Kelly Irvin made her name in Amish romance before publishing Tell Her No Lies, her first romantic suspense novel, in 2018. I was impressed by that novel, but was less impressed by Over the Line (I’m from New Zealand, and the story was too pro-gun for my tastes, especially in the aftermath of the Christchurch shooting).

Closer Than She Knows takes all the strengths of Tell Her No Lies and builds on them to deliver a powerful novel.

Teagan O’Rourke is a court reporter. She’s not a journalist, but the person who sits in the courtroom and transcribes every word spoken during a trial. That’s new—I’ve never read a novel featuring a court reporter before. It was interesting to find the court reporter is also responsible for the physical evidence in the trial, and that’s where Closer Than She Knows starts …

Teagan is transporting trial evidence under police escort when her escort is shot in the head. That’s shocking enough, but when Teagan’s next-door neighbour is stabbed to death and another friend attacked in Teagan’s house, then the police suspect Teagan is also a target. Notes found by the bodies leave Teagan’s father, a retired policeman, suspecting the murders might be related to one of his cases—a convicted murderer and suspected serial killer.

What follows could be a typical chase-type romantic suspense novel, but it’s more than that.

There’s also Teagan’s relationship with Max, the youth leader at her church. He thinks she’s not interested in anything more than friendship because he’s a recovering alcoholic. She’s not interested … but for a completely different reason. Max challenges her on her reasoning, partly out of selfish reasons (he disagrees with her), but more because he says her belief is limiting God. That was an interesting and welcome twist.

Yes, Closer Than She Knows is definitely Christian fiction, and it isn’t afraid to address some of the hard questions in life and faith: why do bad things happen to good people? Can we go against something we believe in when the people we love are in danger? Can we trust God with the hard things? And more …

There was plenty of tension which kept me turning the pages until the satisfying end. But there were also touches of humour and some tender moments amid the suspense and the introspection. Overall, Closer Than She Knows is an excellent example of Christian romantic suspense, with a great balance between faith, romance, and suspense, and a cast of believable and interesting characters.

Recommended for fans of Christian romantic suspense.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Kelly Irvin

Kelly Irvin is the bestselling author of the Every Amish Season and Amish of Bee County series. The Beekeeper’s Son received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, who called it a “beautifully woven masterpiece.” The two-time Carol Award finalist is a  former newspaper reporter and retired public relations professional. Kelly lives in Texas with her husband, photographer Tim Irvin. They have two children, two grandchildren, and two cats. In her spare time, she likes to read books by her favorite authors.

Find Kelly Irvin online at:

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About Closer Than She Knows

Teagan O’Rourke has always loved murder mysteries. In her job as a court reporter, she has written official records for dozens of real-life murders. She’s slapped evidence stickers on crime scene photos. She’s listened to hours of chilling testimony. But she’s never known the smell of death. And she never thought she might be a victim.

Until now.

A young police officer is murdered just inches away from her, and then a man calling himself a serial killer starts leaving Teagan notes, signing each with the name of a different murderer from her favorite mystery novels.

Panicked, Teagan turns to her friend Max Kennedy. Max longs for more than friendship with Teagan, but he fears she’ll never trust someone with a past like his. He wonders how much of God’s “tough love” he can take before he gives up on love completely. And he wonders if he’ll be able to keep Teagan alive long enough to find out.

As Teagan, Max, and Teagan’s police officer father race to track down the elusive killer, they each know they could be the next victim. Desperate to save those she loves, Teagan battles fears that once haunted her in childhood. Nothing seems to stop this obsessed murderer. No matter what she does, he seems to be getting closer . . .

Find Closer Than She Knows online at:

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