“Before I Let Go” by Marieke Nijkamp

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Corey returns to her hometown of Lost, Alaska after her best friend Kyra falls through the ice in January, when the ice should be frozen solid, just a few days before Corey is scheduled to return for a visit.

I was eager to read “Before I Let Go” after reading the synopsis and was drawn in quickly. However, it just seemed to be going in circles for the majority of the book. The townpeople act strangely, they tell Corey she no longer belongs, Corey is hurt and confused, Corey misses Kyra, Corey thinks she sees/hears Kyra, repeat.

I finished and I was left with a feeling of, “What just happened?” and “What genre was this book?” Was this supposed to be about teens who are loners, suicidal, lesbians, precognitive, survivor guilt, or a ghost story? A lot going on here and several of the themes just never came to fruition.

I still have lots of questions. Where did all the stinkin’ salmonberry flowers come from in Alaska in January? Why did Mrs. Robinson’s garden growing and blooming in the dead of Winter? What was up with Aaron’s cottage looking unlived in and then reverting? Did the townspeople kill him, too, and he was a ghost? Why did the townspeople try to kill Corey but then let her escape and go on as if nothing happened. Was Kyra a ghost or was Corey just spooked? Was Kyra precognitive or just imaginative? Were her paintings self-fulfilling?

In the end, I did not like Corey. Not one bit. OK, she left town to go to school. She moved on with her life, but totally forgot about her best and only friend Kyra even though she knew Kyra was bipolar and needed her. Corey would not even return her letters. She should have some guilt there. In the end, she leaves Lost with hope and is starting a new story. Not sure I would want that kind of best friend.

Thought about the title, “Before I Let Go”. What does it mean? Before Kyra lets go and kills herself or Before Corey lets go and moves on with her life a second time? Or maybe both. Not sure, but that makes me dislike Corey even more!

I liked the flashbacks and letters (especially the unsent ones) to tell the story. Good story, but just too much going on and not enough resolved.

Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Genre:  Fiction, Teen, YA, Magical Realism, Mental Illness

Cover: Great

Rating: 2 stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

"Blind Betrayal (Defenders of Justice Book #3)" by Nancy Mehl

“Blind Betrayal” is not your typical, run of the mill, syrupy sweet Christian fiction book. The third installment in the Defenders of Justice series by Nancy Mehl is a nonstop, action packed thrill ride! It is well-researched, very realistic and an excellent story. Having never read a book by this author, I was unsure about beginning with a book other than the first in the series, but it in no way hindered the story or my enjoyment.

Casey Sloane’s latest assignment is escorting a witness from St. Louis to Washington to testify in front of a grand jury. However, before she and her partner can even leave town, the Marshal’s Office is attacked. Are the two events connected? Is there a mole in the Marshal’s Office?

Casey, her partner, and another Marshal (a handsome man from Casey’s past) go on the run to hopefully deliver the witness unharmed.

I highly recommend this book and have found a new Christian fiction thriller series and author! I would start the first if you can, just because this one was awesome and you will want to read the others when you finish.

Publication Date: April 17, 2018

Genre:  Christian Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Cover: Perfect

Rating: 5 stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher, Bethany House, in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

"In Places Hidden (Golden Gate Secrets Book #1)" by Tracie Peterson

Caleb Coulter, an attorney in San Francisco, is known for his character and deep faith. The decision to defend his friend Patrick Murdock, who he believed to be falsely accused of murder, came easy for him. However, it seems to be a decision that may have cost him his life.

Headstrong Camrianne Coulter travels to San Francisco in an attempt to find her brother Caleb as their family has not heard from him in three months. Along the way, she makes friends with two other young ladies traveling to San Francisco and agrees that it would benefit them all if they stayed together at her brother’s home and pooled their resources to live and search for Caleb.

The trail seems mostly cold by the time she arrives, but with she and her friends begin their investigation which leads them to take a look at the pollical corruption abounding in the city. Caleb’s business partner, house servants and even Patrick are not honest with her and she begins to feat that she will never find Caleb, dead or alive.

Several beautiful biblical truths/stories are woven throughout the book: we are all the same in the eyes of God, God is always waiting for you to return to him no matter how far you may have strayed, God has a plan for each of us, and The Prodigal Son. My favorite, though, was trust God, no matter your circumstances!

One of my favorite lines in the book was “Camri refrained from pointing out the celebrating Christmas didn’t make one a Christian.” Isn’t that the truth! Sometimes we all need to be reminded of that.

I can honestly say that I have never read a Tracie Peterson book that I did not like and this one is no exception. It was interesting and well researched. I can’t wait to read the next two books in the series to find what happens with her two friends, Judith and Kenzie and how their mysteries are resolved. The second book in the series, “In Dreams Forgotten” will be published on July 3, 2018 and tackles Judith and the hunt for her long-lost aunt.

Publication Date: April 10, 2018

Genre:  Christian Fiction, Romance, Mystery,  Historical

Cover: Perfect (and beautiful)!

Rating: 4.5 stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher, Bethany House, in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

"One Among Us" by Paige Dearth

This book gave me nightmares… my mind knows these cruel, brutal monsters are real in our world, but my heart does not want to believe it. It does not want to believe that anyone could do these things to a child. The book is about a young girl who is kidnapped at eleven years old and held as a sex slave (along with several other children). Later, she is sold to a ruthless pimp.

I’ll be honest. I quit reading the book for a few days. I just could not stomach it. I picked it back up because I wanted to know, no, desperately hoped, that the characters would be OK in the end. Some were, some were not.

Heed the 18 and up warning! I can say that I will not read any more books by this author. She writes about those things of which she is knowledgeable. I just cannot read another.

Publication Date: December 12, 2014

Genre:  Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Murder

Cover: Perfect

Rating: 4 Stars

Source:  I won this book through Goodreads First-Reads. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

"After Anna" by Lisa Scottoline

"After Anna" by Lisa Scottoline

We all have defining moments in our lives by which we measure time. Some are good… some not so much. Before marriage, after marriage; before children, after children; before a divorce, after a divorce; before the child you have not seen in almost 17 years returns to your life and after.

Maggie, Anna’s Mother, is estatic when Anna contacts her. She has not seen Anna since she was six months old. Not since she had a breakdown and was hospitalized; during which her husband returned to France with Anna. French courts, lies and her ex-husbands wealth kept Maggie from seeing Anna or even receiving a photograph all this time. After the death of Anna’s father, step-mother and step-brothers in a plane crash, she wanted to reconnect with her mother and soon moves in with her.

Soon, Maggie’s idyllic life with her husband, Noah, and 10-year-old step son Caleb begins to fall apart. Anna, now a multi-millionaire, spends lots of money without asking and stays out late without calling to let anyone know where she is. When no adults are watching, she mistreats Caleb. Soon, she begins to accuse Noah of inappropriate behavior and even files a Protection from Abuse against him.

But who do you believe? Who do you trust? Your husband of two years or your new found 17-year-old daughter? And where do you turn when that daughter turns up dead on the porch of your husband’s new rental house and all evidence points to him as the killer?

Lisa Scottoline’s novels are always, well-written, fast-paced and full of twists. “After Anna” was no exception.

Publication Date: April 10, 2018

Genre:  Suspense, Thriller, Mystery

Cover: Great

Rating: 4 stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

#AfterAnna #NetGalley

"Out of the Ordinary (Apart from the Crowd Book #2)" by Jen Turano

"Out of the Ordinary (Apart from the Crowd Book #2)" by Jen Turano

Gertrude Cadwalader is employed by Mrs. Davenport as a companion, but she is so much more: model of Mrs. Davenport’s strange hair and clothing designs and returner of stolen goods. Mrs. Davenport is not a thief, not really, as she doesn’t keep the things she steals, but tasks Gertrude with returning them. This setup works pretty well until Mrs. Davenport swipes some things during a party on board the Sinclair yacht. Later, Gertrude is caught by the Sinclair matriarch while trying to return those items.  Things become a bit tricky as Gertrude is friends with the Sinclair heir, Harrison, who happens to be quite handsome.

I loved the setting of the yacht and the part of the story that takes place on it.

I also loved the theme of “God doesn’t expect His children to live ordinary lives, but extraordinary ones.” Such a great reminder to hand your “life over to God, trusting Him to lead the way to the path of extraordinary.”

I won’t lie, I would have loved a bit more of Mrs. Davenport and her mystery. It played such a small part in the story and unfolded rather quickly.

Also, I was surprised to find this is the second book in the series as the print copy had no number on the cover, spine or cover page (it did say “Apart From the Crowd”).

This is my first Jen Turano book, but it won’t be my last. She is an excellent Christian Fiction writer and the book was first-rate.

Publication Date: November 7, 2017

Genre:  Religious, Christian Fiction, Historical, Romance

Cover:  Lovely (would have enjoyed  seeing Gertrude in one of Mrs. Davenport’s outlandish outfits… perhaps on the back.)

Rating: 4 stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher, Bethany House, in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

“Two Girls Down” by Louisa Luna

“Two Girls Down” by Louisa Luna

She’ll only be a minute. That’s what Jamie Brandt thought when she carelessly left her two girls in the car while dashing into K-Mart to buy a birthday gift. An action that she later regretted when she returned to her car a few minutes later to find her girls missing.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book! When I began, I thought, OK, another deadbeat parent who pays absolutely no attention to her children and whines when something bad happens to them.

In the first few pages of the book, Jamie Brandt declares she “was not a bad mother”. Really? Curse words, alcohol and drugs just to make it through a short drive and kid’s birthday party? I hated her from the first few pages of the book.

Cue Alice Vega. She is called in by Jamie’s wealthy and much more high class Aunt to find the girls as her specialty is locating missing children. Alice enlists the aid of Max Caplan, a local disgraced policeman turned private investigator.

The book details their attempts to find the girls and those responsible. I don’t want to give anything away, but it was fantastic! I could not put it down. The twists and turns to get to the end were great and the reasoning behind the disappearance was a unique twist.

My only issue with the book was that the author mentioned three security guards at K-Mart. I have never known a K-Mart to have three security guards on duty at one time!

In the end, I cut Jamie some slack. Mother of the year? No. But she is a single mother and does love her girls. After all, sometimes even I dream of putting another beverage in my travel mug to get through another birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese!

According to the notes at the end of the book, this is the author’s first foray into adult literature. She has written a couple of YA books. However, Goodreads lists another first published in 2004. This one was good enough that I plan to read her others!

Publication Date: January 9, 2018

Genre:  Thriller, suspense, mystery, crime, detective

Cover:  OK

Rating: 4.5 stars (rounded to 5)

Source:  I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!