdered - the police do not believe her. Evelyn tells the city pound that Marley, the Puli (a dog breed) is not hers - Mr. Brown, the attendant, does not believe her. And when she reports the death of John Coyote (a client for whom she did some artwork), the police cannot find the body or the blood she had seen on the floor. Evelyn’s credibility is going downhill fast.

All that is in the first two chapters.

The plot involves events that are over two years old, events that may involve her mother in a criminal conspiracy, and events that may involve national security issues. Tavish and FBI Special Agent Sawyer Price will need to work independently and cooperatively to piece together the seemingly disconnected pieces of information to solve the riddles before them.

Written with a light faith-based style, the book has its protagonists looking at their own spiritual lives even as they are forced to work together on the issues before them.

The book belongs in both the church and public library, as well as in the hands of those who enjoy a thrill ride from an experienced author. For those looking for a good Fall weekend read, this book may fill the bill.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Fatal Strike - A Review

Fatal Strike

by

DiAnne Mills

Snakes and Leah Riesel do not go well together. The problem is that the latest serial killer striking Galveston, TX, is using snakes to hunt down and kill members of the law enforcement community. That wasn’t that was not her only problem - she was not a people person. But her new partner was so attractive and single and she wished that she was more of a people person. But Leah’s problems did end there; she also had issues with her family in Brooklyn.

As both Leah and Jon Colbert, her partner, look for the killer, they will both have to begin to face their spiritual lives and the God that is seeking them out.

The plot is well-executed, the characters appear real, and the book is one that this reader could not put down. Leah will face her fears and her history and will be touched by a God is full of grace and hope. My only concern is that the author wraps up the story with an epilog when a follow-up book could have done a better and moe complete job of bring closure to these characters and their lives.

The book will find a place on the shelves of many church libraries and in the homes of believers. I would hope that it would find a spot on the shelves of many public libraries as well.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

The Killing Tide - A Review

The Killing Tide

by

Dani Pettrey

Dani Pettrey has a knack for writing faith-based suspense that draws her readers to wanting more. The Killing Tide once again accomplishes this task.

Gabby Rowley was a top-notch investigative reporter for the Raleigh (NC) Gazette. Her stories on Xavier Fuentes had assisted local enforcement in bringing down the major drug-kingpin and the seizure of $30 Million in cocaine by the DEA. Now Fuentes’ gang would stop at nothing to take Gabby down - permanently. Members of the Raleigh PD, her supervisor at the Gazette, and her brother, a member of a Coast Guard Investigative Service team, agreed she needed time to recuperate Wilmington West Virginia. Gabby was not quite ready for Finn Walker, her former boyfriend, to be a part of that same CGIS team.

While staying in Wilmington, Gabby stumbles into another smuggling crew. To get her story she would need to follow the CGIS team as they track down the smugglers and avoid the dangers presented by Xavier Fuentes as he escapes from prison.

Gabby and her family’s faith will provide guidance as they move ahead day by day. There are some who do not yet understand this thing called faith, but prayer may be able to move them forward.

Whether a reader’s personal library, a local church library, or a public library, The Killing Tide could easily find a home. If Dani Pettrey follows a similar pattern to her earlier works, we will be seeing additional using the same characters - this reader will be looking forward to those books.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Cold Aim - A Review

Cold Aim

by

Janice Cantore

Cold Aim is a Faith based crime thriller set in the Rogue Valley outside Medford Falls, OR; it is an exciting sit-on-the-edge-of your-seat story focusing on the issues of international human trafficking and the work of national and local law enforcement’s to intervene in putting a stop to its evil.

With roots 25 years in the past, Police Chief O’Rourke and her small force, working with the county sheriff, the FBI, and the local pastor, Oliver Macpherson, would be responsible for rescuing two local women as well as a score of others located around the country and the world. The reader quickly learns that human trafficking is not just a problem elsewhere or on the international front, but will sometimes need to be dealt with in the local community as well.

But the solution would not come easy - the death of both the innocent and the guilty would provide milestones toward the arrest and capture of the crime family’s long time head. Their work would also lead to the freedom of many (both physically and spiritually) as they moved closer to apprehending those responsible for stealing the childhood of so many. In the midst of the story both Chief O’Rourke and Pastor Macpherson would be facing their own spiritual crisis as they sought to follow the path God laid out in front of them.

The only flaw I found in the book is that occasionally the main characters would reflect on events found in earlier books in the series. This in no way detracts from the current story or leaves the reader at a loss, but a footnote pointing the reader to the earlier books might alert the current reader that the earlier stories are available and can also be read.

For the reader looking for an exciting week of reading, Cold Aim might just fill that need. This book has a place on the shelf of the church library and the local community library’s shelves.______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Breach of Trust - A Review

Breach Of Trust

by

Rachel Dylan

Rachel Dylan has created one of the best faith based, romantic thrillers that I have read. It has enough believable twists and turns to keep the most devoted suspense reader on the edge of his or her seat from the first page (“My friend was murdered”) to the very end (“Unscathed, Noah ran to her and guided her out from behind the desk as police officers swarmed into the room. “Your safe now,” he whispered ...).

The book easily falls into the same tradition as John Grisham and Robert Whitlow - and misses many of the flaws I found in Ms. Dylan’s earlier work, Lone Witness. Those who enjoy romantic suspense will find this book a thrilling read. In addition, the book is recommended for most church libraries with a section focused on fiction as well as most local public libraries. Believers may find this to be a good gift for their unbelieving friends, not to be given as a “trick” gift, but as a really good read that may get others to think about their faith.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Over The Line - A Review

Over The Line

by

Kelly Irvin

Kelly Irvin has written a solid faith-based thriller with a rougher edge than I generally enjoy. Gun smuggling is hurting the reputations of San Antonio, TX, and Laredo, TX. It was also effecting the lives of Gabriella Benoit (former San Antonio prosecutor and current restaurateur) and her family.

Beginning with the death of a confidential informant working with her brother, an ATF agent, the books moves along. Sadly, though the plot is good and attention holding, it felt to this reader as if he were sloshing through foot deep mud for most of the book. There times when the reader felt that it was moving at a good clip, but those places were few and far between. Of course, the book’s pace is a much a function of the reader’s taste as it is of the author’s writing - so other readers may find the book to be a faster read than I did.

Those who enjoy faith-based thrillers will find the story worth reading. Because of the added grittiness of the book, the local church library would do well to have one or two local members pre-read this book before definitely adding it to their collection. Local libraries serving a conservative community may want to consider adding this book to their collection.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Tell Her No Lies - A Review

Tell Her No Lies

by

Kelly Irwin

Who does Nina Fischer trust? Her dad? Nope, he left before she was born. Her mom? No, she is an alcoholic with a history of lying. As an adult child of an alcoholic, she had learned her lesson well - you can’t trust anyone. And with the murder of her step father, the question becomes even more confusing.

Kelly Irwin has written a new romantic thriller that held this reader's attention from beginning to end - broken people are not all bad people, some are, but not all. Kelly would learn that as she sought answers to her step father’s death. At times more questions would arise than answers, but slowly, surely, Nina would find most of the answers and the God, that she needed; but some questions would not be answered - or would take even more time.

Though most of the book focuses on the homeless community, brokenness is found in all walks of life. Some people come out of it better people, others find themselves even more broken, and others are still seeking to find their way out of the hole they have built for themselves.

My biggest disappointment with the book is that there is clear path to a sequel - there is room for more character development as relationships continue to be built and cemented. Short of that, this book represents one of the best faith based books of the genre that I have read. In spite of this flaw, it is easy to give the book a 5-star review.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Crisis Shot - A Review

Crisis Shot

by

Janice Cantore

A Review

Tess O’Rourke had shot a 14-year-old boy. The review board had cleared her, but the community was not so sure. When the opportunity came to move from Long Beach, CA, to Rogue’s Hollow, OR, with some trepidation, she took it. It was a promotion in name (from Detective to Chief), if not in pay.  She was leary of the job; alas, there were those in the community who were leary of her. But it was her new job and she was determined to do it to the best of her ability.

There were those on the force who wondered if she was ready for the change from big city cop to the small town Rogue’s Hollow. The City Council vote was a narrow victory. But the bigger problem was the increase in vandalism and murders (this was brand new) to hit the community with her arrival. Mayor Dixon had started supporting her, now he was not so sure. There were members of the force that had started questioning her, but gained confidence in her ability to lead as she tackled the problems that kept presenting themselves during those first days on her new beat. Pastor Oliver never seemed to doubt her ability - but his wife had been tossed into the river and left to die. Tilly was a drug addict and she did not know who to trust. She knew something, but could she be trusted to remember it and to tell the truth. And then Steve Logan, a county sheriff, was upping the anty for Tess.

Janice Cantore has written an interesting story that covers the lives of people living in two states. It will easily hold the attention of the lover of police procedurals and of cozy mysteries. Weaving in a hint of romance and a longing for faith, the story is a great first book in a new series from an accomplished author. I will be looking forward to the next book in this series.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.