Danger in The Shadows

My church just had a ladies night where we discussed the book Danger in the Shadows by Dee Henderson.  Apparently it is a prequel to a series written by Henderson.  I had not read that series but I had read a couple by this author.

The book caught my interest from the very start.  Sara was a victim of a kidnapping in her childhood that resulted in her twin sister's death.  Now she is in witness protection.   She has successfully shut out most people from her life but she can't get rid of Adam Black quite so easy.

From Library Journal

Reclusive author Sara Walsh hides from the public for a reason. As a child, she was kidnapped (with her twin sister, Kim) and locked in a root cellar for nine days. Their father, a diplomat, balked at paying the ransom, and Kim died on the eighth day. Twenty-five years later, one of the kidnappers, who remains frustratingly elusive, regularly torments Sara by sending momentos of their time together. Sara is locked in a gilded cage, and the potential key, retired football player Adam Black, may be too explosive for a life lived in shadow, but he is convinced Sara is the answer to his prayers. 

I really enjoyed the book and read it quickly---it was hard to put down!  We had a great discussion centered mostly around what fear can do to a person.  

What I Read on My Summer Vacation

So we were in Myrtle Beach not too long ago and I spent a lot of time under the umbrella and in the jacuzzi tub reading!  Thought I'd give you a little review of what I read.

1.  A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet by Sophie Hudson

I actually read this and discussed with a group of girls from my church.  I had read about half of it before we went to the beach and I finished it up while there.   This is actually not considered Christian Fiction.  It's more of a memoir even though she changed up some names of people and places.  The author has a blog, Boo Mama that I have followed off and on.  She's a pretty funny lady and the book didn't disappoint.  The subject was mostly family.  Among the humor there were a lot of really touching moments.  


2. Secrets Over Sweet Tea by Denise Hildreth Jones

Wow.  This book was a bit heavy (in a good way).  Though there were some funny moments--one of the characters is quite unique--it really dealt with three different marriages, two of which were in turmoil.   I found it riveting.  A bonus is that it's set in Franklin, TN....a place I've actually visited.

From the Back Cover

Secrets can be funny things . . .
We think they keep us safe, but more often than not, they spill out when we least expect and make a mess out of everything. It’s a truth Scarlett Jo Newberry knows all too well—a truth Grace Shepherd and Zach Craig are about to learn the hard way.

As the lives of this boisterous pastor’s wife, polished news anchor, and beleaguered divorce attorney intersect on the tree-lined streets of Franklin, Tennessee, scandal threatens to topple their carefully constructed worlds. Grasping at survival, they embark on a journey of friendship and courage, desperate to find a way back to laughter, love, and life.

3. Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble

This was the second in a series set in the fictional Hope Beach, somewhere in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  As much as I loved the first book, Tidewater Inn, this one was even better!  Great suspense with a little romance thrown in.

I've discovered a great author!

If you like suspense (which I do!), you need to check out Brandilyn Collins.
http://www.brandilyncollins.com/books.html

The book club read Deceit last year and we all enjoyed it.  This year we read Gone to Ground and I thought it was a excellent read.   I actually read the entire book in two hours (while in the bathtub!)
I liked the way she presented the story. Each chapter began with a newspaper article and the story was told in the voices of three women who were involved in the mystery in some way.

Shortly after finishing that one I found Brink of Death at Goodwill and picked it up.  It was well worth the dollar I paid for it.  It's the first in a series and I look forward to reading more.  This book centered around a former courtroom artist who finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation of a neighbor.  The local police ask her to work with the surviving victim to make a sketch of the suspect.

I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.  I like the way she subtly weaves in the Christian aspect of each story.  The plots are engaging and the characters are interesting!

Life Support/Life Everlasting by Robert Whitlow

This author is so good.  I love legal thrillers anyway, and he is just as good if not better than Grisham, Patterson, and the like.

The first book of this 2-book series is Life Support.  Baxter Richardson is pushed off a cliff by his wife Rena, who is shocked to discover that he survives the accident.  Baxter is now in a coma and Rena wants to terminate life support.  She claims that her husband would have wanted that, but the reader knows the real reason Rena wants him dead.  Baxter's husband, the very wealthy Ezra Richardson, wants to keep his son alive to protect his own interests.

Meanwhile lawyer Alex Lindale is sent by her firm to help the Richardson's sort out their disagreements about Baxter's power of attorney.  She ends up representing Rena without knowing the truth about Baxter's fall.  This leads to a "conflict of interest" with her firm and she is fired.  Alex decides to open her own practice.

As this is all happening Alex meets music minister Ted Morgan, whose faith and giftedness on the piano draw her in.  Alex has never had a strong faith but begins to learn more about what it means to trust in God.  She sure needs a lot of help in representing Rena Richardson.

All of these characters and story lines are woven together creating an intriguing plot.  I was racing to the end only to discover the dreaded cliffhanger!  After a few days of impatiently waiting I had book number two, Life Everlasting.  I won't go into too much detail because it will spoil the ending of book one.  Let's just say Rena's lies get more and more complicated and Alex is struggling to keep up with her.  Her relationship with Ted is becoming more serious, and Baxter's life is still on the line.

Beware of the Cliffhanger!

After I read Water's Edge by Robert Whitlow I decided to get some more of his novels.  I went to the Paperback Swap (more on that later), looked him up, and ordered the first one I saw.  

The book was Life Support and it was great!  I finished it in one evening.  But....it ended in a cliffhanger!  I didn't even realize this was a 2-book series.  I immediately ordered the next one, but it took over a week to get to me.  I've been not-so-patiently waiting to see how the story ends. I finally got it today.....so you know what I'm reading tonight!

By the way, the title is Life Everlasting.  I'll be reviewing both books soon!

Water's Edge by Robert Whitlow

This was our book club selection for November.  I hadn't read anything by Robert Whitlow, but in researching books for us to read his name kept popping up.  The book cover said his work was similar to John Grisham, and I'm inclined to agree.  The legal ins and outs of the plot were intriguing, and the character development was great also.

The main character is Tom, a lawyer at a prestigious firm in Atlanta who must return to his hometown to close his father's practice after he passes away.  Tom finds something suspicious in both his father's practice and his supposed drowning death and tries to solve the mystery.  Along the way, his great uncle Elias plays a strong role in leading Tom back to Christ.   I had no clue who the perpetrator was until the very end, and even then I didn't have it completely correct.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I enjoy this type of legal suspense novel anyway, and Whitlow did not disappoint.  I loved the way the author wove scripture throughout the story.  This was my favorite:

Jeremiah 6:16  This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

Give this book a 10 out of 10!  Can't wait to read another one by Robert Whitlow.