Terri Blackstock’s novels get better and better.
She’s had some hits and misses for me in the past, but the If I Run series was excellent, and Smoke Screen is even better.
Brenna is unhappily divorced from Jack, who is now remarried to Rayne. Brenna now has to work, and Jack gets their children at weekends, which means she barely gets to see them … and so she drinks away her sorrows, and worries about Jack’s latest threat, to seek full custody of the children.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Roy Beckett, the man convicted of murdering her preacher father, is out of jail. And his son, Nate, Brenna’s first love, is back in town … and as handsome as ever. Nate has grown up, and he’s now a strong Christian, even more of a reminder how far Breanna has fallen.
Smoke Screen is full of tension right from the first page.
Jack alternates between selfish and stupid, as he is influenced by his domineering father. There is also the mysteries of Roy and Nate Beckett. Roy was convicted of murder but has always claimed he was innocent. But if Roy Beckett is innocent, who killed Pastor Strickland? And Nate was found guilty of arson by the court of public opinion. Again, if he is innocent, who did burned down the church?
I have to admit that there were a few times when the tension got a bit much and I had to put the book down. But it was compelling, and I had to keep reading—no matter how much I wanted to purse-whomp Jack and his father (I actually had a little sympathy for Rayne, who was completely out of her depth).
It was also fascinating to read a Christian novel where the main character—Breanna—had obvious problems.
Let’s not mince words: divorce has turned the preacher’s daughter into an alcoholic with possible mental health issues. There are good and not good ways to react to a nasty divorce, and turning to hard liquor is definitely one of the not good ways. That meant there were times when I found it hard to sympathise with Breanna, because she was partly her own problem. But that made the story even more compelling.
Nate was an excellent hero—truly heroic.
But he’s not perfect. He still resents his father for ruining his teenage romance with Breanna (well, having your father accused of murdering your girlfriend’s father will put a damper on the relationship). So there are family issues there that Nate has to get over as well.
Smoke Screen is an excellent novel, with plenty of tension, and a solid dose of romance. Another great new release from Terri Blackstock. #ChristianFiction #Suspense Share on XSmoke Screen is an excellent novel, with plenty of tension, and a solid dose of romance. Another great new release from Terri Blackstock.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Terri Blackstock
Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over six million copies sold worldwide. She has had over twenty-five years of success as a novelist. Terri spent the first twelve years of her life traveling in an Air Force family. She lived in nine states and attended the first four years of school in The Netherlands. Because she was a perpetual “new kid,” her imagination became her closest friend. That, she believes, was the biggest factor in her becoming a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five, and has had a successful career ever since.
In 1994 Terri was writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, Dell and Silhouette, when a spiritual awakening drew her into the Christian market. As she was praying about her transition, she went on a cruise and noticed that almost everyone on the boat (including her) had a John Grisham novel. It occurred to her that some of Grisham’s readers were Christians, and that if she wrote a fast-paced thriller with an added faith element, she might just find her niche. As God would have it, Christian publishers were showing interest in the suspense genre, so she quickly sold a four-book series to Zondervan. Since that time, she’s written over thirty Christian titles, most of them suspense novels.
You can find Terri Blackstock online at:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
About Smoke Screen
One father was murdered. Another was convicted of his death. All because their children fell in love.
Fourteen years ago, Nate was in love with the preacher’s daughter. When Pastor Strickland discovered Brenna defied him to sneak out with Nate, the fight between Strickland and Nate’s drunken dad was loud—and very public. Strickland was found murdered later that night, and everyone accused Roy Beckett. When the church burned down not long after, people assumed Nate set the fire to get even for his father’s conviction. He let the rumors fly and left town without looking back.
Brenna is stunned to learn that the man convicted of murdering her father has been pardoned. The events of that night set her life on a bad course, and now she’s fighting a brutal custody battle with her ex and his new wife where he’s using lies and his family’s money to sway the judge. Brenna is barely hanging on, and she’s turned to alcohol to cope. Shame and fear consume her.
As Nate and Brenna deal with the present—including new information about that fateful night and a wildfire that’s threatening their town—the past keeps igniting. Nate is the steady force Brenna has so desperately needed. But she’ll have to learn to trust him again first.
Find Smoke Screen online at:
Amazon | Bookbub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong
Kimberley Woodhouse is the best-selling and award-winning author of more than a dozen books. She is a wife, mother, author, and musician with a quick wit and positive outlook despite difficult circumstances. A popular speaker, she’s shared at more than 2,000 venues across the country. Kimberley and her family’s story have garnered national media attention for many years including ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Montel Williams Show, Discovery Health channel’s Mystery ER, The Hour of Power, The Harvest Show, and over 1,000 other TV appearances and radio interviews. She lives and writes in Colorado with her husband of twenty-five years and their two amazing kids.
Jacqueline Rivers manages a Pony Express station in 1860 Utah territory after her father’s death. There are daily stresses placed on her in this unconventional role—and now a government official is asking her to sniff out counterfeiters. When Elijah Johnson passes through on the stage while on an exhausting quest to find his boss’s heir, he doesn’t want to leave the beguiling station manager. In fact, he may never leave when caught in the crossfire of the territory’s criminal activities. Jackie can’t decide if Elijah is friend or foe. Can she remain strong when secrets of the past and present are finally unearthed?
