This intense, action-packed novel kept me up, turning the page until the end. Kudos to the author. Excellent pacing as the suspense deepened. I connected with the heroine immediately and wanted to help in her dilemma. Christina (Christy) O’Malley, a prisoner in her own home, suspects someone murdered her sister. She grabs Ellie, her five-year-old daughter, and escapes in the snowy weather. Christy suspects someone murdered her sister, and she and her daughter are next. She races to her car. Someone starts shooting. The only person she can trust is Sam Burkholder, Ellie’s father. Only, Sam doesn’t know he is…
Unknown Threat by Lynn H. Blackburn
Unknown Threat packs a punch as the action intensifies throughout the novel. The characters in this story are well-rounded and realistic. The author cleverly crafted the plot twists. Kudos to Lynn Blackburn for a job well done. Faith Malone, an FBI Special Agent, is assigned to take charge of a top-priority investigation where US Secret Service Agents are under attack, including the handsome Secret Service Special Agent Luke Powell. Luke isn’t happy about teaming up with the FBI. In fact, he detests them and doesn’t want to have anything to do with the organization. In his eyes, Faith isn’t qualified…
Active Defense by Lynette Eason
Dr. Heather Fontaine suspects that someone is following her after only four months home from active duty. She spots a man wearing a ball cap at different locations throughout her day but cannot see his face. Determined to remain independent and take care of the situation on her own puts her in more danger than she expects. Travis Walker opened a security firm and hired several of her friends to work with him. He is interested in Heather and has for a while, but her independent nature keeps everyone at a distance. When he learns about the stalker, his protective…
Killer Insight by Virginia Vaughan
Virginia Vaughan did a fabulous job of keeping the suspense high and raising the stakes at every turn. This novel packs a punch when FBI Agent Lucy Sanderson, a profiler, arrives in town in search of the Backroads Killer. The role takes an unexpected turn when the murderer snatches her while she’s out jogging, and throws her into his trunk. She barely escapes with her life, but the killer doesn’t give up. Bryce Tippet, an old Marine friend of Danny’s, her deceased fiancé, and a single dad, finds Lucy standing in the road, battered and bruised. He rescues her from…
Deadly Deceit by Natalie Walters
This suspense-filled novel is a nice balance between romance and suspense. Journalist Vivian DeMarco will take you on a roller coaster ride as she faces danger, emotional heartbreaks, and an unexpected relationship with the handsome Deputy Ryan Frost. After years of trying to measure up to what she thinks others expect from her, Vivian must discover her true self-worth. Ryan Frost finds himself indecisive about staying in his small home town to watch over his mom and sister or accepting a job offer with the FBI Cyber Crimes Division in Washington, DC. An added complication pops up when he encounters…
God is Not Our Virtual Assistant by DiAnn Mills
Recently, I heard a speaker state God was a virtual assistant. The claim didn’t resonate with me. In fact, it irritated me, so I dug deeper for a definition and the qualifications for a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant is self-employed and generally works from home to assist a client or clients with professional, technical, communication, and creative advice. Nothing spiritual in that definition. The need for a virtual assistant is basic: reduce our work load, give us more time personally and professionally, and flexibility. Nothing spiritual there either. To be among the five-star virtual assistants, one must: Express him/herself…
Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker
When I began reading this novel, I kept questioning what I’d missed in the first chapter, so I went back and reread the chapter. Questions remained unanswered until the end. The toss-up between what was real and unreal and whether Cohen Marah actually killed his father kept me turning the page. In some sense, the context had me wondering if the novel was along the lines of a Frank Peretti thriller or was Smucker walking the reader through Cohen’s imaginary past or maybe his nightmares? Were the dark shadows Cohen saw symbolizing demons or was he simply afraid of the…
Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland
FBI Official, Stephanie Maddox comes face-to-face with right and wrong when her son is accused of being involved with an extremist group that’s plotting against high ranking government officials. Like any mother, she believes her son Zachary is innocent. She searches his closet and finds a loaded gun tucked away in a sack in his closet. When she questions him about the weapon, his response and body language convince her he’s clueless. What does she do with the gun? Her actions and reasoning must remain above board and yet she if she turns the pistol into the authorities, her son…
Justice Delivered by Patricia Bradley
This riveting suspense kept me up all night! A definite page-turner. Carly Smith was fighting for her life and I had to help her escape her captors as she fought to stay alive. Carly attempts to rebuild her life after years of captivity, but her past returns with a vengeance. She returns to Memphis where the life as she’d know as a seventeen-year-old ended. She’d never forget going to a party with a friend where a man posing as a modeling agent offered her a job. He had talked her into leaving with him that night. A decision that changed…
Never Let Go By Elizabeth Goddard
Whatever you do, don’t bypass the prologue. The prologue thrusts you into the middle of the action and builds immediate suspense. The tension doesn’t let up until the end of the book. A crime is committed when the unthinkable happens. A newborn is abducted from the hospital. That alone should pique your interest. Years pass and none of the investigators the mother hired produced any results. The mother refuses to believe her daughter is dead. She never stops searching for her baby. Willow Anderson works as a Forensic Genealogist with her grandfather’s business, Anderson Consulting. Her grandfather was murdered after…
