Cops and Robbers

A while back, I started reading Lynette Eason's Elite Guardians series.  It was fun.  I enjoyed the characters.  So, I looked forward to reading the new book in the series, Chasing Secrets.  Chasing Secrets could be a stand alone novel, but it really makes more sense when read in the sequence of the series.  I had missed one of the books, so I went back and read Moving Target before I read Chasing Secrets.  There were a few details about the characters in Chasing Secrets that you wouldn't know if you didn't read Moving Target.

Chasing Secrets tells the story of Haley Callaghan.  Haley is one of the Elite Guardians, a group of bodyguards in Columbia, South Carolina, that works with the police department to protect people.  At the beginning of the story, a young man Zeke attempts to rob Haley.  How that scene plays out will make you like Haley from the very beginning.  Another character is introduced at the beginning of the story that you will come to like, Steve.  He's come home to South Carolina after several years away.  He, like many book characters, is running away from the past, but finds that he has to stop and face the past.

Isn't that life?  We each have our own history and if we don't take it to the Lord and sort through it, it will confront us (or rather God will confront us with it).  Of course, it's always more dramatic in Christian fiction, but that truth remains the same.  We are all products of our past.

Ms. Eason writes a compelling story in Chasing Secrets.  It moves along at a good clip.  There are neither too few nor too many characters for most of the story.  Although at one point, there were quite a few moving people to keep track of.  It's a good solid Christian crime-suspense novel.

If you have read any of her other novels, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell books for review, but these opinions are my own.

Unrealistic Realistic Fiction

When I sat down a moment ago to write a review of the book I just read, the phrase "unrealistic realistic fiction" came to mind.  My husband perused the book I'm about review and declared that is wholly unrealistic.

It is.  It is a Christian Romantic Suspense novel.  Lynette Eason just published the second book in her Elite Guardians series, Without Warning.  But, I don't think readers really expect all realistic fiction to be realistic.  It is set in the present with people they can picture in a world they live in every day.

Without Warning is about a personal bodyguard, Katie, who gets involved in a case of arson and life.  Katie cares about one of her self defense class students, Riley.  The man who's life is in danger happens to be Riley's uncle, Daniel. Katie quickly gets involved protecting Daniel Matthews and Riley.  The book begins with the arson of one of his six restaurants and escalates in danger from there.  Katie's fellow bodyguards work together with the police to try and solve the mystery.

The first book in the series was fun to read and quick moving--light on the romance, but engaging.  This book is just the same.  I understand my husband's response, but he also doesn't like any of the crime shows on tv.  For the person who likes crime/suspense novels, but is looking for something less gory and bloody--this book is an option.  Lynette Eason has written several series like this one.

If you start reading this book, knowing that it's fiction, you'll be fine.  Just don't expect it to be realistic.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from the publisher Revell books.

Christian Suspense

After the last time that I read a Christian historical romance, I really wondered where I should turn for light reading.  Admittedly, I often read so that I can turn off my brain.  It just doesn't like to stop!  So, I decided to read a Christian suspense novel.  I have found there are two veins of these books.  One heads off in a darker direction--like Erin Healy, Ted Dekker, and ND Wilson's novels.  The other direction is the crime drama type-- written by authors like Lynette Eason, Terri Blackstock, and Irene Hannon.  I've enjoyed Erin Healy's novels over the years.  She's a good writer and builds suspense in a way that draws me in as the reader.  A few years ago, I read books by Lynette Eason and Irene Hannon.  

But, I stopped.  I was faced with the question of whether it was okay to be intrigued by crime.  These questions have come up again from my daughters as they've been asking what's okay for them to read and what isn't.  So, I've needed to ponder and digest this question.  What is it that I'm intrigued by? When I read, am I focusing on the crime--or am I focusing on the triumph of good over evil?

Each time I've considered this question--I've found that I focus on the triumph of good over evil, not on the crime.  I don't like to read the descriptions of the crime in detail.  It's not because I want to be a Pollyanna and pretend like nothing bad happens.  But, I want to keep moving forward and "see" the journey of the main characters.

The novel I picked up last week was Always Watching, Lynette Eason's new novel.  I read a novel

of hers a few years ago.  This book was written much better.  I found the flow of the plot was smoother, characters were more developed, and (ignoring the cover) it drew me in more than the novel I'd read by her several years ago.  My husband took issue with the cover and its glamorization of criminal justice careers.  I just ignored the cover and enjoyed the story.

So, what did I enjoy about this book?
#1  There weren't any physical, sexual lines that were crossed or graphically described!
#2  Life wasn't perfect for any of the characters.
#3  Bitterness was at the root of the conflict for one character and the love of money for another.  That is the human heart and what God tells us over and over to guard against in His Word.
#4  The plot's conclusion left the reader (in this case me) with a sense of how hope rises from amidst the drama and heartaches of life.

In Always Watching, Olivia Edwards is a private bodyguard hired to watch over Wade Savage, a radio psychologist who's being stalked.  The stalker has been upping the ante and getting too close for comfort.  Olivia is a likeable character, with her own issues, of course.  Wade is a generous steward of what he has and loves the Lord.  I appreciated how the author wove in Wade's belief in God and his acknowledgement that that He and His daughter shouldn't live in fear because of their faith.  But, Wade didn't express it in a canned, Pollyanna way.  The story follows the stalking and Olivia's quest with her team to find the culprit.  There's danger, of course, along the way and a few twists and turns.
Would I recommend this book if you enjoy this genre?  Sure.  Would I recommend it if you're like me, trying to find something lighthearted and different than Christian romance?  Yes.  If the middle bogs you down, just skip to the last quarter--read how it ends and then go back and read the rest of the book.  Sometimes I have to do this with suspense novels.  I find that I still enjoy going back and reading the rest of the book if the story has been written well!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Revell Books.