Book review: Inferno, Benson First Responders #9 by Lisa Phillips

Book description: 

An epic finale.

Detective Samantha Jesse is determined to hold on to what she has. Whenever she gets too happy, life corrects that mistake and takes the joy from her. Her new partner, Detective Romeo Alvarez, was there the day of the biggest correction, but despite his assertions, that doesn’t mean they’re forever connected. Unless her worst fears come true and he changes his ways because he fell in love at first sight with her sister, Bristol. As if Samantha needs that complication in her quiet life.

A love rekindled.

Fire Department Captain Julio Espinoza-Vasquez has never let go of the love of his life. Raised by deaf parents, he sees the world in ways no one else around him ever will. And he’ll put it all on the line to protect his colleagues—the family that the department has given him. When a spate of suspicious fires and one death make it clear something is happening in Benson, Julio lands on an inter-department task force. Working with Samantha is his one shot at getting her back.

As the hunt for the arsonist turns to targeted attacks, Julio puts it all on the line to save Samantha while she investigates these deadly crimes. Only together can they uncover the culprit.

But not before Benson becomes an inferno.

My review:
   This book is both awesome and not-so-awesome. The not-so-awesomeness is because this is the end of the series. I was excited to read it, but ugh....it is the last book in the series. 

    Phillips has become one of my favorite authors, and this is my favorite of her many series she has written. My favorite book of  the series is definitely #8 Duplicity. If you have not read the series, then you haven't met the twins - Simon and Peter. Yeah, I was amused also. They were in the whole series, and Peter got his own story last summer in an anthology of 4 stories by Phillips and three other authors. Twin #2, Simon, finally got his story in the 8th book in this series. 

 But this book...it was an awesome conclusion to this very awesome series. (Where do authors get such terrific  - and so many - ideas  for books?

 The suspense in this one was non stop, as were the fires being set all over the city of Benson. Towards the end of the book, I was wondering if there was going to be anything left.

 I loved the romance part of the book. In this one, the couple had been together since kids, then broke up two years ago. And they had been majorly together, if you get the drift...
I have gotten to the point in my lifelong bachelorhood that I can enjoy romance in a book, and all kinds. I like the kind where boy meets girl and things develop. Preferably while a killer chases one or both. Kind of kidding...but I think I prefer this kind. The kind where the couple was previously dating or married, and they get back together. Preferably while running from a killer. 😀

But seriously, this was an awesome read. I loved the characters, and how everything played out. 

The books can be read as standalones, but I highly recommend reading them in order so you know who everyone is and how they relate to each other.

About the author:

Lisa Phillips is a USA Today and top ten Publishers Weekly bestselling author of over 80 books that span Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line, independently published series romantic suspense, and thriller novels. She’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always ends in happily ever after.

Lisa is a British ex-pat who grew up an hour outside of London and attended Calvary Chapel Bible College, where she met her husband. He’s from California, but nobody’s perfect. It wasn’t until her Bible College graduation that she figured out she was a writer (someone told her). Lisa is a worship leader, tea aficionado, and dog lover of two crazy Airedales.

Check out her website AuthorLisaPhillips.com. It is one of the most intriguing author sites I have seen. It lists all of her series in order, and lists the characters in each book. Some of her characters like to wonder into other series of hers. 😎

The rest of the series (in order)

Upcoming Christian suspense novel: Murder by Half, #1 in the Nathan Press Thriller Series by Dony Jay

Dony Jay has two previously published books, The Warrior Spy books....which are awesome. 

Preorder here.

 

Guest post by author John Gault Robinson: Does Science Disprove God?

 John Gault Robinson is an author I only became acquainted with at the end of last year. He has 4 books out in his Joe O'Shannick Series so far, with two more coming. They are some of the best Christian fiction I have read.

I asked him a few weeks ago if he would consider writing a guest blog post, and he agreed. I told him to write whatever he wanted, and he sent this today. He is quite versed in Christian apologetics, and it comes across in his books. In the first book, his main character, Joe O'Shannick is pretty much an atheist, and ends up spending a lot of time with Christy Tabrizi, Christian ER doctor, and they have several interesting conversations where John's knowledge of the Bible and apologetics comes across

John himself is an ER doctor, and is a very fascinating individual. 

Does Science Disprove God?

By John Galt Robinson

The debate over whether or not God, or a god, or gods exist, has permeated society throughout the ages. The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared; “God is dead.”. More recently, naturalists have asserted that science explains “everything” thus replacing the need for a god and have essentially declared the universe to be of natural origin with no evidence for any god, a worldview that has gained significant traction in today’s post-modern society. In fact, post-modernism goes so far as to declare that there is no absolute truth, only relevant truth.

So, is this the case? Is the universe simply the product of a cosmic accident? Are we simply an accidental collection of highly evolved molecules in motion even to the point that our thoughts are the byproduct of molecules colliding with one another as the naturalist explanation proposes? Has modern science really proven this beyond a reasonable doubt? Let’s delve into this.

Before we discuss a few of the more common scientific arguments, we must first address the post-modernism claim that there is no truth. More specifically, absolute truth. The mere declaration There is no absolute truth is a self-defeating statement. The Law of Non-contradiction declares that something cannot be true and false at the same time. This Law of logic applies to scientific arguments as much as it does to philosophical arguments. When applied to the above truth claim, we see that the premise cannot hold up. In short, if one were to declare “There is no truth.”, a logical response would be; “Is that a true statement?”. Similarly, if one were to declare “There is no absolute truth, only relative truth.”, a logical question to ask would be; “Is that an absolute truth or a relative truth.” If the reply is that it is a relative truth, then the truth claim has no standing. If they declare it to be an absolute truth, then they defeated their own truth claim. Either way, the claim has no basis on which we can accept it logically. Putting that argument to rest, let’s move on to the main thrust of this article.

Let us first define what science is: in lay terms, science if the process of studying the natural universe through a system of observation and experimentation. From the scientific process, we obtain data from which we draw conclusions. It is important to note here that despite a commonly used expression, science does not say anything, scientists do. In other words, scientists look at the data and form conclusions. Often times, scientists do not reach the same conclusions from the data. Furthermore, over the centuries, scientific conclusions can and have been disproven as new and better studies and data emerge. For example, scientific consensus once postulated that the earth was the center of the universe and all of the planets, stars, even our own Sun, rotated around the earth. Obviously, that position is no longer believed by many after later discoveries proved otherwise. It was also once believed the the universe is eternal and has always existed. Einstein’s theory of relativity suggested otherwise; specifically that time, space and matter came into existence in a single event and are co-dependent. Later studies, including an important discovery by Edwin Hubble (of whom the Hubble Space Telescope is named) of an expanding universe have confirmed Einstein’s theory and provided ample evidence that the universe did indeed have a beginning. There are many more scientific principles that we can discuss whether or not they prove of disprove the existence of a god and we can do so in subsequent articles but, for this article, let’s take a closer look at the beginning of the universe.

As already mentioned, scientific discoveries now point to the universe having a beginning. In other words, scientists can now trace back to a point where time, space and matter came into existence simultaneously. To quote the late Stephen Hawking, widely considered one of the most brilliant physicists of all time;

Almost everyone now believes that the universe and time itself had a beginning at the Big Bang.

A detailed explanation as to why the majority of physicists believe this would take volumes so I will briefly list five key findings that lead to this conclusion. We will simplify this explanation using the mnemonic SURGE.

S - Second Law of Thermodynamics

U - Universe is Expanding

R - Radiation Afterglow

G - Galaxy Seeds

E - Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity

The Second Law of Thermodynamics explains that the universe is slowly dwindling down in energy similar to a car running out of gas. Had the universe always existed, it would have long ago ceased to exist for this reason. Imagine running a car on one tank of gasoline for a day let alone an infinite amount of time. It would have long ago run out of fuel. The universe is no different. Hubble’s telescopic discoveries revealed an ever expanding universe that, if reversed, trace the entire universe back to a single point of origin. Radiation afterglow refers to scientists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson who won a Nobel prize for their 1965 discovery of the residual light and heat that originated with the explosion that began the universe better known as The Big Bang. The Galaxy seeds refers to a monumental discovery made through the COBE satellite that revealed variations in the expansion waves of the universe that occurred in precise manners that allowed matter to congregate and form galaxies. Many leading physicists, chief among them, the late Stephen Hawking, postulated that any variation in the expansion rate of the universe would have led to the universe collapsing back in on itself or expanding too rapidly to allow galaxies to form in the first place. The expansion rate is so precise that if off as little as 1/40billionth of a percent too fast or too small, the universe would never have formed. In other words, the fact that the universe even exists is so statistically unlikely as to be nearly impossible, but that’s a point for a future discussion. Finally, Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, which has been proven to a very precise degree, demands that time, space and matter have an absolute beginning AND are interdependent and cannot exist without each other. Einstein was troubled by this discovery as he had long held to the belief that the universe was eternal and had always existed but his discovery proved it actually had a beginning which challenged his core beliefs and which was later confirmed with the aforementioned later discoveries. These five key discoveries and many more have led nearly all physicists to conclude that the universe - time, space and matter - had a beginning; the Big Bang.

So where do we go with this information? What can we conclude? Does the Big Bang point to an intelligent designer, a god or does it provide an adequate explanation for the origin of the universe and do away with any notion of a god? The Law of Causality states that everything that comes to be must have a cause. Since we now know the universe came to be, what is the cause? It cannot be nothing. We see the effect. In fact we live within it. From the effect we can reason back to a cause. Reason demands that, in order for time, space and matter to come into existence, the cause must be something that transcends time, space and matter; something, timeless, spaceless and immaterial. Something beyond nature ie supernatural. Creation must have a creator. Additionally, the highly fine-tuned and magnificent natural laws that govern the universe must come from a lawgiver. Not only must this creator/lawgiver be timeless, spaceless and immaterial but it is reasonable to conclude that this entity is infinite in order to transcend time, supremely intelligent in order to have designed the universe in all its complexity and precision, incredibly powerful in order to create, and personable in order to choose to create. Compare these attributes to those of the God of the Bible and one will see they line up. Now, we have not proven this is the God of the Bible but it certainly puts Him on the list of possible gods. Whether or not it is the God of the Bible is a topic for a future discussion. For now, we must at least acknowledge that we are left with two possibilities; either the universe created itself - which to believe violates The Scientific Method as it has never once been observed nor has anything been observed to spontaneously appear in created from in nature - or the universe was created by God or a god(s). 

You may still be unconvinced and that is certainly understandable, but I hope this at least opens your mind to the possibility. In the next discussion we will delve into the incredible fine-tuning of the universe which expands on the near statistical impossibility that the universe even exists, let alone life existing. For now, I will leave you with one question to mull over; If there is no god, how can anything exist?

Author’s note: nearly all of this information was obtained from the book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek. If you would like to much more detailed and comprehensive study of this topic and much more, I highly recommend this book or visit Frank Turek’s website www.crossexamined.org

John Galt Robinson is a board certified emergency medicine physician practicing in South Carolina. He is also a published fiction author writing the Joe O’Shanick/Christy Tabrizi series as well as his soon to be published Nate Kelsey series in the suspense/thriller genre. His website is www.johngaltrobinson.com.

Series Spotlight: The Bowers Files by Steven James

 Once upon a time, Crossings Book club existed. You could order Christian books that were discounted, and they were always - or usually - in hardback with dust covers. I ordered the Pawn, #1 in the Bowers Files from them. Not sure what year. The book came out in 2007, but my Goodreads review says 2012. I think I read it twice, and the 2012 review was the second time I read it. I didn't use Goodreads in 2007. If it even existed 😉

The main original series consists of 7 books, all but one the names of chess pieces:

#1 The Pawn

#2 The Rook

#3 The Knight

#4 The Bishop

#5 The Queen

#6 The King

#7 Checkmate

  The Series revolves around FBI agent Patrick Bowers, and is an excellent well written series that is very suspenseful. There really isn't much Christian content in the books, but they definitely have a Christian world view and a redemptive message. The books are completely clean, though they are a bit more descriptive at times of crime scenes and violence.

  After the series was completed, James did 4 prequels:

Opening Moves

Every Crooked Path

Every Deadly Kiss

Every Wicked Man

  A few things about the series: The first 5 books were published by Revell, one of the imprints of Baker Book House. I don't know why, but the King, Checkmate, and the prequels were all published by Berkley. And it drives me crazy to see the books on my shelf. The books published by Revell are all trade paperback. The ones by Berkley are mass market paperbacks. So there are 4 short little mass market books, then 5 trade paperbacks, and then two mass market. It looks weird 😊

James has other books:

The Jevin Banks Experience, which has two books. I started the first, but never finished it.

The Travis Brock Thriller Series. which has two books so far. I have not read those.

The Blur trilogy, a series for teens

And some non-fiction. I read Flirting With the Forbidden, which I recommend.

  Not discounting women liking the Patrick Bowers Series, it is definitely one I would call men's fiction.

Author bio:

Steven James's latest thriller, FATAL DOMAIN, is available now. This smart, wire-tight, and emotionally resonant thriller featuring Travis Brock is the next in the series, following last year's domestic espionage thriller BROKER OF LIES.

As a popular keynote speaker and in-demand storyteller, Steven is equipped with a unique master’s degree in storytelling and has taught writing and storytelling on five continents, speaking more than 2000 times at events spanning the globe. 

He is also the critically acclaimed author of eighteen novels, including the bestselling Bowers Files suspense series. His sci-fi novel, SYNAPSE, a near-future thriller, received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and was a finalist for an International Book Award. 

When Steven isn't writing or speaking, you'll find him playing basketball or hiking near his home in the Appalachian Highlands of eastern Tennessee. 

If you love stories and storytelling, check out his podcast, The Story Blender, on which Steven has interviewed nearly 200 of the world's top writers and storytellers. 

Check out his website: StevenJames.net

New and notable author: Jessica Ashley

I ran across this author back in February of this year. Her first book, Pages of Promise,  came up as a suggestion for Christian suspense. It is the first in The Coastal Hope Series.  I knew nothing about her, but the book sounded really good. I am not positive of the publication date. I ordered the book in late February, and it was delivered March 6. The date on Amazon says April, which is definitely not correct.

The book was really good, and I bought the second, Searching for Peace one when it came out in April. Second Chance Serenity followed in June, and Tactical Revival this month. The paperback came out the 19th, and the ebook on the 26th. It doesn't happen that way too often.

The first book is about Former Army Ranger Lance Knight, and his private security business. The whole series revolves around his business and the guys who work for him. 

Book description of the first book: 

A wounded veteran who walks by faith. A traumatized woman struggling with hers.

Running from secrets that could bury her, Eliza Pierce has traveled cross-country for her fresh start. But a threatening letter left in her mailbox less than a week later throws her back into the flames of her past.

Former Army Ranger Lance Knight may have been discharged from duty, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less a soldier. As the owner of a private security firm, he’s fought plenty of battles stateside.

When someone makes an attempt on Eliza’s life, it’s Lance she turns to. And despite a first impression that left both of them wanting nothing to do with the other, he agrees to help…even if it means trading his own life for hers.

 I have really enjoyed all 4 books, and there is a 5th due out September 25, Perilous Healing. It will be the last in the series.

  There is a lot of suspense, action, drama, faith, and romance in these books. I love her characters, and she comes up with some great plots. I am looking forward to the last book in this series, and the first book in her new series, which debuts in February: Bravo, the first book in The Hunt Brothers Search and Rescue Series. Just the name of the series has me intrigued and looking forward to it: (No book cover yet).

A VETERAN WITH A HEART OF GOLD AND THE WOMAN HE NEVER SAW COMING.

Former Special Forces Operative Bradyn Hunt may have traded a battlefield for his family ranch in Texas, but that doesn’t mean he stopped fighting.\

As the founder of Hunt Brother's Search and Rescue, he and his team take on missing persons cases that no one else can solve. They’ve retrieved people from the very depths of hell-on-earth, which has left him with his fair share of scars.

Kennedy Smith has had many names and lived many different lives as she runs from her past, her only goal surviving long enough to see the next sunrise. Her most recent identity is as a ranch hand in a small, North Texas town.

Run by Army veterans, she figures there’s no better place to hide than the Hunt family ranch. That is until she begins to grow attached to the eldest Hunt brother, Bradyn. She should run, after all, not getting attached is rule number one to staying alive. But before she can bring herself to leave, the threat shows up on her doorstep, dragging Bradyn right into the flames alongside her.

Bradyn has saved the lives of hundreds of people, but can he protect Kennedy from the ghosts of her past? Or will her secrets burn everything he’s built to the ground?

Jessica also has a story in a Christmas suspense anthology with 4 other great authors coming in October. 

She apparently has written other books, according to her author bio, but I am guessing it was under another name. This series is definitely her first Christian suspense series.

If you sign up for her newsletter, you can download a free novella that is an introduction to her series.

Author bio:

After spending seven years in the Army, Jessica set out to write novels that would transport readers to new worlds and help them escape reality with messages of underdogs and swoon-worthy romance. After a decade of a successful writing career underneath two pen names, she felt her faith pulling her in a new direction.

Now, she writes sweet romance with messages of faith, hope, and the importance of trusting our hearts and the word of God.

She resides in Texas with her husband of thirteen years, homeschools their three kids, and spends her free time making sourdough.

Check out her website: JessicaAshleyBooks.com

Notable author: Creston Mapes

  Most of these posts I do are about new authors I discover and whose books I enjoy. Creston Mapes is an author I read several years ago. I read and reviewed all 3 books in his Crittendon Files Series back in 2013-2014.

 I just re-read the series this week, and wow. I forgot how good the series is. No offense to the author or publisher, but the original covers were the kind that brings the quote "don't judge a book by its cover" to mind - especially #1. The other two were pretty decent.  But I really love the new covers. (Old covers below). Another thing cool about these books are the setting: Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio areas. I am a buckeye, so that was cool. :)

I decided to buy the new covers, and ordered #1. Amazon sent me a different cover - not the oldest, but not the one I want. So I may forget that idea.

There are a couple of things about the books that make them a bit different than other books: #1 The couple in the book are already married with a couple of kids. And #2: The series features and revolves around a guy. All too often even books written by male authors still center on a female. It is nice when I read a book that actually centers on a guy. (And nothing against women. The Christian fiction market is just so geared towards female readers.)

After I finished that series, I found myself wondering why I had never read anything else by him. I know he has a newer series that he started in 2019, so I checked it out. Signs of Life is a 6 book series, with the first book having the same name as the series. I read the first book, and I am impressed. This guy can write.

The book starts on the evening of a mass shooting. One of the main characters is a detective a few years from retirement. The other main character is a 40 year old man whose wife was killed in the shooting. The chapters alternate between the two men. The chapters featuring the detective starts the evening of the shooting with he interrogating the shooter and investigating everything to do with him. The chapters with the other guy start several months after the shooting with him trying to deal with losing his wife in such a terrible way.

The author did a great job of portraying the mind and emotions of a man who lost his wife in such a horrific way. 

I just finished the 5th book last night, and it is an amazing series. The author addresses current themes and issues. This series is set in Portland, Oregon, and has the riots and all that going on. Mapes also weaves a lot of the Bible and Christian themes through his books, and his characters struggle with issues like faith, asking why God allows tragedy and killings, etc.

He also has some other books out that I have not yet read, but am planning on reading: 

I Am In Here

"Little Do They Know, I Can See and Hear Everything!"

Eighteen-year-old Hale Frodele is presumed braindead from a tragic church bus accident in which he lost his younger brother, Nate.

Little does anyone know—Hale hears and understands everything with crystal clarity.

Hale remembers when his mom died at age 44 of pancreatic cancer and his dad turned his back on God.

Hale understands that the unbeliever his dad remarried whispers bitterly that Hale is ‘pitiful’ and ‘ruining’ her marriage.

Hale knows his father has borrowed a large sum of money from a deranged loan shark named Sebastian and the payback is due in 48 hours.

Hale believes in his best friend Gilbert, who still visits him weekly, prays for his healing, and is beginning to realize something is very wrong in the Frodele household.

Hale is in here . . . and he has a mind-blowing story to tell.

Celebrity Pastor: 

His Heart Was Right . . . Until It Wasn’t

Pastor Neil Gentry embarked on his ministry with genuine intentions, unwavering passion, and undeniable charisma. He had a gift for drawing people in and teaching profound truths that resonated deeply with the masses. As his influence grew, so did his fame.

Vine & Branches Church became one of the fastest growing in the world, with campuses in Atlanta, LA, Austin, NYC, and a TV ministry spanning the globe. Soon, Pastor Gentry and his wife Becky resembled royalty, enjoying fame and power—and basking in the adoration of their devoted followers.

Beneath the glitz and glamor, however, whispers of misconduct began to surface.

Accusations ranging from coverup and manipulation to corruption and sexual harassment cast a shadow over the once-glowing reputation of Vine & Branches. Was Pastor Gentry leading his flock above reproach, or was he using them to fuel his own ambitions? Could the rumors of emotional manipulation and abuse of power within the church’s inner circle possibly be true?

As the allure of popularity and power consume the Gentrys, they find themselves plummeting into the abyss of moral compromise. With the weight of their actions threatening to shatter everything they’ve built, one dire question remains: can anything or anyone break the spell before the unthinkable happens? Find out in the latest tension-filled thriller from acclaimed suspense novelist Creston Mapes.

Nobody

Murdered Vegas Homeless Man a Millionaire in Disguise?

Reporter Hudson Ambrose hears an early morning call on his police scanner about an injured person at a bus stop on Las Vegas Boulevard and rushes to the scene. His world is blown off its axis when he discovers a murdered homeless man with a bankbook in his pocket showing a balance of almost one million dollars.

Should Hudson wait for the police, knowing the case will get lost in reams of red tape, or swipe the bankbook and take the investigation—and perhaps a chunk of the money—into his own hands?

With sirens bearing down on the scene, Hudson makes an impulse decision that whisks him on a frantic search for answers.

Uncovering bizarre links between a plane crash, a Las Vegas pit boss, a dirty cop, and a widowed Atlanta business mogul, Hudson is forced to find out: who was Chester Holte, what was he doing on the streets, and why are his homeless friends convinced he was an angel in disguise?

And the Rock Star Series. These are older and I never read them because the original covers never appealed to me, nor books about a rock star. However, the main character in those books was in the last book of The Crittendon Files, Sky Zone. I am now intrigued, so I will be reading those also.

Mapes is an author I definitely recommend. Faith filled suspenseful thrillers that I feel are geared more for men, but women will also enjoy.

About the author:

Creston Mapes grew up in northeast Ohio, where he has fond memories of living with his family of five in the upstairs portion of his dad's early American furniture store - The Weathervane Shop. Creston was not a good student, but the one natural talent he possessed was writing.

 

He set type by hand and cranked out his own neighborhood newspaper as a kid, then went on to graduate with a degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University. Creston was a newspaper reporter and photographer in Ohio and Florida, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, for a job as a creative copywriter.

 

Creston served for a stint as a creative director, but quickly learned he was not cut out for management. He went out on his own as a freelance writer in 1991 and, over the next 30 years, did work for Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, The Weather Channel, Oracle, ABC-TV, TNT Sports, colleges and universities, ad agencies, and more. He's ghost-written more than ten non-fiction books.

 

Along the way, Creston has written many contemporary thrillers, achieved Amazon Bestseller status multiple times, and had one of his novels (Nobody) optioned as a major motion picture. 

 

Creston married his fourth-grade sweetheart, Patty, and they have four amazing adult children. Creston loves his part-time job as an usher at local venues where he gets to see all the latest-greatest concerts and sporting events. He enjoys reading, fishing, thrifting, bocci, painting, pickleball, time with his family, and dates with his wife.

Check out his website: CrestonMapes.com

New and notable author: Madison Love

I don't remember how I ran across this author, but it was very recently. The first book I read by her was back in April of this year. I am guessing she came up under a search of Christian suspense books on Amazon.

She has two series out so far: The Just4You Matchmaker Series and The Shining Knight Protector Series. The first series has 3 books - plus a prequel -  and the second series has 5 books out, with at least one more on the way.

I read the second series first, at least the books that were out. Two more came out since I started reading the series. It is really good. The books are romantic suspense, with the same team of agents being in all of the books. There is a lot of camaraderie and banter between the characters, and I found all of them to be very enjoyable reads.

Now if you take my advice and read these books, here is something you should know:
Read at least the prequel to the matchmaker series and also the first book, Matchmaking the Undercover Agent. And she is giving away the e-book of Matching the Protector for signing up for her newsletter.

Here is why: the prequel is about Ben. The first book in the matchmaker series is about Ethan Knight. Ethan is a a secret agent undercover as a rock star. He and Ben are best friends, and launch The Shining Knight Protector Series after Matchmaking the Undercover Agent. I didn't realize that and read the matchmaker series after I read the Shining Knight Series. 

I do like the suspense series best, but the matchmaker series is also very good. The author is an excellent writer, and is not shy about having Christian content in her books. 

I just read Daring, the 5th book, two days ago, and it was awesome. I so did not see who was the guilty parties in the book.

Madison is an author I definitely recommend, and I am already looking forward to the 6th book in the Shining Knights Protectors Series. Fearless is coming out September 6, 2024. 

About the author:
Madison Love is an Amazon Best-selling, clean, and Christian romance writer who loves to intertwine humor and suspense while adding a dash of sweetness. She has spent most of her life traveling abroad, discovering new places, and meeting wonderful people. It took her twenty years in the military before she settled in a rural town outside of Buffalo, New York, where she now lives on a forty-acre farm with her husband, son, and two dogs. Having been afforded the time and opportunity to bring her ideas and stories to life, she seeks to give her readers the ‘happy ever after’ they seek, but with a hint of intrigue.

Check out her website: MadisonLoveRomance.com