Tag: Christian Suspense

Taylor Reid’s phone flashed as she snapped the selfie with her two friends, their heads touching and their backs to the stage.

Book Review | Aftermath by Terri Blackstock

Aftermath starts with a bang—literally.

A bomb goes off at a rock concert-slash-political rally, and there are multiple fatalities. We see the explosion, then we see Dustin Webb being pulled over and arrested for having four boxes of explosives in his trunk. He calls lawyer Jamie Powell, the girl next door in his teenage years, because he’s going to need help. Jamie finds circumstantial evidence that suggests Dustin is innocent, but that’s not enough to clear him.

They also have to solve the crime …

Aftermath was a fast-paced novel that I read in a day. It was hard to put down, which is always the sign of an entertaining novel. Well, it’s what I look for. I want novels that I have to drag myself away from. I certainly don’t want the opposite, novels that I can’t bring myself to pick up because the main character or the plot simply hasn’t engaged me.

In hindsight, there were a few bugs. Unfortunately, these might be spoilers. Reader, beware.

Taylor (who witnessed the bombing) kind of bugged me as a character, in that she didn’t seem relevant to the central plot question: was Dustin innocent, and would Jamie be able to provide it? As it turned out, Taylor wasn’t necessary, in that Dustin, Jamie, and the police could have found the truth without her.

Next, I am totally over novels where the motive is the character needing money for medical expenses because they (or their parent/spouse/child) is ill. I know it’s all too common in the USA. But it has become a cliché form of tension and conflict, to the point where we visit a sick person in hospital and I wonder if astronomical healthcare costs are going to be the evildoer’s motive.

Also, does the USA not have regular blood banks like the rest of the civilised world? I have honestly never heard of calling friends and family to donate blood for a specific person (besides which, doesn’t the US have rules about how often people are allowed to donate? New Zealand does—I’m only allowed to donate every three months). And what about blood groups—or was Crystal the universal Type O?

I also didn’t see the need for Jamie and Dustin’s entire life histories as soon as they were introduced. I’d say it was boring and unnecessary, except that I skimmed most of it and didn’t feel I missed anything. I guess it’s a case of how established bestselling authors can get away with things newer authors can’t. When I checked, it was only a few pages each. It just felt like longer because it was distracting from the main story.

Perhaps Aftermath shouldn’t work. The fact it does is testament to Terri Blackstock’s ability to pull the reader with excellent writing and compelling situations. It is also good to see a strong yet subtle Christian message. Both Jamie and Dustin are Christians, and one character seriously questions the concept of faith during a time of personal trial. I liked that (even if this was the only character development seen in the novel’s short timespan.

Overall, Aftermath is a solid Christian suspense novel, but isn’t Blackstock’s best.

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

Aftermath

A devastating explosion.

Three best friends are at the venue just to hear their favorite band . . . but only one of them makes it out alive.

A trunk full of planted evidence.

When police stop Dustin with a warrant to search his trunk, he knows it’s just a mistake. He’s former military and owns a security firm. But he’s horrified when they find explosives, and he can’t fathom how they got there.

An attorney who will risk it all for a friend.

Criminal attorney Jamie Powell was Dustin’s best friend growing up. They haven’t spoken since he left for basic training, but she’s the first one he thinks of when he’s arrested. Jamie knows she’s putting her career on the line by defending an accused terrorist, but she’d never abandon him. Someone is framing Dustin to take the fall for shocking acts of violence . . . but why?

Find Aftermath online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads

About Terri Blackstock

Terri BlackstockTerri 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

Her choices in men hadn’t always been the best—actually they’d been horrible—but she knew when a man was holding out on her.

Book Review | Pay the Price (Harmony Grove #3) by Carol J Post

I opened Pay the Price to check the file had downloaded correctly, then created my First Line Friday post because the first line did catch my eye. I wasn’t planning to read the novel …

… yet three hours later, I’d finished.

Jessica Parker arrives back in Harmony Grove following her younger sister’s death. She hasn’t got a key and the spare key isn’t in the usual hiding place. So she’s forced to break in through the rear sliding door.

Inside, she finds the house has been ransacked … then she is attacked by a man with a gun. The intruder turns out to be Shane Dalton, an FBI agent working undercover in Harmony Grove, hunting for drug smugglers. And they’ve had a tip that Priscilla Parker might be involved.

It’s a fast-paced start, and it certainly kept me reading.

I liked Jessica, which is always a good start. She’s bright and brave, and has overcome a lot of hardship. I enjoyed reading about her faith journey (one of Carol J Post’s strengths as a writer), and I have to agree with Jessica’s view of snakes:

"She hated snakes. It didn’t matter what kind. Poisonous, harmless, large or small. The only good snake was a dead snake."

Shane is also a strong character, and another who has a troubled past–the death of his wife, and his subsequent avoidance of relationships of all kinds. Despite his loss, he’s retained his faith in God, something Jessica never had. Shane realises the best way to find information will be partnering with Jessica and finding out what happened to Priscilla and why … and was it really a suicide?

The suspense was well-written, with great pace and enough humour to offset the ever-present tension.

I was pleased to get to the end and find a preview for the next book in the series, which means this isn’t the last book. That’s great news, as I’m enjoying the Harmony Grove books and wouldn’t want to see them end yet. After all, there are still some single characters …

Pay the Price by @CarolJPost is excellent Christian romantic suspense, with great pace and enough humour to offset the ever-present tension. #BookReview #ChristianRomance Click To Tweet

All in all, I recommend Pay the Price for fans of Christian romantic suspense.

Thanks to Carol J Post for providing a free ebook for review.

About Carol J Post

Carol J PostFrom medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special events decorating company, Carol’s resume reads as if she doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love for writing. She currently pens fun and fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for a RITA® award and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award.

Carol lives in sunshiny Central Florida with her husband, who is her own real-life hero, and writes her stories under the shade of the huge oaks in her yard. Besides writing, she works alongside her music minister husband singing and playing the piano. She enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. Her two grown daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.

You can find Carol J Post online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About Pay the Price

Sometimes homecomings can be deadly…

Jessica Parker left Harmony Grove with bad memories and a vow to never return – until she is called back eight years later to deal with her sister’s suicide. When all the evidence points instead to murder, she is determined to find the killer and bring him to justice. Her handsome new neighbor is eager to help, but she is sure he’s hiding something.

Undercover FBI agent Shane Dalton is in Harmony Grove investigating the crash of a plane full of cocaine and gets more than he bargained for when he runs into Jessica. He’s not sure whether she’s involved or is just going to get in his way. Soon it becomes obvious that someone wants Jessica gone from Harmony Grove. As the threats intensify, Shane finds himself in a race against time to solve both cases. The closer they get to the truth, the closer the killer gets to making them his next victims.

You can find Pay the Price online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

Weaver's Needle by Robin Carroll

Book Review | Weaver’s Needle by Robin Carroll

It’s Throwback Thursday, which means it’s time to share a review of an older book or reshare an old review. Today I’m resharing my review of Weaver’s Needle by Robin Carroll, which first appeared at Suspense Sisters Reviews.

Weaver’s Needle was an excellent thriller, with lots of questions, lots of plot turns, an evildoer I didn’t see coming (although I might have if the novel hadn’t been so fast paced), and a real twist ending.

Despite my bias for romantic suspense over straight suspense, I actually preferred the suspense elements of Weaver’s Needle to the romance. Who was behind the murder? Who is threatening Landry and Nickolai as they work together to find the lost map and perhaps solve the murder … and the mystery of the lost mine? What is the significance of the strange scenes about the Native American rituals?

There was also a compelling subplot about Nickolai and his relationship with his teenage sister, a schizophrenic in full-time care. Nickolai blames himself for not recognising the signs difference between normal teenage acting out and serious mental illness—a mistake which had tragic repercussions. It’s tough to incorporate mental illness into a novel, and I thought it was done well.

Next to all that, it might be inevitable that the romance element wasn’t going to be as strong. I could see the building attraction between Landry and Nickolai, but there was always the issue that Landry was a strong, praying Christian, and Nickolai an unbeliever. I thought this was glossed over, which affected my enjoyment of the romance.

But don’t let that deter you from reading Weaver’s Needle if you like thrill-of-the-chase mysteries with depth.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Robin Carroll

Robin Carroll

Robin Caroll grew up in Louisiana with her nose in a book. She still has the complete Trixie Belden series, and her love for mysteries and suspense has only increased with her age.

Robin’s passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others and come alongside them on their faith journey—aspects Robin weaves into each of her published novels.

Best-selling author of thirty-plus novels, ROBIN CAROLL writes Southern stories of mystery and suspense, with a hint of romance to entertain readers. Her books have been recognized in several awards, including the Carol Award, HOLT Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, and more.

When she isn’t writing, Robin spends quality time with her husband of three decades, her three beautiful daughters and two handsome grandsons, and their character-filled pets at home in the South.

Robin serves the writing community as Executive/Conference Director for ACFW.

Find Robin Carroll online at:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest | Tumblr | Twitter

About Weaver’s Needle

Two recovery specialists.
One murder.
A hunt for the Dutchman’s Lost Gold Mine becomes a race of survival.

Former Army MP Landry Parker fell into the recovery specialist role quite by accident—to help her ailing father. Now that she’s on her own, she is determined to prove herself and honor her family legacy.

After being shot in the line of duty, former police officer Nickolai Baptiste became a recovery specialist, and he’s good at his job—maybe even the best.

A potential client pits Landry and Nickolai against one another to find the Dutchman’s Lost Gold Mine map that was stolen from her murdered husband, and the potential payday is too enticing to pass up. The trail takes them from New Orleans to Weaver’s Needle in Arizona where legend claims the mine is hidden. Landry and Nickolai are no strangers to adventure, but the unlikely partners quickly discover there’s someone after the treasure and there are those who want to ensure the lost mine in Arizona’s Superstition Mountain stays lost forever.

Can Landry and Nickolai work together despite their distrust of each other to save the legend before more innocent lives are lost? Will they find the real treasure isn’t the gold, but something more valuable. . .true love and understanding?

Find Weaver’s Needle online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Kobo

Read the introduction of Weaver’s Needle below: