Book description:
A curse.
A killer.
A chill in the air.
Temps are dropping and time is running out.
In her new role as Emergency Operations Center director for Fairbanks, Alaska, Darcie Phillips prevents disasters. But none of her training can prepare her for the terror that's coming.
As a cybersecurity specialist, Jason Myers is determined to ferret out any threats to the town he now calls home--and that includes his reckless brother and his ecoterrorist friends.
When an old woman's wild prediction--widespread destruction as soon as the Fairbanks temperature falls to 26 below--hits national headlines, neither Darcie nor Jason sees a real risk to anything but tourism. Then the bodies start dropping.
Darcie is relying on her experience and intelligence to stop a killer; Jason is relying on God to guide the way. But they'll have to work together to find the truth and prevent their Alaskan town from becoming a city of nightmares.
My review:
Twelve years ago this month I read and reviewed my first book by Kimberley Woodhouse...a Christian suspense novel titled No Safe Haven, #1 in a two book series she co-wrote with her daughter.
The author went on to write several historical novels since then, both solo and co-authoring.
This is the first contemporary Christians suspense novel she has written in years, and I have been looking forward to it. (Not that I don't love her historical novels....but Christians suspense is my favorite genre'.)
So what did I think? I loved it. The end. :)
Just kidding, though I did love it.
The book started out a little slow as the author introduced the main characters and laid described their job descriptions, the setting, and what they were expected to accomplish.
What I loved...
The research:
One thing that stands out with this author, is she does a lot of research. I Google things as I read, and she is an author who I have Googled things I read in her books, and have never found a mistake. And this book.......it is obvious she researched a lot. There is a lot of computer and cyber references, and I never got bogged down. She did a great job of describing things, so I never found my eyes glazing over. I learned a lot, and I confess it also left me with eyes wide open to what could happen to our country in those areas.
The characters:
Darcie was one screwed up individual, to be blunt....but quite likable. She was a great fit for her job, and a great person to be in charge.
Jason was kind of messed up a bit, thanks to his brother, and added a great dynamic to the team...and was also quite likable.
Misty, Chaz, and Simon: Though the story revolved around Jason and Darcie, those three were part of the team, and added a lot to the story via their work and interplay.
And of course the bad guys. What is a good suspense novel without them?
The suspense:
Loved the suspense aspect of the story. There was a lot happening, and the suspense got ratcheted up the further in the book I got. There were threats, attacks, warnings by the mysterious old woman......
I admit the author let some things happen I was sure would go another way, but it is nice to be surprised. Though obviously fictionalized, I still found it fascinating to see what might happen under those circumstances, and what the response of law enforcement and cyber experts might be.
And it made me shudder a bit to imagine what could happen in real life if we were truly attacked in those ways.
I felt the romance was downplayed in this book more than most books of this type, but slight spoiler: there is romance. (I may pass it on to my 16 year old nephew to read, whose reply when I asked how he liked one Christian suspense book was "It was pretty good, other than the romance).
And as is the case with any of her books, this author is not afraid to put actual Christian content in her books, and always, always gets a good message/lesson across by way of a great story.
This author has written some really great historical fiction, and I have enjoyed it a lot. But I thoroughly enjoyed her return to contemporary Christian suspense. It was a great and enjoyable read. This is labeled Cyber Hunters #1, which means there must be a couple more books coming in this series. I can't wait.
And hats off to the author for tackling cyber security, something that obviously took a lot of work and research, but resulted in a great read.
I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.
About the author:
Kimberley Woodhouse is the best-selling author of more than thirty books and novellas, including A Deep Divide, Bridge of Gold, and The Mayflower Bride, as well as the coauthor of the Heart of Alaska series with Tracie Peterson. Kimberley’s writing has earned a Carol Award, the Christian Market Novel of the Year, the Holt Medallion, and many others. A proud former resident of Alaska, she now makes her home in the Pennsylvania Poconos. Visit her at kimberleywoodhouse.com.
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