Carol Moncado

Day three of Romantic Suspense Week!

A serial killer is targeting illegal aliens in southern Texas. Texas Ranger Cody Jackson is paired with a local police officer, Liliana Rodriguez, to investigate the murders. 

While the case brings Cody and Liliana ever closer, the tension between Americans and Mexican Americans heightens. As Cody and Liliana race to discover who is behind the murders and bring peace to the area, what they uncover isn’t what they expected. Will Cody and Liliana’s faith and love be strong enough to survive the storm of violence?

This is the second book in the Men of the Texas Rangers series. I enjoyed book 1 [my review of Saving Hope] and looked forward to this one.

Liliana and Cody are a great team trying to figure out why a bunch of people are being killed in their normally fairly quiet border town. Also featured is Cody’s son, Kyle. Kyle lived with his mom until her death a few months earlier. So Cody and Kyle are trying to build a new relationship in the midst of everything and as Cody tries to figure out his feelings for Liliana.

As with Saving Hope, Ms. Daley does a wonderful job of pulling us into the world of southern Texas, keeping us in suspense. Who would survive? [Okay – not really – I knew the hero and heroine would and it seemed like a pretty safe bet Kyle would, too, but out of the rest of characters…]

I loved Kyle’s character development along with the relationship between Liliana and Cody. There was enough suspense without being overwhelming and the secondary plot line involving Liliana’s sister helped keep me turning pages [or pushing the arrow on my Kindle anyway ;)].

I look forward to Ms. Daley’s next book as well.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ecopy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Welcome back to Romantic Suspense Review Week! Today is a review of Robin’s upcoming release [9/15]. Be sure to check it out!

In Angola State Penitentiary, a man is serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. Riley Baxter is an eager reporter desperate for a story to make a name for herself. When she stumbles upon the daughter of the incarcerated man, Riley sees a little too much of herself in the teen, and vows to help prove her father’s innocence.

At the same time, Hayden Simpson has his hands full with keeping his little sister in line, worrying about his job as Police Commissioner, and dealing with his past emotional baggage. The last thing he needs is someone blowing the lid off his emotional bucket. But when Riley Baxter storms into his life, struggling to understand why God would let bad things happen to good people, Hayden has no choice but to follow his heart.

Now, Riley and Hayden must work together to uncover the truth of the past . . . before someone shuts Riley up for good.

As with the four other books by Robin I’ve read in the last month, this one was well worth the read.

I loved getting to see the characters from Injustice for All and Rafe and Bella’s* relationship progressing.

But the main focus of this book is Riley, Rafe’s sister, and Hayden, the police commissioner in Louisiana from book 1.

Riley finds a family going through very difficult times after the husband/father goes to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. When she starts digging, she upsets some men determined to keep the truth hidden. Her feelings for Hayden [and his for her] complicate things as they try to get to the root of this family’s difficulties.

To make matters more difficult, Hayden’s sister is in a relationship with a man Hayden doesn’t fully trust.

As with all of Robin’s books, I found the characters and the plot to be well-rounded and fully fleshed out. The one thing that bugged me was near the end when they’ve discovered a person of interest who changed his name at some point. I had my suspicions as to who it was but didn’t blame them for not knowing since I had more information than they – especially Rafe and Hayden – did. The bugged me part was that they didn’t just try to find a picture of the guy from before his name change. Sure it takes time to find out who he is NOW, but if you’re investigating a case wouldn’t you find a picture of the guy to see if there’s any resemblance to anyone else you might know in the here and now. I don’t know that they would have recognized him but it would have been worth a shot – or worth a mention if they couldn’t find one.

It was a tiny niggle, but a niggle nonetheless.

I’m looking forward to book 3, which is to be about Rafe and Riley’s sister who we’ve gotten to know through the first two books. I don’t know who the hero is, but I’m kind of hoping it might be Rafe’s best friend from book 1. I don’t know why but that’s my hope. Of course, Robin’s already written it so it’s unlikely she’ll take my wishes under advisement but there they are ;).

Overall rating: 8 out of 10

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

*Highlight below to read the note about Rafe and Bella but beware it contains spoilers for Injustice for All.
Yes, Bella is Remington Wyatt from book 1, but I felt like saying that was a spoiler so left it as Bella here – it’s possible I feel that way because I read the books back to back but still…

Welcome to Romantic Suspense Review Week! The week you didn’t know you were waiting for!!! 😉

So here’s the schedule:

• Monday: Injustice for All by Robin Carroll
• Tuesday: To Write a Wrong by Robin Carroll
• Wednesday: Shattered Silence by Margaret Daley
• Thursday: The Deposit Slip by Todd M. Johnson [which is really more suspense/legal thriller with at touch of romance]
• Friday: Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

There may [hopefully!] be a review of a YA dystopia book on Saturday – not sure yet. I’ve ordered it from one of the places I review for and it’s been shipped which means I can’t cancel it but there’s another book I really, really want to request available on Sunday. And you can’t order a new one until you’ve read/reviewed the last one from this particular group. Here’s hoping /fingers crossed/.

So, without further ado, Injustice for All by Robin Carroll

A federal judge lies bleeding on his office floor, betrayed by a most unlikely source—people who helped him bring criminals to justice. Now, why would someone working for the FBI need to disappear after witnessing this crime?

When Remington Wyatt sees her godfather’s murder, she recognizes the killers and knows it’s only a matter of time before they come to silence her. She must do the only thing possible to stay alive . . . run.

FBI agent Rafe Baxter is serious about his career, and solving a cold case involving a federal judge’s death puts him in line for the promotion he so desires. But the case leads him to the small town of Hopewell, Louisiana, where some secrets seem inextricably hidden deep within the bayou.

Injustice for All explores what happens when everything a person believes in is utterly destroyed. Who can you trust?

Well, a couple months ago I offered to review [and had the offer accepted] To Write a Wrong [see tomorrow]. I thought it was book 4 in a series and I already had the first three so I read them [Deliver Us From Evil, Fear No Evil, and In the Shadow of Evil]. All were good books and well worth the read but To Write a Wrong wasn’t part of that series.

No.

Injustice for All was the first book a new series and it was book two. I resigned myself to just reading it without reading the book before it [something I prefer not to do] as my book buying budget is tight in August but then I saw Injustice for All on NetGalley and I snagged it ;). I’m glad I did. You don’t need to read Injustice before Write/Wrong but my enjoyment of Injustice was greater since there’s some of the same characters and then I didn’t know exactly how it turned out already.

So… Injustice for All…

It opens with a dead federal judge and an unknown but probably female character in the house as he’s killed but she manages to escape. From there it goes to the same character trying to hide [her own version of WITSEC] and Rafe, an FBI agent about to be reassigned to Little Rock, of all places. Where the federal judge had been murdered.

So Rafe is assigned to look at cold cases [since no one really wants a new guy anyway] and he decides that solving the case of who killed a federal judge would give him some props in the local office so he starts looking into it. One of the first things he wants to do is find Remington Wyatt, the judge’s goddaughter, believed to be the witness. The search for  her, and the truth, takes him to unexpected places.

Bella has lived in the bayou for several years but harbors secrets. Doesn’t everyone? But hers involves secrets her best friend, Hayden, the head of the local police, really should know.

Rafe crosses paths with Bella and Hayden and together the three of them try to figure out what a sleepy town in LA has to do with the murder of the federal judge and no one seems to know what happened to Remington while Rafe and Bella struggle with a growing attraction neither one wants to admit.

Threats, gun shots, attackers in the middle of the night in homes, all of this leads them to believe they’re on the right track – are they? And, if so, can they figure it all out before it’s too late?

As with the other three books of Robin’s I recently read, she created characters I cared deeply about even as I tried to figure out what secrets each held and how they related to the whole. The conclusion was satisfying and the romance was as well. I’m glad I took the time to find and read this book and look forward to reading book three in this series [since book two has already been devoured ;)].

Did I mention Robin is a super cool person as well? So is her hubby. 😀

Overall rating: 8.25 out of 10 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ecopy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Review week continues! And to go along with today’s “Bible story inspired” book review, catch Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings – free TODAY ONLY! [also free on Nook etc, but that’s an Amazon link] Loved that book!

Ms. Aiken’s book Priced to Move is also currently free on Kindle.

Now… on to today’s review!

Drought has forced farmers around the small town of Bountiful in the Hope region of Oregon to mortgage their property. Then word comes of plans for a spur line to run through the area and join the railroad in nearby Milton. Folks with money see an opportunity to fill their coffers by buying farmland cheap then selling to the railroad for a profit. The Bank of Bountiful, owned by Eli Whitman, appears to be doing that, as well.

Widowed two years earlier, Eli, with a son and daughter to raise, sought a hard-working, educated Christian woman to care for them and his home. Olivia Moore filled the bill, and as soon as Eli recognized her as an excellent investment, he offered her first employment then a marriage of convenience.

While Olivia is an excellent choice, her large family gives Eli pause. He knows about the problems posed by in-laws, so he will do whatever it takes to avoid a repeat of his earlier experiences.

When Papa tells Olivia the Moore family must move according to Eli’s terms for the new railroad line, she fears for their safety, since they’ll be homeless during winter. Where will they go? How will they survive?

It is up to Olivia to convince her husband to renege on his demands, though she swore before their marriage she would stay out of his business.

I love stories based on Bible stories. I also love Biblical fiction [and I’ve yet to read a good one about Esther [which this book is based on] or Ruth [which Sixty Acres up there uses as a basis] so all my Biblical fiction writing friends… get crackin’! Or let me know what I’ve missed… :D].

Er, right. This book.

When Ms. Aiken put out a call for influencers, I knew I had to answer it and I’m so very glad I did! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I love the story of Esther [One Night with the King was a decent movie version, iirc].

Ms. Aiken’s book doesn’t follow the story line of Esther exactly [there’s no scepter or threat of death for merely looking at the king when he doesn’t want you to], but it’s pretty close. She’s crafted well-rounded characters who you root for and groan at when they do something undeniably stupid. Because we’re all like that.

I especially adored Eli’s children. They were obnoxious and disliked but good kids at heart. I also liked that she kept us guessing who the “Haman” was [at least I was kept guessing – I kept changing my mind about who it was ;)].

For Such a Time as This  is going on the keeper shelf [yeah, like I have just ONE shelf of keepers… ;)] and I’ll be looking forward to Ms. Aiken’s next book!

Overall Rating: 8.25 out of 10

Thanks to Ms. Aiken and the publisher for a free influencer copy of this book.

[Edit: Jewel of Persia by Rosanna White is an excellent book with Esther as a strong secondary character.]

Hey look! More review week! Coming up later this week… Dee Henderson’s long awaited Full Disclosure and a couple others you’ll have to wait to find out ;).

Could it be that the life Daphne’s always wanted is right under her nose?

Daphne Sweeten left Paris—and a job she loved—to marry the man of her dreams in the U.S. But when he stands her up on their wedding day, she’s left reeling and senseless. Literally. She’s been trained as a perfume creator and now her sense of smell has disappeared along with her fiancé.

She has to figure out why her nose isn’t working, fix it, and get back to Paris. Meanwhile, she’ll rely on her chemistry skills and just hope her new boss at Gibraltar Products, Jesse, doesn’t notice her failing senses. They’ll be working together on household fragrances, not posh perfumes. How hard can it be?

As Daphne and Jesse work on a signature scent for their new line, she feels God at work as never before. And the promise of what’s possible is as fresh as the scent of rain.

I’ve read one or two of Billerbeck’s books before [I particularly enjoyed A Billion Reasons Why] and jumped at the chance to review this one.

I love the smell of rain. Whenever I buy candles for myself, they’re almost always some variety of water. If I can’t get “rain fresh”, I get Waterfall or Brookside or some other variation on a fresh water scent. /sigh/ Love.

I loved both of the main characters. I identified with parts of both of them though I didn’t always fully understand the intricacies of the scent business. It was fairly easy to take Ms. Billerbeck’s word for it and move on ;). Plus I did learn something.

The romance went at just the right pace as did the plot about Daphne’s ex trying to steal her perfume. The end seemed a tad rushed to me [but a lot of romance endings do – I always want *more*].

In the end, Ms. Billerbeck creates flawed, human characters who do their best in difficult circumstances, who learn to trust God and have that trust rewarded by an ever-faithful Father.

I look forward to Ms. Billerbeck’s next offering and just may keep an eye out for a paper copy of this one for my keeper shelf.

Overall rating: 8.5 out of 10

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ecopy in exchange for my honest review.

So it’s been a while since I posted… More on that another day but in the meantime… it’s REVIEW WEEK!

Katherine came home to forget her past. The last thing she expected was to find her future.

Young widow Katherine Osborne returns to her family’s rustic camp on Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. She’s determined to live a quiet life, but her socialite mother is equally determined to push her into a new marriage while she’s still young.

Andrew Townsend has known Katherine since they were children. An attorney who is successful, but not wealthy, he knows she is socially out of his reach. But he’s curious about what changed the free-spirited girl he once knew into this private, somber young woman.

Katherine has kept hidden the details of her unsuccessful marriage. When past sins come to light, she must turn to God for the courage to be honest. But how can she trust the God she feels has let her down? When she confides in Andrew, their relationship takes a dramatic turn into uncharted territory.

Amid impossible obstacles, two young people must learn to trust enough to walk the path that God has cleared for them. A path that leads to healing and restoration. A path toward love.

This is my first of Cara’s books, though I have at least one other one, but, for whatever reason, I’ve not read them.

Think they’re going on my list :D.

Ms. James [okay, I know Cara, y’all know I know a bunch of the authors I review, I just don’t think I can call her Ms. James with a straight face… way too formal for one of the first people I met at conference last year – plus she gave Ruthy [Ruth Logan Herne ]

Cara does a wonderful job of bringing us into Katherine’s world – showing us what she’s dealing with now as a woman trying to make it in a man’s world a hundred or so years ago. She also does a skillful job of showing us Katherine’s past – she’s a widow with marriage she doesn’t really want to talk about.

She also shows us Andrew and how society is likely to keep them apart.

We see more of Katherine’s family than we do Andrew’s, though Andrew’s family is there. In particular, Katherine’s great-aunt Letty. I adored her! I also loved learning about Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks as well as more about this time period.

Cara’s strength in this book is her characters and showing how they would overcome the obstacles in their path toward love.

I’ll be looking for book 2 in this series and finding my copies of Cara’s earlier books.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Thanks to BookSneeze and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Within one of the Old Testament’s most famous battles lies one of the most tender love stories.

Hidden within the battle of Jericho is the story of Rahab, a beautiful and brave young Canaanite woman who aided the Israelites by hanging a piece of scarlet cord from a window. This act of faith changed her life by placing her in the genealogy of Christ.

Rahab is the youngest daughter of a Canaanite farmer, taken to Jericho for the pagan New Year so her father can find her a wealthy spouse. Sala, the Israelite boy who had once saved her from being kidnapped, is also in Jericho. When the two young people meet again they admit their love for one another, but their different religions make marriage impossible.

Their love story plays out against the background of Jericho’s pagan rites. It is only when the One True God of Israel comes into Rahab’s life-and she realizes what He is calling her to do-that she and Sala can come together.

Witness Rahab as a young woman determined to find her destiny as she follows her heart toward true love . . . and the One True God.

This is a difficult review for me to write. I only offer to review books I anticipate enjoying and I really wanted to love this book, but I just didn’t :(.

There isn’t much in the Bible about Rahab, other than she saved the spies [who in turn saved her] and she later became the mother of Boaz [from the Book of Ruth] and in an ancestor of Christ, so the vast majority of this book is, by necessity made up.

I’m good with that. I love reading good Biblical fiction and I really looked forward to this one.

Rahab is a young girl here – twelve then fourteen. Sala is a few years older than she is. I enjoyed the spunkiness Rahab often showed, but despite the difference between today and life centuries ago, I just didn’t buy Rahab as old enough to marry and set up her own household. My impression is that children matured faster in many ways than they do today. Today we wouldn’t expect a fourteen year old to be ready to be a wife and mother the way Mary, mother of Jesus, would have been. Just a for instance.

But this Rahab [and Sala who was, I believe seventeen by the end of the book] seemed more like the 14 and 17 year olds of today. Relatively immature and nowhere near ready for the responsibilities of their own household. That was one of the problems I had with the book – stilted dialog in many places was another.

I thoroughly enjoyed several of the secondary characters – particularly Rahab’s sister-in-law.

Stephen King once said Stephanie Meyer wasn’t a very good writer, but was an excellent storyteller [or something to that effect]. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I felt like that statement applied, to a lesser degree, with this book.

The story, despite the problems I had with it, was compelling enough that I kept “turning the pages” to the very end. [It was an e-book so no actual pages ;).]

I will likely pick up the next book by Ms. Wolf and give her another shot, but if you’re looking for a good story about Rahab, I’d recommend Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar instead.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Dr. Lilly Reeves is a young, accomplished ER physician with her whole life ahead of her. But that life instantly changes when she becomes the fifth victim of a serial rapist. Believing it’s the only way to recover her reputation and secure peace for herself, Lilly sets out to find–and punish–her assailant. Sporting a mysterious tattoo and unusually colored eyes, the rapist should be easy to identify. He even leaves what police would consider solid evidence. But when Lilly believes she has found him, DNA testing clears him as a suspect. How can she prove he is guilty, if science says he is not?

I sat across from Jordyn at a restaurant in Denver a little over a year ago and we talked about the plot of Proof long before it sold. She even told me about who the bad guy really was and so on.

And I still sat on the virtual edge of my chair, rapt attention on the pages that flipped by both too quickly and too slowly at the same time.

[Partly because I’d forgotten for certain what she said, but mostly because it kept me that pulled in ;).]

The book is mostly a medical thriller [I think “medical” would be the descriptor there… thriller definitely applies], but it does have some romance in it.

The mystery/thriller aspect is well done. After Lilly is attacked, she works tirelessly to bring the perpetrator to justice. With her life – and the lives of those she loves – at stake, she must figure out the solution and find the Proof before time runs out.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, there were a couple of nitpicks I had, though neither affected the rating. One had to do with who ended up as the romantic partner for Lilly. There were two possibilities and, really, it could have gone either way. I just would have preferred the other way ;). I understand why Jordyn wrote it the way she did, but it’s one of those things I’ll mutter/grumble/glare over on Facebook then put a winky face next to it as I line up to be an influencer for book 2 :D. The other thing, I need to reread and then ask Jordyn about if I read it right [it was late…] but it’s too spoilery to mention here.

Now to mark my calendar for book 2…

Overall rating: 9 out of 10

Thanks to the publisher and Jordyn for an influencer copy of this book in exchange for a positive review.

When Macy Dillon was five years old her father encouraged her to draw a picture in the guestbook of a Carolina beach house. The next year, Macy returned to discover a drawing by an unidentified little boy on the facing page. Over the next eleven years the children continue to exchange drawings … until tragedy ends visits to the beach house altogether. During her final trip to Sunset, Macy asks her anonymous friend to draw her one last picture and tells him where to hide the guest book in hopes that one day she will return to find it—and him. Twenty-five years after that first picture, Macy is back at Sunset Beach—this time toting a broken family and a hurting heart. One night, alone by the ocean, Macy asks God to help her find the boy she never forgot, the one whose beautiful pictures touched something deep inside of her. Will she ever find him? And if she does, will the guestbook unite them or merely be the relic of a lost childhood?

Macy has a few too many men in her life. To start with her daughter’s father has returned bringing with him too many memories from the past. And then it’s time for vacation and with it comes three different men – all of whom have good and bad sides.

But one of them has to be the boy she exchanged drawings with for years until they stopped coming to this particular beach house for vacation. But the idea seems so odd that she can’t just come right out and ask them about it.

Which one is the right one?

Or are any of them?

Because there’s no one male protagonist, I won’t say which one – if any – is the right one. Unlike a traditional romance, any one of the male figures could be a good romantic partner for Macy, though by the time book ended, I had a clear choice in mind, but the author went a different direction. That said, I don’t think it was the *wrong* choice, just not the one I would have preferred. I’m quite sure there are plenty of readers who agreed with her choice.

That certainly won’t put me off from reading any of Ms. Whalen’s other books and I’d like to see what happens with the other guys in the love department. I do hope there is a sequel or two in the works, but either way, I’ll be happy to jump on board with whatever comes next.

Overall rating: 8.5 out of 10

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a e-review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.