Canyon of Deceit by DiAnn Mills Review and Giveaway

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Canyon of Deceit by DiAnn Mills hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Canyon of Deceit
Author: DiAnn Mills
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
Release Date: September 9, 2025
Genre: Romantic Mystery & Suspense

A rescue team searches for a missing young girl and suspects all is not as it seems in this high-stakes romantic suspense novel from the author of Lethal Standoff and Facing the Enemy.

When wilderness survival expert Therese Palmer receives a frantic phone call from former colleague Professor Rurik Ivanov, she is shocked by the news that his young daughter, Alina, is missing—and that Rurik wants Therese’s help finding her. She’s sure Rurik hasn’t given her the whole story . . . especially since he refuses to report the kidnapping to the police. Yet with a child’s life hanging in the balance, Therese can’t turn down this mission. She knows the clock is ticking and she can’t do this alone.

Therese reaches out to Texas Ranger Blane Gardner, whom she met seven months ago during one of her training courses in wilderness survival skills. Blane’s specialized training and background with the Crisis Negotiation Unit make him uniquely prepared for this search-and-rescue mission. He agrees to help Therese and to accept Rurik’s terms to keep Alina’s disappearance quiet, and as the two begin working together, Therese is determined the spark growing between them won’t distract from their mission to save Alina.

Traversing deep into the desert of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Alina’s last known location, Therese and Blane struggle to separate truth from lies within the mix of intel they’re receiving. As they close in on answers that suggest the involvement of Russian organized crime and a high-profile international assassination attempt, they must fight to rescue Alina before she becomes an innocent casualty of a much bigger plot—no matter the risk to their own lives.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Tyndale Fiction | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub

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About the Author

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels with threads of romance. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure?

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards, the Selah Award, and the Golden Scroll; and been finalists for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award and the Carol Award.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and an active member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and International Thriller Writers. DiAnn continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on social media or her website, diannmills.com

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My Impressions

“Hope is a reason to live when the world erupts into madness.”

This quote is an absolute fave, and given the timing I read it, it applies super well in multiple ways to our country and world today! Diann Mills’s Canyon of Deceit is billeted as a romantic mystery and suspense, but I would also add the category of political thriller. Expecting romantic suspense with lots of continuous action, I felt the storyline didn’t move as fast as I expected at first. Being such a politically-based novel, there were a lot of mental gymnastics to work through in this 1st person , alternate narrator pov. Blane, a Texas Ranger and top-notch negotiator, and Therese, the best wilderness survival guide, must  locate a kidnapped Russian child in Fog Canyon, a dangerous part of the Guadalupe National Park. Their former attraction rears its head, as do their painful pasts. But what set my mind spinning ( and theirs) was whose intel to trust. Trusting the wrong person will cost them time, but most likely their lives, that of 8-year-old Alina, and ultimately, possibly untold others. 

Twists!! As I stuck with the story, I began to be able to sort out the multiple characters, see the need for so many, and was totally surprised more than once just as I thought I had the “bad guy head honcho” figured out!! 

By this time, I was well-invested in the characters! I wanted Blane to do more than blame God for tragedy in his past. His honest thought is one that I find interesting, and I have personally heard from another non-believing friend. “A bit ironic to blame someone I didn’t believe in.” Blane knows God is after Him… but does he want to forgive God- or himself?

Interestingly enough, Therese also is dealing with her fear of failure from the past, plus fear. Can she trust God enough to forgive herself? I love that she keeps returning to her Source of strength, even in the midst of impossible odds. “God understood my doubts, and He’d help me.” Another thought she shared with Blane until he was tired of her God talk! 

“You’re not afraid?” “Depends on how you define fear. For me exploring new territory and revisiting special places is a type of respect, a mix of love and fear.” I swung another look at the sky. “Like how I feel about God.” But the one that personally shores me up, I will share below. 

While I was uncertain about how invested I could become in these characters, I found that the political aspect just needed more time to establish the character’s uncertainties and complexities that made for great action and twists once we had enough information in our arsenal. The inclusion of a wonderfully brave, sweet, 8-year- old  certainly drew me into the story with tattered heartstrings!

I bought my own copy of this book. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“Every problem has a solution, and it usually involves teamwork.”– Sergio

“It’s not what we lose that defines our character—it’s what we learn.”- Therese

“We called this fence-coffee on the ranch. The only thing available when riding fence. Tastes like it was brewed over a pile of manure.”– Blane (just for laughs)

So many times I’d asked why evil and injustice exist. But if I had the answers, God wouldn’t be God.” – Therese

“I sent a silent prayer to the One who routinely out-negotiated the devil.”– Therese- (what comfort that sentence brings!)

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Magnificent!

Mills won me over with her great political intrigue and complex mystery with unexpected twists!

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Canyon of Deceit and $25 gift card to winner’s choice bookstore!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight September 9, 2025 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on September 16, 2025. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!