When bones are found at an unmarked grave site—and then shots are fired—forensic anthropologist Jordyn Miller knows someone wants old secrets to remain buried. She’ll do anything to uncover the truth about these suspicious deaths, including accepting the protection of her ex-boyfriend, Constable Colt Peters, and his K-9. But with targets on their backs, can Jordyn stay alive long enough to bring a serial killer to justice?
From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.
Crisis Rescue Team
Book 1: Fatal Forensic Investigation Book 2: Explosive Christmas Showdown Book 3: Mountain Abduction Rescue Book 4: Buried Grave Secrets Book 5: Yukon Wilderness Evidence
About the Author:
Darlene L. Turner is an award-winning author and lives with her husband, Jeff in Ontario, Canada. Her love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message. You can connect with Darlene at http://www.darlenelturner.com where there’s suspense beyond borders.
My Impressions
“…forgive yourself first…It’s time to put the darkness behind us. Until light shines again, we’ll never move on…”
I would never want to live in this book, Buried Grave Secrets, by Darlene L. Turner. Yet, I sure enjoyed visiting Charock Harbour, Maine, from the safety of my armchair. Dr. Jordyn Miller is a part-time forensic anthropologist who is struggling to succeed without using her political father’s name. She would rather not have the protection he provides, either, especially when it comes in the form of Constable Colt Peters, whom she dated previously, and his K-9 co-worker.
Danger abounds. Lynx are at large. An unknown shooter takes aim. Bones threaten to reveal a past reality no one wants. Weather makes for even more suspense. Then there is the danger to two hearts, feeling betrayed and lonely.
I take notes when I read a book. This time, I was also jotting down names and alibis, or lack thereof. Besides the constant terror on the page and families in turmoil, could I flush out the killer before he or she was revealed? Ms. Turner led me on a frightening chase that involved so many twists and turns! I was very satisfied with the complexity of novel and crime. Buried Grave Secrets has risen to be one of my fave LIS books!
I challenge you to take your turn reading this book, as if your deduction skills will save the main characters or not! Be assured- The Bonedigger is watching!!
I received a copy of the book from the author. I also bought a copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“Your job puts your family in jeopardy.”
”God, where are You? I have to see Your light. The rattling continued. The room remained still. A verse from her childhood emerged… I am the light of the world.“
“You’ve had so many bumps and potholes in your life, love. But God has been right beside you all the time, shining His light. You’ve just snuffed it out. Don’t be so scared of the dark, because sometimes the best things come from within our darkest places.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My fave Darlene Turner novel so far. Maybe also my fave LIS novel. A bit of a psychological thriller.
After months tracking a colleague falsely accused of a double homicide, officer Tanner Ford and his K-9 partner finally locate crime tech Mara Gilmore—but the real murderer is closing in. Now they must run into a frozen wilderness to survive. Evading the killer is the only way for Mara to clear her name. But will the harsh winter conditions cover their tracks…or bury them forever?
Dana Mentink is a USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author as well as a two-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, and the recipient of a Holt Medallion. She’s written over fifty titles in the suspense, lighthearted romance and mystery genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense and Poisoned Pen Press. You can connect with Dana via her website at danamentink.com, on Facebook, YouTube (Author Dana Mentink) and Instagram (dana_mentink.)
More from Dana
What a challenge to write the eighth book in this fabulous Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit series! Writing a continuity (linked books with an overarching mystery) with seven other authors requires us to work closely together which is a rare blessing in this solitary business. There were so many good conversations, emails and texts that went into the construction of this series. Since wilderness escape novels are my favorite, it was great fun to write Tanner, Mara and Boxer Britta’s dramatic survival story. I hope you enjoy the book and the entire series as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you!
My Impressions
“She was exhausted from running, her body battered by cold and hunger, weakened by seven months of living as a fugitive. Not just a fugitive from the law, but on the run from the two predators stalking her since the moment she’d witnessed a double murder back in April.”
Snowbound Escape is a very fast-paced Christian romantic suspense novel about 24-year-old Mara Gilmore, a Pacific Northwest Canine Officer, who has been on the lam for seven months. Seven months of being totally alone, relying only on herself for survival, trying to stay one step ahead of the murderer who wants her dead for what she has witnessed.
Her teammate, Tanner Ford, who has come with his trained boxer K9, Britta, to rescue her, is hampered by the continual blizzard-like conditions and the wiliness and cunning of Eli, the killer. So many harrowing attempts on their lives. Will the weather finish them off before Eli does?
While Mara has severe trust issues, partly stemming from her upbringing, Tanner’s heart is frozen by more than the blizzard outside. Can the two work together under great duress without someone losing more than their life?
I liked how Mentink shows that God is working in Mara’s heart to become more open to those around her, and in Tanner’s as well. He is also working in a third heart very important to those two, to heal and restore.
Mentink has a humorous side, and some of that ekes out (just a little) in various places. One spot was deadly serious, and yet, oh, so funny, just in the way Mentink describes it. I should have been shaking, but I was rolling with laughter instead. I would need that bit of humor to carry me through all the dangers Mara and Tanner would face.
God, of course, is the most important help one can have when the chips are down. Mara and Tanner take turns edifying each other as needed. But next to God, bring in the dogs! Britta is a beautiful boxer who has already befriended Mara, has excellent tracking skills, and intelligence and loyalty like none other. She is a scene stealer, for sure! Be sure and grab your copy of this book to read in front of a warm fire with a hot drink and a canine or feline friend!
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit, plus I bought my own ebook. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“God has the final word. Wait on the Lord and He will give you courage and healing.”
“We’re commanded to love one another and when you don’t allow people to do that, you rob them of a blessing.”
“Sharing was messy and painful, like picking a wound that hadn’t fully scabbed over.”
“God would give him enough, moment by moment, perhaps, but it would be sufficient.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magnificent
I can always count on a Mentink romantic suspense to be action-packed and engaging.
The search for a criminal…becomes a fight for survival.
The moment detective Cassidy Bowman links a chain of suspicious deaths to a serial killer, she becomes the deadly assassin’s number one target. But a blow to the head robs her of her memory and she can’t put the pieces of the case back together alone. Can she convince detective Kyle Howard to help her catch the culprit by proving her theory…before the killer succeeds in taking Cassidy’s life?
Award-winning, bestselling authorSami Abrams grew up hating to read. It wasn’t until her 30’s that she found authors that captured her attention. Now, most evenings, you can find her engrossed in a Romantic Suspense. In her opinion, a crime and a little romance is the recipe for a great story.
She lives in Northern California, but she will always be a Kansas girl at heart. She has a love of sports, family, and travel. However, a cabin at Lake Tahoe writing her next story is definitely at the top of her list.
More from Sami
While coming up with the idea for Kyle and Cassidy’s story, Killer Christmas Evidence, I loved the idea of a serial killer that no one knew about. Someone who killed in different places and in different ways to avoid detection. Kim Rossmo’s theory on Geographic Profiling was intriguing, and I wanted to implement that concept. But, as I started to write, I realized the idea was too big for a Love Inspired Suspense length book, so I had to adjust the story a bit to fit the situation. The basics are there, just not the details I had hoped for.
However, when I sat down to write and I got to know Kyle and Cassidy a little better, I realized the story wasn’t about the stealth serial killer, but about learning to let go of guilt and learning to forgive. How many times in our lives due to being hurt or the pain of loss do we assume we know the truth? Yet, if we listened—really listened—we discover not everything is what is appears to be. And the truth is not painful, but healing.
My Impressions
“‘How is he finding us? Or should I say me?’ She felt like a cat with nine lives. Only, she’d used eight of them.”
A serial killer that Detective Cassidy Bowman is attempting to track has her in his sights… clearly… now if she can just convince the whole Valley Springs police force, including one former friend, Kyle Howard. Not just of the killer’s existence, but that he is responsible for many closed cases that have been considered “accidents.”
Unfortunately, the person assigned to keep Cassidy safe and work closely with her, believes the worst of her abilities as a detective. After the disastrous raid that killed his fiancé, Kyle holds Cassidy responsible. Forgiveness is not part of his plan.
Cassidy has perfection issues. She learned long ago from her military father that only perfection is acceptable. Anything less makes her unworthy. Yet, she failed her best friend, who was also Kyle’s fiancé.
Two people with such excessively heavy baggage forced to work together? Wow! If their enemy doesn’t get them, their own attitudes will ignite and explode like the dangers surrounding them. Where does God fit in the middle of this chaos and confusion? Come along with Sami A. Abrams in Killer Christmas Evidence to find out!
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. I also bought my own ebook. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“You let God be God. Only He has the power of life and death. You must trust Him. You may not get the answers you want, and the outcomes might hurt, but He’ll be there to comfort you.”
“Sometimes it’s harder to forgive ourselves even after we’ve asked for forgiveness from others. Maybe you should ask God to help you forgive yourself.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magnificent! Lots of action, reaction, and finally, release ( to God).
Urgent intel warns of terrorist cells planning coordinated attacks throughout Europe. Special Agent Jacob Coulter of Brussels Interpol is assigned to find the terrorist financiers supporting these groups and shut down their funding operations.
An opera singer’s life and career hang in the balance.
The Queen of the Night’s vocal pyrotechnics have launched many a soprano’s international career. But Riley Williams, Jacob’s fiancée, is terrified of heights, and her Antwerp Opera debut as the evil queen requires her to sing from a hydraulic lift forty feet above the orchestra pit. When newspapers cite Riley’s recent unmasking of an international terrorist plot and the lift malfunctions, Jacob suspects terrorist sabotage.
He encourages Riley to accept her BFF’s invitation to stay the Savoy Hotel in London where she’ll be out of danger. Or so he thinks …
A series of murders connected to a notorious terrorist financier known as the Priest leads Jacob across Europe. When the victims’ deaths point to London, his Interpol partner convinces him London is a haven for terrorist financiers.
But the clock is ticking, and what Jacob uncovers is more devastating than anything he could have imagined.
Sara L. Jameson won Scrivenings Press’s grand prize publishing contract in 2020. They released her debut romantic suspense novel, Cruise to Death, in June 2021. Death in High Places, (Book 2 in the Troubled Waters series), releases February 28, 2023, to be followed by Vengeance in Vienna, December 17, 2023.
Sara is the pseudonym of a multi-published former university professor who writes non-fiction under her real name. She also writes WWII historical novels. When not writing, she enjoys reading, swimming, cooking, and dog-sitting.
More from Sara
God never wastes our life experiences. I never suspected my love of travel and years as a professional classical singer in Europe would lead to a romantic-suspense series. Schlepping a suitcase of opera and art-song scores on cross-country trains kept me trimmer than a gym. A few encounters with they-shall-remain-unnamed international security agencies created fodder for the Troubled Waters series. And a lead character who’s far gutsier than I.
My personal experiences often generate story events. Sigh. Even some of the embarrassing moments soprano Riley Williams endures in Cruise to Death and Death in High Places. Sadly, the blue-eyed hunk, Special Agent Jacob Coulter of Brussels Interpol, is pure fiction. Whenever possible, I visit or have lived in my novels’ locales.
Cruise to Death launches Riley’s attempts as a musical theater singer, a romance she never saw coming, and tracking terrorists. In 2019, I revisited each stop of the riverboat cruise that inspired the book.
Trips to London and stays with a friend in Sussex inspired the unsettling events in Death in High
Places, which released February 28, 2023. I’m indebted to my friend for help verifying details in key scenes. When I travel, I don’t necessarily expect a day sightseeing to morph into a life-and-death moment in a book someday. Well, not until now. Naturally, Antwerp and Burie’s Chocolatier, my favorite Belgian chocolate shop, had to feature in this story too.
I’m excited to announce Vengeance in Vienna releases December 19, 2023. The book draws on my years in Austria and a disturbing criminal element now active there, which I was made aware of in 2019.
And ideas are already flowing for book 4!
My Impressions
“Why did everyone want him to put Riles in more danger? All they cared about was the outcome. Not whom they used.”
What a hard book for me to read this week! Riley Williams, the main female protagonist of Sara Jameson’s Death in High Places, has a very scary incident involving heights and frenzied movement causing dizziness. Physical dizziness is no fun!
Neither is emotional dizziness, and it seems Riley, desperate for an opera house role, and her fiancé, Jacob Coulter, are tossed back and forth quickly as they (and Jacob’s Interpol team) attempt to determine who the terrorist financier is. How many people will die before they have answers? Before they forfeit their own lives?
I liked that Jameson shows the struggle it can be for someone in a service or protection job to make quality time for family. Would the story have been different if Jacob especially didn’t wrestle with this dilemma?
I liked the bits of humor Jameson intersperses within the romantic suspense element. “‘Try to stay calm. Help is on the way.’ Calm? She was a loose-cannon American, not a well-brought-up Brit. Next thing she knew, the woman would suggest she pour a cuppa.”
I loved the way Riley cares for her friend, Frénie. Unfortunately, Frénie doesn’t like Riley’s form of caring and the friendship flags. Which leads me to muse… just how tenacious should we be about somebody else’s choices, once we’ve shared our thoughts? Is there a time to butt out of others’ affairs?
Watching Riley consume chocolate at every opportunity almost had me gaining weight. Finally, Riley has an epiphany. “With every crisis, she’d made Jacob and chocolate her crutch. Instead of running open-armed to her heavenly Father. She pressed her fingers between her eyes, but the tears welled anyway. Dear God, please forgive me. I’ve made everything except You my God. No more. The next crisis, I’m turning to You first.”
If you enjoy mystery, suspense, romance, and relationships, you might enjoy Death in High Places.
I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“Dealing with her was like crossing Niagara Falls blindfolded on a tightrope.”
“Tiny fingers clutched Jacob’s pinky and sucked every inch of his heart into its grasp.”
“Scary what greed and bitterness could do to a person.”
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Magnificent! Some very pertinent topics well-handled.
A car accident that might not be an accident at all. A murderer bent on revenge. And a woman desperate to keep her family together.
She’s already lost her soul mate. She’ll do anything to protect her children.
For the sake of her kids, Camilla Wright managed to survive after her husband’s murder. When she’s awakened in the night with the news that her teenage son and nephew have been in a horrific car accident, she rushes to the hospital in a haze of shock and panic.
The boys were supposed to be skiing in the mountains east of Salt Lake City. What were they doing so far west? More alarming, the wreck might not have been an accident at all.
While Jeremy fights for his life, Camilla is running out of time to discover who lured her son and her nephew into the desert. With each new clue, the terrifying truth becomes clearer.
Robin Patchen is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense. She grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, the setting of her Nutfield Saga books, and then headed to Boston to earn a journalism degree. After college, working in marketing and public relations, she discovered how much she loathed the nine-to-five ball and chain. After relocating to the Southwest, she started writing her first novel while she homeschooled her three children. The novel was dreadful, but her passion for storytelling didn’t wane. Thankfully, as her children grew, so did her writing ability. Now that her kids are adults, she has more time to play with the lives of fictional heroes and heroines, wreaking havoc and working magic to give her characters happy endings. When she’s not writing, she’s editing or reading, proving that most of her life revolves around the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Visit robinpatchen.com/subscribe to receive a free book and stay informed about Robin’s latest projects.
More from Robin
It was Monday, July 16, 2018, at about nine-thirty at night.
I was home with my husband and daughter, watching TV, when my sister called. Since my son was visiting her family in Utah, I rushed to pick up.
“Robin,” my sister said. “The boys have been in a terrible accident. They’re being life-flighted to Salt Lake City. They’re both alive. That’s all I know.”
My knees hit the floor. Then I was lying prone on my kitchen tile. Ninety-nine percent of me was thinking, Oh, God. Please, please…
Nine-tenths of one percent was thinking, Why am I on the floor?
And I’ll be honest. About one-tenth of a percent was thinking, When was the last time I mopped?
Such are the inner workings of a human mind in the midst of tragedy.
The next twelve hours were chaos. We needed to get from our Oklahoma home to Salt Lake as soon as possible. We found a flight that left at eight a.m. and booked it.
And then we waited.
While the minutes ticked past in slow motion, we got occasional updates on the boys’ condition. Joshua, my nephew, had a head injury and trauma to his gut.
Jacob, my son, had severe lung damage. Severe enough that, as soon as he arrived at the ER, they intubated him.
Both boys were transferred to the ICU and pronounced stable.
When my husband and I arrived the following morning, we saw Jacob. A tube down his throat. Tape across his face. Scrapes and cuts and bruises all over his upper body. One arm in a plaster cast from his biceps to his fingertips. Unconscious.
And then the hard part began.
The boys’ accident was such a unique and life-altering event in our lives. Watching a cherished child battle for his life, not knowing if he’ll win or lose, is like nothing you can imagine.
Or maybe you can. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar. People are in car accidents every single day. And motorcycle accidents. And other accidents.
And there are illness and addictions and mental health struggles. The list goes on and on.
If you’ve dealt with any of those, then your trauma was probably very different from ours. And yet, you and I could probably find a lot in common. The fear. The surreal moments. The pendulum swinging between hope and helplessness.
The constant litany of prayers.
We were fortunate. Our son and our nephew both survived and recovered. When we were on the other side, I knew I’d write about the experience someday.
And so…I did.
A Mountain Too Steep tells the story of two boys in a car accident in the middle of the Utah desert. The physical trauma the boys experienced is almost exactly what our boys endured.
The rest of the story is purely fictional, thank God. I like a little danger in my life—safe danger. Let’s leave the vengeful gang members in the realm of fiction, shall we?
I cried throughout the writing. And the editing. And the rereading. Even though five years have passed, the memories are still fresh.
Tears aside, I love this story. It’s about a woman whose husband was murdered, a widow who’s endured her own nightmare and who’ll do anything, anything, to protect her children.
I think you’re going to like it.
My Impressions
didn’t want goat feet. She didn’t want to scale mountains. She wanted a lush valley with tall grass and a pretty, meandering stream where she and her children would be safe. Was that too much to ask?”
What a soul-challenging book! A Mountain Too Steep by Robin Patchen is classified as Christian Women’s contemporary fiction with a side of mystery. Hmmm… How about romantic suspense, even though a marriage is involved?! From the opening paragraph, you know you’d better buckle your seat belt and hang on for dear life- because you’re in for the ride of your life!
Camilla Wright and her two children have suffered the loss of her husband and their father four years ago after he testified in a gang-related killing. Then, Jeremy, the 17-yr-old son and his cousin, are in a life-threatening car accident in the desert. When they were supposed to be in the mountains. Rev up for non-stop emotions, plus plenty of action!
I loved the realism. Many times Camilla realizes that this horrible new reality she’s been catapulted into, is too much for her. She’d like to curl up and give up, but then realizes that is not the choice she will make. She will continue the hard, tortuous journey, step by step, with God strengthening her as she goes. “Lord, help me go from strength to strength until I reach the end of this battle.”
Indeed, she finds hope in the fact that one day she will look out and see that she has crested the mountain. She knows where her power has to come from. “Scriptures she’d memorized over the years came back to her. She recited them silently, hanging onto God’s Word, the only solid thing in her life.”
I really couldn’t envision as I read how this terrifying mystery-light romance would end. Kudos for the way Patchen ties it together.
I also loved the way we learn about Daniel, the absent husband. Bit by bit we read his letters penned to his wife just before his death.
I also loved that though the viewpoint originally seems to place the failure of the marriage squarely on Daniel, slowly
Camilla surmises she contributed greatly to her marriage’s decline.
The ultimate underlying theme is doing the right thing, then trusting God with the results. So hard! We don’t always get the results we want.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“Anybody who tells you sin isn’t fun is lying. It is. At least at first.”
“In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength.”
“You, Miss Camilla, are a strong woman, not because you wield your own strength but because you know the One who strengthens you.”
“I was valued at work. I made a difference there. You didn’t need me. You managed our home with ease.”
“Jesus had carried her sins to the cross. She was meant to leave them there.”
“Justice matters. When we choose selfishness over justice, we’re lost as a community, as a society. Ultimately, I know my God is a God of justice. To deny justice is to deny Him.”
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Magnificent! I just pre-ordered the next two Wright brothers novels, The Wright Heroes of Maine, books 1& 2, ( If they’re this powerful, I can’t afford to miss them!!)
A serial arsonist is out for revenge in the Canadian Rocky Mountains—and kidnaps park warden Hazel Hoyt’s son and his camping troop. Now Hazel must team up with the man who broke her heart, firefighter Mitchell Booth, to find the missing boys as wildfires blaze around them. But someone has no intention of letting the pair get off the mountain alive…
From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.
Crisis Rescue Team
Book 1: Fatal Forensic Investigation Book 2: Explosive Christmas Showdown Book 3: Mountain Abduction Rescue Book 4: Buried Grave Secrets
My Impressions
“ ‘God’s got this.’ Did He? It didn’t feel that way.”
Another great rescue story by Darlene L Turner! Why read Mountain Abduction Rescue?
First, The cover. This cover with a purple background, a pit, and a mountain lion at the mouth… Yikes!! Your heart will be beating in double time before you even start this romantic suspense book!
Secondly, Author Darlene Turner is known as “Turn a Page Turner” because of her constant, electrifying action. Terrified and helpless describes the feelings I had much of the time reading Mountain Abduction Rescue! A firebug is setting fires all over Micmore National Park, killing trees, wildlife, and people. But his sights are set on one particular, hapless family.
Thirdly, Familiar characters. With Micmore National Park (Alberta, CA) Warden Hazel Hoyt and
Wildfire Unit leader Mitchell “Boomer” Booth, we have characters we have previously met, whose carefully reconstructed lives are now unraveling. While Hazel chafes under the extreme gruffness of her father-boss, Mitchell deals with the loss of family relationships and a hostile boss.
Fourthly, Familiar situation. While there may not be serial firebugs and arsonists in the northern Rocky Mountains, few Canadians or Americans are untouched by the wildfires. I find that this story actually brings hope that the courageous firefighters battling the real-life blazes will be successful!
My heart was in my mouth as I waited to see if Hazel and Mitchell would be able to rescue her 8 yr-old-boy, Jackson, and his friends. Also, so much past to overcome both in family relationships and in romantic ties. Will there be a romance for Hazel and Mitchell? Will they survive to consider it? I saw part of the ending coming, but part took me by complete surprise.
While Frank, Hazel’s father, takes pride in training her and Jackson about survival, it isn’t his stern words that help her when she is desperate. It is the soft admonition of her mother: “Whenever your strength is gone, look to your Father. The One who holds you in the palm of His hands. He’ll provide endurance. Trust Him. Trust in yourself.”
I also loved that though Mitchell seems unable to turn to God, God uses him and his late mother’s faith nuggets to build up Hazel. “When you don’t know what to say, be silent. Just be present. Listen and pray for guidance.” Indeed, God’s Word does not return void!
I received a copy of the book from the author. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“In order to move forward in life, you need to look back at your troubles and deal with them. It’s then you will find peace.”
“I’m no expert on God, but I remember my mom saying once that sometimes we may not understand His silence, but He will answer. In His timing.” “But what if I don’t like the answer?” “Then He will give you the strength to endure the storm.”
“I’ve learned throughout the storms in life that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. He’s right there with us in the thunder. We just need to look to the horizon.”
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Magnificent! I was very, very nervous by the time I finished this book! I didn’t have to imagine the Canadian wildfire smoke, either! ( We could see and smell the real thing!)
To stay alive, she must escape a killer’s clutches. . .
When her brother goes missing, Leora Mast will do anything to find him…even if it means putting her life in danger. Upon arriving in Montana, she finds an ally in Fletcher Shetler, but almost as soon as they meet, they’re running for their lives. With Fletcher’s help, Leora must unravel the truth about her brother’s disappearance…before the man who wants them dead tracks them down.
Mary Alfordgrew up in a small Texas town famous for, well not much of anything really. Being the baby of the family and quite a bit younger than her two brothers and her sister, Mary had plenty of time to entertain herself. Making up stories seemed to come naturally to her.
As a preteen, Mary discovered Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt and knew instinctively that was what she wanted to do with her over-active imagination.
She wrote her first novel as a teen, (it’s tucked away somewhere never to see the light of day), but never really pursued her writing career seriously until a few years later, when she wrote her first inspirational romantic suspense and was hooked.
Today, Mary lives in Texas with her husband and loves to create characters who face dangerous situations with faith on their side.
Mary is very active online and would love to connect with readers on Facebook, Twitter, or any of the social media platforms listed at maryalford.net.
More from Mary
Before the Story Begins
Every good Christian romantic suspense has a beginning where the hero and heroine are introduced to each other and to the danger they’ll be facing, followed by an ending where everything (usually) is tied up nicely.
In Christian (and Amish) romantic suspense, there must equal amounts of danger, romance, and faith.
As a reader, one of my favorite parts of the book is when the hero and heroine have backstories that draw me in and have me pulling for them to overcome their pasts as well as the villain chasing them.
In AMISH WILDERNESS SURVIVAL, the heroine, Leora Mast has a heartbreaking backstory. As a teenager, Leora’s and her twin brother Tanner’s parents were killed in a fire that was later ruled arson. They relocated to Colorado to be closer to their aunt and uncle and grandparents. Soon after, Leora’s brother left the Amish faith and joined the marines.
As an adult, Leora has gone through 2 separate rounds of breast cancer. She’s just finished the final round of chemo when her brother goes missing and Leora travels to West Kootenai, Montana to find Tanner’s marine lieutenant hoping to get answers about her brother’s disappearance.
Instead of finding her brother or Ethan Connors, she runs into Fletcher Shetler and the danger unfolds quickly from there.
Fletcher Shetler’s family has seen their share of heartaches as well. They have lived in West Kootenai for several generations. Fletcher’s grandfather started the furniture making business and the family mill their own timber for the pieces they create. Fletcher has a big heart and has been taking care of his mother since his father passed away.
Fletcher can’t imagine living anywhere else but his West Kootenai community and being part of a close family. But that loyalty cost him the love of his future bride when she chose to leave the community and break his heart.
Both Leora and Fletcher must put aside their pasts to try and find out what happened to her brother and Ethan before it’s too late.
From facing down armed kidnappers, to almost being swallowed alive by a sinkhole, to being forced to hideout in a cave in order to avoid being captured, Leora and Fletcher face one trial after the other, and yet they persevere thanks to each other, Ethan’s K-9 German Shepherd dog, Molly, and their faith in God that is unshakable.
My Impressions
“…Gott had brought them together for a reason.”
In Amish Wilderness Survival, Mary Alford brings us back to the Amish community of West Kootenai, Montana. I fear this may be a crime-riddled area instead of the peaceful Amish community I once believed it to be, given the number of romantic suspense plots that take place with its members.
Alford’s middle name just might be “non-stop suspense.” It is incredible how many situations she can put her characters (Leora Mast and Fletcher Shetler, in this case) through in one reading experience. You will be sorry if it takes you more than one sitting to finish this book, as the adrenaline rush is high. Why are the men after Leora? Why are they after her brother, Tanner? What secrets could he possibly be hiding? Can Fletcher and Leora find her brother and Ethan before those chasing them? Perhaps the biggest question of all, is God present in the difficult times, and can His leading be trusted for one’s life?
I was captivated by the suspense aspect and the involvement of a SAR dog. I sure didn’t want Molly to get hurt.
Logically, my head agreed that the forced togetherness and trauma Fletcher and Leora experienced could result in a romance, but I had a hard time connecting with the story on this level. I believe this issue to belong solely to me, although I did feel like we were told, more than shown, the romance.
Please, get your own copy of Amish Wilderness Survival and see how your heart rate soars!
I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“It isn’t your fault, Leora—none of it. You are not responsible for what bad men choose to do.”
“Family was what bound the Amish together… Now, at times, it felt as if death was the one thing to hold her and Tanner together.”
“Sometimes animals are better than humans in these situations. At least they won’t betray you.”
Family secrets have Felicia Tennison, and the sister she never knew existed, on the run. Someone is after them, and Felicia will have to turn to someone she never wanted to see again for help—her ex. Sheriff Jude Duke vows to protect them as they race to uncover why the little girl is a target. But the search to find the answers could cost them their futures.
Dana Mentink is a USA TODAY and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author. She’s written more than forty mystery and suspense novels for Love Inspired Suspense, Harvest House, and Poisoned Pen Press. She is honored to have received two ACFW Carol Awards, a Holt Medallion Award, and a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. Please visit her on the web at http://www.danamentink.com to sign up for her newsletter, or find her on Twitter, Facebook and Bookbub.
More from Dana
At last! We’ve arrived at the final book in the Desert Justice series! It seems like just yesterday I was finishing book one, about cousin Beckett Duke who was falsely imprisoned. Then we met cowboy Levi and his twin Willow, dog lover Austin, donkey rescuer Nora and FINALLY sheriff Jude Duke gets his story! I am a fan of a hero with some miles under his belt, aren’t you? Could it be because I’ve got more than a few under mine? Ending this series is bittersweet because I am thrilled that the Dukes all received their happy endings, but I’ll miss writing about their adventures in Death Valley. Hope you’ll come along on my next series. (Could be there are bloodhounds in our fictional future!)
God bless!
My Impressions
It is time for the last Duke’s story! When Sheriff Jude Duke discovers Felicia Tennison a victim in an car accident caused by a thrown rock, his boss warns him off the case. Jude and Felicia have a dating history that ended disastrously, recently.
Mentink’s characters are believable and flawed, yet still worth cheering. I enjoyed the connections to Duke family members we met in previous books. Faith is important as both Jude and Felicia grapple with uncertain situations.
What I especially loved about this romantic suspense was the precocious 6-year-old little girl, and her Great Dane protector. Both brighten the pages of the novel and make you wish you knew them, too!
Felicia has come to appreciate her scars. Instead of worrying about ruined looks, she tells Gracie, “it’s just a tiny pink line to remind me that I’m strong and I’m healed.” and, “I can still see them and touch them, but they don’t hurt anymore. It’s okay to have scars.” While Felicia understands this is also true of scars of the heart, will Jude ever comprehend this?
I did not figure out the ending. I felt as sucker-punched as Jude and Felicia, (but much happier!)Bravo!
I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I also bought a copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
Her new future would be full of unexpected joys and hardships, but Jude wouldn’t be privy to any of it. His choice. His lonely choice.
He was about as welcome in her life as a bad case of poison ivy.
“Genuine apologies don’t have a but in them.”
I don’t forget, and I don’t forgive. My plans were ruined, and I will exact payment for that.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magnificent! Lots of action, and I never saw this ending coming!
A haunting legend. An ominous curse. A search for a secret buried deep within the castle walls.
In 1870, orphaned Daisy François takes a position as housemaid at a Wisconsin castle to escape the horrors of her past life. There she finds a reclusive and eccentric Gothic authoress who hides tales more harrowing than the ones in her novels. As women disappear from the area and the eerie circumstances seem to parallel a local legend, Daisy is thrust into a web that could ultimately steal her sanity, if not her life.
In the present day, Cleo Clemmons is hired by the grandson of an American aristocratic family to help his grandmother face her hoarding in the dilapidated Castle Moreau. But when Cleo uncovers more than just the woman’s stash of collectibles, a century-old mystery and the dust of the old castle’s curse threaten to rise again . . . this time to leave no one alive to tell the sordid tale.
Award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright seamlessly weaves a dual-time tale of two women who must do all they can to seek the light amid the darkness shrouding Castle Moreau.
Jaime Jo Wright, multi award-winning author–including the Christy and Daphne du Maurier awards–is a coffee-fueled and cat-fancier extraordinaire. She has entwined her life with the legendary Captain Hook, residing serenely in Wisconsin’s rural woodlands. Her literary vocation involves penning chilling Gothic tales, a baffling change from that of Austenites, with a strong preference to the master of dark, Edgar Allan Poe. Two mischievous urchins adorn their family, who keep their mother on her toes – providing an exhilarating amount chaos.
“…fear was, and would always be, her closest companion.”
“Welcome to the Hotel California! …You can check out, but you can never leave!” (The Eagles) I heard that song playing over and over in my mind as I read Jaime Jo Wright’s newest Gothic suspense book, The Vanishing at Castle Moreau. What an incredible book! I laughed a lot at Wright’s wicked sense of humor. I was tempted to count the numerous references she inserted to pop culture and literature. (A challenge?) A dual-timeline, the two, possibly three stories tied together well, contrasting and paralleling each other. 2 different young women, in different centuries, answer the call for caretaker to an elderly grandmother who is sequestered in Castle Moreau. For both, it is an escape. But soon, both Daisy and Cleo find there is no escaping the hold of Castle Moreau. Spooky, haunting, yet filled with rays of Hope from faith breaking through, Wright eventually brings her novel to a satisfying non-paranormal conclusion. You don’t want to miss this suspenseful novel with its amazing conclusion from Jaime Jo Wright and Bethany House.
I received a copy of the book from NetGalley. I also bought my own ecopy and pb copy for my keeper shelf. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“Are you mad? Will you become what you hate?”
“Beauty is found in walls of stone, beauty where love begins.”
“…the castle called with an addictive element. Beckoning. It reached into the deep places in one’s soul and began to expose them for what they were. Broken pieces. Pieces only God could heal, and only others could help rescue if they simply had kindness in their hearts.”
The simple truth was that genetics ran deep, generations didn’t escape the curses of those who came before, and sins were likely destined to repeat themselves.
Protect. Save. Run. Her mantra in life.
“…fear was, and would always be, her closest companion.”
“It is in the dark corners, in the places we avert our eyes from, where truth lingers. Truth is not palatable. In fact, most cannotmanage the truth.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magnificent to the Max!! Only Jaime Jo Wright could write a story this humorous and spooky, and yet have it end with solid Hope!
Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this series celebrates the unsung heroes—the heroines of WWII.
After the Nazis started the bombing blitz of England, Beryl Clarke puts her college on hold to return to Leeds, care for her mother, and work as a secretary at the Waddington game company. While she endures the war at home, her brother James fights the enemy in the air. When he is shot down, injured, and captured, James meets American POW Kenneth Anderson, and they plan to escape the Nazi prison camp. Beryl knows there is a board game with escape plans being delivered to POWs by the Red Cross. But how will the men discover the game’s secret?
Award-winning author Marilyn Turkwrites historical fiction flavored with suspense and romance. Marilyn also writes devotions for Daily Guideposts. She and her husband are lighthouse enthusiasts, have visited over one hundred lighthouses, and also served as volunteer lighthouse caretakers at Little River Light off the coast of Maine.
When not writing or visiting lighthouses, Marilyn enjoys boating, fishing, gardening, tennis, playing with grandkids, and her golden retriever Dolly.
She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers; Faith, Hope and Love; Advanced Writers and Speakers Association; and Word Weavers International.
More from Marilyn
The Story behind The Escape Game
In the process of writing my books, I’ve become fascinated by the real stories that happened during World War II. I’ve discovered information I didn’t know before and am finding out that many people I know, even those older than myself, didn’t know either. Every time I come across an interesting tidbit, I want to write about it. Since my husband knows I look for such things, when he came across a story about how the Monopoly game was used during the war, he shared it with me.
The true story was kept top-secret for over fifty years after the war, so few had heard about it, especially outside the United Kingdom. Of course, my writer’s mind set off asking “What If?” So the story developed about a woman who works for the company that makes the game and what happened after she found out about the secret. What if she had a close relative who had been captured before the British informed their soldiers about the game and he needed to know the information? How could she convey that to him?
I wish I could have gone to the UK for research, but that was not a possibility. Maybe someday. However, the people I contacted there were very helpful, and I was thrilled to make contact with the great granddaughter of the president of Waddintons, the company which manufactured the game. She was able to fill in a few details about the company, although when she was a child, her grandfather ran the company.
One thing many people find hard to believe, based on the horrible treatment the Nazi army inflicted on people they thought inferior, is that the treatment of POW’s was somewhat better, especially for pilots. Thanks to the rules of the Geneva Convention after WWI, the Germans abided by them for the most part. That involved treatment of prisoners who escaped. Most of them were caught and returned to the camp from which they escaped. And normally, the punishment was solitary confinement. The biggest hardship of the POWs besides lack of freedom was the meager food they were given, especially as the war continued, since the Germans themselves were facing food shortages.
The challenge for me as a writer was to accurately describe life in both England and the POW camp. The other big challenge was writing a love story when the two characters were apart for so long. But it’s true that many soldiers fell in love with women they corresponded with back home. That fact is verified in the many letters on record, including the ones my father-in-law wrote to a fellow soldier’s fiancé after the soldier was killed in action. Their relationship grew into love, and after the war, the two met in person at the train station for the first time and married the same day.
My Impressions
“…as members of the Royal Air Force, it is our duty to try to escape.”
Bravo for Marilyn Turk, who, in The Escape Game, has penned a very different kind of WWII book than I have yet read. Part of the Heroines of WWII series from Barbour, each novel stands alone. This is a slightly dual-timeline novel, where we meet Grandmother Beryl at nearly 100, then go back and learn of her life in war-torn England.
So many themes are presented, while the storyline is so engaging, you won’t want to stop reading until you find out what happens to the POW’s. Of course, you’ll want to discover whether the relationship between Beryl and American Kenneth can grow by heavily edited correspondence.
A bereaved widow, young women helping the war effort in ways that take bravery I can only imagine, an elderly lady with no family, and men desperate to escape the POW camp. What wonderfully diverse characters, each with their particular strengths and weaknesses. The thought that impressed me, was from the King of England down to the average Britisher, so many gave so much in the way of self-sacrifice. And many understood the value and hope provided by trusting in God at such a horrific time. Plus, the need to pull together to be successful. Kenneth may have some room to grow in all of these areas! Thankfully, people around him blaze the way spiritually as he attempts to blaze the way physically.
My fave secondary character? It would have to be a tie between Beryl’s mother (what a journey she makes in this book), and Mrs. Dowd (she both complicates and enriches others’ lives).
I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit via NetGalley. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“The greatness of any nation is in the spirit of its people.”- King George during WWII
“As far as Kenneth was concerned, if he wanted a miracle, he’d have to create it himself. And if God wanted to help, He was welcome. He could start with a hot dish of jambalaya.”
“He pitied those who didn’t have that hope, because it was hope that kept them going.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magnificent!! I love the way Turk works all the elements together so beautifully!
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions 