Deadly Target - A Review

 

Deadly Target

by

Elizabeth Goddard

A Review

Her life was threatened on Puget Sound in Washington by an almost tragic accident. Her life was threatened while visiting Cooper Hill Burying Ground in Boston while working with a Big Rapids, MT, police detective on a decade old cold case. Her life was again threatened while helping the same police detective follow-up on an attempt to kill his father near the Casper Creek Dam. She was tired of it.

Criminal Psychologist Erin Larson would spend the next few weeks running from trouble as she sought to discover who was doing the threatening and why. The plot is attention grabbing and movie worthy. Erin’s history is dramatic and will bring danger to her mother, sister, and community. The author presents a tale worth spending late nights reading - this reader wanted to finish as quickly as possible to see how the pieces of the puzzle went together.

For the reader looking for a Rocky Mountain thriller, Deadly Target will fill the bill. I easily give the book five-stars.
______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Keepers - A Review

 

The Keepers 

by

Jeffrey R. Burton

A Review

Cadaver dogs are trained to find bodies - those buried alive, those who have died in the most tragic accidents, and those who have decomposed from having sat too long. But some had other talents as well. Vira was that kind of dog. Vira could pick up the scents at crime scenes and hours or days later respond to that smell if it crossed her path again. The dogs were also defensive and wildly jealous when anyone wished to harm Mason Reid, owner of these amazing dogs. If you messed with Mason, the dogs would mess with you.

Jeffrey Burton has created an intense, well-written, story that continued to hold this reader’s attention from beginning to end. We get a glimpse of the dirty underbelly of Chicago’s politics and the few who are willing to protect the city from “the keepers” who did not want it to change for the better.

For the reader looking for a fast paced thriller, The Keepers might just fill the bill - it did for me. I give the book five-stars.
______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

Dead Silence - A Review

Dead Silence

by

Robin Caroll

Because Elise Carmichael’s son was deaf and mute, she had learned ASL (American Sign Language) and lipread. What she “heard” across the lobby the of the Arkansas Federal Courthouse shook her to the core, but she promptly forgot it moments later when she received word that her son had been injured and taken to the hospital with a broken hand he received after falling at the playground. She forgot about the overheard conversation until the next day when she received word that her mother-in-law had been murdered the previous night. Thus begins the story that would lead to her being accused of murder and her son being kidnapped to keep her quiet.

This faith-based thriller explores the anguish of a widowed mother trying to balance her and her families safety with the need to allow the police to investigate the murder of a U.S. Senator - a tight rope she was not sure she could handle well. In the process she will learn to increase her trust in God - whether in the midst of fear, anger, or disappointment.

The book easily could find its way into a public, church, or a believer’s private library. The author does not push God upon the reader, but allows him or her to face the issue of faith along with Elise and her family and friends. The book might make a good birthday or Christmas gift for a non-believing friend or family member. Easily, a five-star book from this author.
______________
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.
______________
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.

Formula of Deception - A Review

Formula of Deception

by

Carrie Stuart Parks

A Review

Ms. Parks presents a roller coaster of a story – where determining the good, the evil, and the crazy, becomes almost as important as determining who-done-it. This reader could not put the book down.

Murphy Andersen had a mission to complete, but truth was not part of it. Her sister had disappeared, her friends were dying, and she needed to put the pieces together. Determining who to trust was as difficult for her as it was for this reader, but slowly and surely, the clouds of uncertainty begin to lift. And when they do, she must fight for her own life and the life of those she had learned to trust.

The book had it roots in Alaska’s part in WWII and the United States involvement in chemical and biological weapons in the late 1940’s through the late 1950’s. Sadly, the US government is not as innocent as our history books would have it’s citizens believe. The author has done an excellent job of weaving history and fiction together into a readable tale.

Formula of Deception is a summer or fall thriller that easily earns the reader’s attention. Some church libraries will appreciate it (though the faith component is not as strong as it is for some faith-based books), but the public library could easily find a place for this book in their collection. This book is perfect for the reader looking for a thrill ride along Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

______________

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.

Deep Extraction - A Review

Deep Extraction

by

DiAnn Mills

A Review

A romantic thriller starring a FBI agent, a dying FBI agent that will not admit his failings, and a U S Marshall that is nearly ready to give up, all contribute to a non-stop thrill ride that has all the makings for a great Hallmark-Mystery movie.

The central characters are broken people needing God’s grace in their lives. Some will find it, others will not - but it is offered to all. None of them are entirely who they seem at first glance and it will take the touch of God’s hand for each to move forward from the place in which they are stuck. The bombing of an oil drilling site and the death of its owner appear to be connected - yet the connection is not as obvious the as law enforcement officials working the case would like. And they would need to risk their lives to put together the puzzle that would answer all their questions.

This is Book Two of a series - but the books have little connection between them other than the formation of an FBI task force composed of broken people. It is this lack of connection that I least appreciate about Diann Mills’ books. She begins to develop the characters, but we do not see them in the series' sequels. I do like the stories; I do like the characters; but I want to learn more about them and see them continue to develop through two or three additional novels. I can always hope.

______________

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.

Deadlock - A Review

Deadlock

by

DiAnn Mills

A Review

DiAnn Mills is a good author - I have enjoyed her earlier books. However, though definitely Christian, the current book seems more like a Harlequin Romance than an FBI thriller. FBI Special Agent Bethany Sanchez and her new partner, FBI Special Agent Thatcher Graves, would need to work together to find the Scorpion Murderer and those accomplices that made his crimes so brutal.  The mystery, thriller was very much there and held my interest - especially as it moved further into the book.

The book did seem, as I said earlier, more like a Harlequin Romance, than the usual FBI thriller I had come to expect from the author. For example, in the first chapter alone, we find the following:

On this gray morning, she was beginning a violent crime assignment and would meet her new partner, Special Agent Thatcher Graves, the man who’d sent her brother to jail. …

Beyond there she’d find Special Agent Thatcher Graves. Her gaze pulled ahead. She wanted the partnership to work so badly that her blood pressure flared at the thought of it. She moved through the room to the kitchen. Thatcher bent behind the crime scene tape, where the body had been found. He glanced up, his earth-colored eyes stormy.

Neither the mystery nor the romance slows down for the remainder of the book. I recognize that many readers will want this somewhat fairytale style of romance, but this pastor felt that the picture painted by the author in this book was an unrealistic and unhealthy picture of a growing relationship between two believers. The book was not written to provide advice to the lovelorn, but it sets an unhelpful example for believers young in their faith.

Thus, the mystery was enjoyed, the romance less so. If the reader can set aside the fairy tale romance as a fairy tale, he or she might just enjoy this FBI thriller.

______________

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.