A Shepherd Suspense Novel, #1: A Cross to Kill by Andrew Huff

Book review:

John Cross is a small-town pastor, bent on leading his flock to follow God's calling. He's not the sort of man one would expect to have a checkered past.

But the truth is that the man behind the pulpit preaching to his sheep was once a wolf--an assassin for the CIA. When John decided to follow Christ, he put that work behind him, determined to pay penance for all the lives he took. He vowed never to kill again.

Now someone wants the peaceful pastor to pay for his sins with his own life. And when a terrorist out for revenge walks into the church, John's secrets are laid bare. Confronted with his past, he must face his demons and discover whether a man can truly change. Can he keep his vow--even when the people he loves are in mortal danger? Will his congregation and the brave woman he's learning to care for be caught in the cross fire? In the end, his death may be the only sacrifice he has left to offer . . .

Andrew Huff's thrilling debut is not only a riveting story of suspense, it's also a deep exploration of the moral quandaries that face those who choose to follow the Prince of Peace in a violent world.

My review:

  This book sounded really good, but no offense intended....the publisher isn't known for great suspense authors or books. Those come from Nelson, Zondervan, Revell, etc. But it sounded really good....so I requested it to review.

  This has to be the best book Kregel ever published. Seriously. Talk about non stop action and an adrenaline rush from reading a book. It starts out with a televised execution being filmed live, and doesn't slow down until the last page, which is when I finally took a breath.

 A likable character is important, and the author came up with a great and very likable character in John Cross. Former assassin for the CIA, and now a pastor of a small country church where he tries to atone for his past. Huff did an excellent job on portraying the struggle of not going back into that life as his past caught up with him and temptations to give into the old killing urges came up in him.

 The book is unapologetically Christian, while also being one of the most intense suspense novels I have read for a while. It was full of twists and turns intertwined with Biblical truths.

 I have found the Christian fiction market to be extremely geared towards women. Books that are for men, or at least geared more towards men, seem to be a rarity. This book is one of those rarities. Sure, women are going to enjoy it, but this is definitely a book you can buy for the male readers in your life. They will not be disappointed, and may even let you read it after they finish it.

 Huff pulled off some great accomplishments with this book:
1)  He published a debut novel that should shoot him to the top of a lot of reader's favorite authors (including me!)

2)  He wrote a totally awesome suspense novel that is intense, action filled, and totally Christian, and that will thrill and interest both men and women.

3) And he pulled it off with a publisher not necessarily known for putting out this kind of award winning fiction. (Well, it is guaranteed to win awards.)

  Seriously, people....I don't exaggerate. This is one of the most awesome suspense novels I have read for a long time.... and I have read some great ones. I definitely recommend it, and am looking forward to reading the other two books in this series from this new and very talented author.


I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Andrew Huff spent 10 years in local church ministry before pursuing God’s calling into creative storytelling and media production as the Product Director at Igniter Media, a church media company (ignitermedia.com). He is a two-time finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Contest for unpublished authors (2014 & 2017) and also won the Best Screenplay award at the 2015 48 Hour Film Festival in Richmond, VA.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science in Religion degree from Liberty University and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary. He resides in North Texas with his beautiful wife Jae and their two boys.

Learn more at andrewhuffbooks.com.
Facebook (@huffwrites)
Twitter (@andrewjohnhuff)

Read an excerpt here.

Giveaway:

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Daily Wisdom for Men Devotional

Book description:


You Are a Man of God Being Transformed to Be More Like Him Every Day!

This brand-new devotional collection for men is designed to help them know the heart of God. With an inspiring readings and scriptures for every day of 2020, Daily Wisdom for Men will provide both encouragement and challenge, as you come to know the transforming power of God's love.​



My review:

  I am always on the lookout for a good devotional, and reviewing one gives me a good opportunity to find one and also get information about it.

 This devotional has a few definite pluses:

1)  It is for men, and I am a man. :)

2) It is a 365 day devotional. I prefer those over the kind that are not for a whole year.

3)  Though the devotional is for men, it seems to be very general. Too many devotionals for men are more for married guys, which I am not. I didn't read every day's entry in the book, but I read several, and looked through the book. They do seem to be general for all guys, married or single.

  Each day has the devotional title, a Bible verse or verses to go along with it, the devotional part, and it ends with a prayer. The subjects are hugely varied, and are very well written and helpful. They are fairly short, yet not too short. At the back of the book is listed the six contributors to the book, and a plan for reading the Bible through in a year.

 I recommend this, and it would make a great Christmas gift.


I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.


 Daily Wisdom for Men is available from Barbour Publishing. Thanks to Barbour for the review copy.