Crossfire, Extreme Measures #2 by Lynette Eason

 

Book description:

She's never lost a hostage. Surely she can manage to take care of her sister.

FBI special agent Julianna Jameson is a top-notch negotiator, but when her much younger sister, Dottie, needs a place to live while she finishes high school, Julianna's skills will be put to the test.

Former sniper Clay Fox left the army after a tragic incident that he can't get past. Until he can figure out what to do with the rest of his life, he's working as a resource officer at a school. Dottie's school.

When Julianna is called in to negotiate a courtroom hostage situation involving Clay's sister, he's impressed--and, if he's honest, a bit intimidated--by the calm, capable woman with the dark hair and blue eyes, and invites her to speak at the school.

But as the anniversary of a school shooting from Julianna's past approaches, it becomes clear that her perfect record is about to be tested and that Dottie is at risk. If Julianna and Clay can't figure out who's behind the attacks, more innocent people will die--and Dottie is next in line.

My review:

  It is about impossible for me to pick a favorite author, but Lynette Eason is one of my top favorites. She just keeps getting better with each book and series, and this book proves that to be true.

  Eason wastes no time launching into the action and suspense in this book, starting on the first page with a hostage situation at a courthouse. The idea of hostage negotiations fascinates me, and though this book is fiction, I found the process and the thought process of the fictional negotiator that is likely based on research the author did for her book.

 With the heroine of the story being a hostage negotiator, that played a big role in the book, and Eason did a great job portraying and describing the action and tension in each situation, and the job made Julianna an extremely interesting character.

 Clay was the main male character/hero of the story. I was not sure what a SRO (School Resource Officer) was, so I used Google to learn a little more. His entrance into the story was a little different than most main male characters, but he was a great and likable character.

  If there is a theme to this book, it would be forgiveness and trust. Both Clay and Julianna had to forgive themselves for what had happened in the past. They both also had to forgive others, and the plot had a lot to do with the need of forgiveness needed but not given.

 Romance was rather low key in the book. It was there, but took a backseat to everything else that was happening. And a lot happened. This was one of those non stop action and suspense novels that was indeed difficult to put down. And I had the day off, so there was no need to put it down.

  The book had a great suspenseful and climatic ending with a surprise I kind of saw coming, but didn't see what exactly would happen or what players would be involved.

 And the actual final ending was humorous and involved socks and a televised baseball game. (Read the book to find out.)

  Crossfire shows again why Lynette Eason is such a popular author as she again delivers pulse pounding suspense that is also Christian, clean, and top quality.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Lynette Eason is the USA Today bestselling author of Life Flight and Crossfire, as well as the Danger

Never Sleeps, Blue Justice, Women of Justice, Deadly Reunions, Hidden Identity, and Elite Guardians series. She is the winner of three ACFW Carol Awards, the Selah Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, among others. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a master's degree in education from Converse College. Eason lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com.

 Crossfire will be available August 2 from Revell Publishing, part of the Baker Publishing Group.

                                                                         Book #1

Book #3, coming January 2023

The Heart of the Mountains by Pepper Basham

Book description: 

Can True Love Weather a World of Differences?

To escape marriage, Cora Taylor runs away from her home in England to join her brother in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, but not even her time as a nurse in the Great War prepares her for the hard landscape and even harder lives of the mountain people. With the help of Jeb McAdams, a quiet woodcarver, who carries his own battle scars, she fashions a place for herself among these unique people. But the past refuses to let go, and with dangers from within and without, can hearts bruised by war find healing within the wilds of the mountains?

My review:

  This is the first book by this author that I started. I got it to review and after a few chapters realized it was the sequel to another book, one that I had gotten free on my Kindle. I read it first, then went back to this one.

  This was a very enjoyable book. It was different than what I usually read, with it being set in the mountains and the characters all being backwoods mountain people with different beliefs and superstitions. 

  Cora was a great heroine. She was determined to do the right thing and help the mountain folk no matter what happened to her, and she did a great job of fitting in despite her fancy upbringing.

 Jeb made a great hero. Still suffering from the war, he was determined not to be a drunk like his father, and also determined to protect this "flatlander" female no matter what happened to him.

 The two seemed too opposite for a relationship, especially to Jeb's thinking, but that made the book all the more interesting. I like the author's style of writing, and her ability to describe the people and setting of the Appalachians in the early 1900's. The book had its amusing moments, and a lot of inspirational ones as the author showed God can change anyone, even the people living in that time and location.

  I have heard a lot of good about this author, and I am impressed with the three books I have read by her. (I read a third after finishing this one). She has hooked me enough that I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future.

 I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor with a southern Appalachian flair. Her books have garnered recognition in the Grace Awards, Inpsys, and the ACFW Carol Awards, with The Thorn Healer selected as a 2018 finalist in the RT awards. Both her contemporary and historical romance novels consistently receive high ratings from Romantic Times,

with Just the Way You Are as a Top Pick. Most recently she’s introduced readers to Bath, UK through her novellas, Second Impressions and Jane by the Book, and taken readers into the exciting world of WW2 espionage in her novella, Façade. The second novel in The Pleasant Gap series, When You Look at Me, arrives in October and her contribution to Barbour’s wonderful My Heart Belongs series hits the shelves in January 2019 with My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge. Her books are seasoned with her Appalachian heritage and love for family. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of five great kids, a speech-pathologist to about fifty more, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus.

 The Heart of the Mountains is available from Barbour Publishing.

Thanks to Barbour for the review copy.

You can get to know Pepper on her website, www.pepperdbasham.com, on Facebook, Instagram, or over at her group blog, The Writer's Alley.

                                                                          Book #1

A Home In Cranberry Cove, Cranberry Cove Series #4 by June Foster

Book description:

 Madison Mitchell will never trust a man again. The love of her life broke her heart and married a French chef. Now she throws herself into her work at The Inn at Cranberry Cove. When she accidentally tangles with the manager of a nearby fishing supply store, she suspects the handsome guy is hiding something.

Micah Collins flees Sacramento seeking solace in the seaside village in Washington state. But he discovers an enemy has followed him to Cranberry Cove. He must endure frightful threats at the same time keeping his previous life secret. When Madison finds herself in danger, Micah blames himself.

Madison and Micah are haunted by someone from Micah’s past, but is the culprit the real enemy or should they look elsewhere? Will they find a future together?

My review:

   I have read and reviewed all four books in this series, and have enjoyed all of them. This fourth one is my favorite of the four. All of this authors books feature likable characters, but I found Micah and Madison even more likable than the others in this series. Both of them had suffered loss in their own ways, and Micah had left behind a great career to work at a sporting goods store to get away from his life.

  This book also seemed more suspenseful to me than the first three. The bad guy options were more numerous, and I couldn't tell for sure who was guilty, or if more than one person was guilty. That was kept up in the air for the majority of the book, and my suspicions were mostly correct.

  The book is romantic suspense, so there is romance. In addition to the suspense aspect, the romantic aspect was also done very well and had me hoping for the best for Micah and Madison. He, trying to cope with the loss of his wife, and Madison coping with a lost love interest and a divorce on top of that.

 One thing this author does not shy away from is putting the salvation message in her books. I see people complain about too much of that in book reviews I see, but Christian fiction should have a strong Christian message in addition to being clean and curse free. And these books are all that.

 They say you cannot judge a book by its cover, but the books in this series have gorgeous eye-catching covers which are indictive of how good the books are.

 Foster has again written a great Christian suspense novel with strong and likable characters and a great Christian message.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

An award-winning author, June Foster is also a retired teacher with a BA in Education and a MA in

counseling. She is the mother of two and grandmother of ten. June began writing Christian romance in 2010. She penned her first novel on her Toshiba laptop as she and her husband traveled the US in their RV. Her adventures provide a rich source of information for her novels. She brags about visiting a location before it becomes the setting in her next book.

To date, June has written twenty-one contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels and novellas. She loves to compose stories about characters who overcome the circumstances in their lives by the power of God and His Word. June uses her training in counseling and her Christian beliefs in creating characters who find freedom to live godly lives. She's published with Winged Publications. Visit June at www.junefoster.com to see a complete list of her books.

Check out the other books in the series:

                                                                       Book #1

Book #2

Book #3

Among the Innocent by Mary Alford

Book description:

 When Leah Miller's entire Amish family was murdered ten years ago, the person believed responsible took his own life. Since then, Leah has left the Amish and joined the police force. Now, after an Amish woman is found murdered with the same MO, it becomes clear that the wrong man may have been blamed for her family's deaths.

As Leah and the new police chief, Dalton Cooper, work long hours struggling to fit the pieces together in order to catch the killer, they can't help but grow closer. When secrets from both of their pasts begin to surface, an unexpected connection between them is revealed. But this is only the beginning.

What will it mean for Leah--and Dalton--when the full truth comes to light?

My review:

   I will admit I debated about this one. No offense to those who like Amish books, but they are far from being my cup of tea. I finally decided it sounded worth reading, and I was definitely right. Sister, this is not your mama's Amish fiction. Yes, it is set in an Amish community and involved the Amish, but it is a far cry from those sweet Amish books that have been so popular for years.

  I read the prologue one night before going to bed, and it sounded promising. Last night, I picked up the book and did not put it down until after 1 a.m. Man, what an awesome read.

  This is the author's first book for Revell Publishing, and I believe is her first full length trade paperback book. She has written several mass market paperbacks for Love Inspired Suspense that I have read, and several Amish ones for them, which I have not read. This first full length novel was a hit way out of the ballpark, and it will be difficult to top.....but I am sure she can.

  I loved the two main characters. Formerly Amish, Leah's entire family was murdered in front of her 10 years before when she was sixteen. Now, the same killer seems to be back for her, but not before working his way up to her. She is now a police officer, and a force to be reckoned with.

  Dalton is also a great and likable character, with his own agenda that he keeps from everyone for a while, having his own stakes in solving the 10 year old crime, along with the new ones.

 And the bad guy...he made a great bad guy. Readers of suspense will understand that. A suspense novel is no good if it does not have a strong and great bad guy, and this guy was that in spades.

  This book was so much better than I was expecting and hoping for. From chapter one on, the suspense was non stop as they tried to track the killer down while also trying to stop him from killing others they knew were on his radar. Dalton and Leah both had their share of close calls as the killer seemed to stay one or more steps ahead of them, and I was on pins and needles reading as fast as I could while wondering what was going to happen next.

  There is romance in the book, but it is more or less on the back burner while the suspense takes the spot light.

  Among the Innocent was a wild ride through the Amish community that came to a great climatic scene with the bad guy that had me worried for a few pages, until the book's awesome ending.

  One slight complaint: there was one thing I wish the author had finished up that had to do with Dalton and Harrison....I won't give spoilers......but maybe it is unrealistic to expect everything to be tied up in a neat bow at the end. Regardless, this is one of the best suspense novels I have read this year.... and I have read several. It is definitely worth reading.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Mary Alford is a USA Today bestselling author who loves giving her readers the unexpected, combining unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots that result in stories the reader can't put down. Her titles have been finalists for several awards, including the Daphne Du Maurier, the Beverly, the Maggie, and the Selah. She and her husband live in the heart of Texas in the middle of 70 acres with two cats and one dog. Learn more at www.maryalford.net.

  Among the Innocent is available from Revell Publishing, part of the Baker Publishing Group.

 Thanks to Revell for the review copy.

Deadly Shallows, Coastal Guardians #3 by Dani Pettrey

Book description: 

A deadly attack.

A stolen weapon capable of immense destruction.

A painful secret that threatens to tear two hearts apart.

CGIS Agent Noah Rowley is rocked to the core when several of his valued team members come under fire on his Coast Guard base. He and his remaining team race to the scene and end the attack, but not before innocent lives are lost. Furious and grief-stricken, he vows to do whatever is needed to bring the mastermind behind the attack to justice.

Stunned by the ambush, Coast Guard flight medic Brooke Kesler evacuates in a helicopter carrying the only surviving gunman. The gravely wounded man whispers mysterious information to Brooke that immediately paints a target on her back.

As Brooke and Noah race to uncover answers, emotions between them ignite. Noah struggles to protect Brooke at all costs and to conceal the secret that prevents him from becoming what he longs to be--the right man for her.

Everything is at stake as a horrifying truth emerges. . . .

The attack wasn't the end game. It was only the beginning.

My review:

   Dani Pettrey came on the Christian fiction scene in May of 2012 with Submerged,  the first book of her Alaskan Courage Series, and immediately became one of my top favorite Christian suspense authors. Deadly Shallows keeps her at that spot.

  A year ago, The Crushing Depths left readers thinking and hoping that this next book would feature Brooke and Noah, the CGIS Agent In Charge....and that is what happened.

  I try not to exaggerate in book reviews, but this book was over the top awesome. It may be her best one yet. Twenty-five pages in, there is a shooting, and the book has non stop action and suspense from that point on.

 The book had a great plot, and Pettrey did a great job of taking that plot and making a very entertaining  and suspenseful read that yes, I did read in one sitting. This is NOT a book you leave on your bed stand and read a little of it over a few weeks. It deserves.....maybe even demands to be read and devoured at one sitting. Or did it devour me?

  I feel this author excels at team camaraderie. Her first series was about a family, but this and the previous series is about a team. I enjoyed the suspense of course - that is my favorite genre' - but I also enjoyed the interplay and friendships between the team members and those helping them. And possibly more evident in this book was the different talents/specialties of each member and how they worked their individual skill set to solve the case, and give their updates at the daily case board updates.

 The bad guys were awesome......well, still bad, but their role and reasons for what happened were well thought out and what is a suspense novel without bad guys?

  Noah and Brooke: this is romantic suspense, and this bachelor for life long ago started tolerating the romantic aspect of these books, and now I actually enjoy them and root for them. There is an element of what I guess you can call suspense when it comes to even those parts of the book. They obviously made a great couple, but Noah's secret was holding him back. Both of them were very likable and awesome characters, and I admit my eyes watered at the one scene when Noah finally came clean.

 In addition to that romance, there was also a budding romance fun to watch between Caleb and Austin (don't worry - in this book Austin was a female) :)

  The further I got in the book, the more suspenseful it got and the more happened as the bad guys desperately worked toward their final goal. There were some surprises, and you never knew who was going to end up dead next.

  The whole story came to quite an explosive climax that had me on the end of my seat reading as fast as I could. The good guys did their job, and the bad guys.......well, read the book. But read the first two before you read #3.

   Deadly Shadows had a great ending after the case was over. It was both amusing and a satisfying end to the Noah and Brooke part of the story.

   This third book in the Coastal Guardian Series shows why this author is so well loved and popular. And it also shows why she needs to keep using her talent to write top quality Christian suspense. Definitely five stars, thought it deserves more than the allotted five.

  I am hoping there is a book #4, and that it covers Logan and Emmy. Logan, the non-believer of the team, has been an intriguing character throughout all three books.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Publishers Weekly and #1 Amazon bestselling author, Dani Pettrey has sold nearly 800,000 copies of her novels to readers eagerly awaiting the next release. Dani combines the page-turning adrenaline of a thriller with the chemistry and happy-ever-after of a romance. 

Her novels stand out for their "wicked pace, snappy dialogue, and likable characters" (Publishers Weekly), "gripping storyline[s]," (RT Book Reviews), and "sizzling undercurrent of romance" (USA Today).

She researches murder and mayhem from her home in Maryland. For more information about her novels, visit danipettrey.com.

  Deadly Shallows is available from Bethany House Publishers, part of the Baker Publishing Group.

Check out the rest of the series:

                                                                          Book #1

                                                                        Book #2

Critical Alliance, Rocky Mountain Courage #3 by Elizabeth Goddard

 

Book description:

She's seeking answers. He's seeking respite.

The past is seeking both of them.

Mackenzie Hanson's special set of skills opened the door to a successful career as a professor of cybersecurity at a Michigan university, allowing her to put her criminal past behind her. But when a long-ago partner in crime delivers a cryptic message about her father's tech company being under cyberattack, she heads for Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches, and protect her father's company.

Diplomatic Security Services special agent Alex Knight is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone wrong. But even as he's trying to relax, he's drawn into another mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and whispers of espionage that all have one thing in common--a beautiful cybersecurity expert with a dark past.

When the situation turns deadly, Alex and Mackenzie will have to work together to find the answers they need--before someone silences Mackenzie for good.

My review:

   I first ran across this author when I read several of her Love Inspired Suspense novels, and loved everything I read. This is her second series for Revell, which are much longer novels, and she has written two great series, this being the third and last of the second series.

   As always, the author came up with great characters for the book, and brought back the others in the other two books also. Mackenzie, still trying to right the wrong she did as a sixteen year old hacker.... and Alex, trying to get away from what he viewed as a failure on his part in the line of his work.

 The plot of the book is centered around cyber security, hacking, cyber attacks, and drone technology. Any time an author tackles that, there is a danger of using too much techno language and having the reader's eyes glaze over like a donut. 

 Goddard pulled it off without doing that. I found it all very interesting, and actually parts of it fascinating. Mackenzie made an awesome hacker, and Alex a great protector and researcher on the drone technology part of what was going on. A cool thing about Christian fiction, is how you can learn a lot while being entertained and inspired.....and I did learn a lot about drones and cyber security "stuff". The author did a lot of research, and it shows.

  The romance angle was different in this book than in the first two. In the first two books, both couples had previously dated and broken up. In Critical Alliance, Mackenzie and Alex had previously met and spent a day together, but had never dated. The romance was much more slow moving in this story, though it was obvious that it was going to happen with the way the two got along. :)

 Nebulous 2.0 made a great villain and did a lot of damage and threats. The author totally shocked me when the identity was revealed. I totally did not see that coming.

 And the mystery of the memorial vandalism was finally solved.....and that was another great surprise and showed what kind of man Alex was with his reactions and actions when he found out.

  This book was a great ending to a great series, and I enjoyed every page and minute of it.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

  Elizabeth Goddard is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than 50 novels, including the Rocky Mountain Courage and Uncommon Justice series. Her books have sold over 1 million copies. She is a Carol Award winner and a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her family, traveling to find inspiration for her next book, and serving with her husband in ministry. For more information about her books, visit her website at www.elizabethgoddard.com.

 Critical Alliance will be available July 5 from Revell Publishing, part of the Baker Publishing Group.

                                                                          Book #1

                                                                         Book #2

                                                            

                                   Coming February 2023: Book #1 in the Missing In Alaska Series