Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for The Targeted by Cara Putman, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: The Targeted
Series: Secrets to Keep #3
Author: Cara Putman
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Can she protect her gym students before her past catches up?
When Chloe Ainsworth’s older sister reappears after fourteen years, she brings with her the news that Chloe’s abuser is back in town. Chloe is a coach at her childhood gym and fiercely protective of her young gymnasts. She won’t allow them to suffer the way she did, but she’s desperate for an ally—one who can help her make her case.
Law student Dare Shepherd works at the local legal clinic, where he meets Chloe and hears her out. He believes her case but can’t get the clinic director on board. As he learns more about her story, he finds himself bound by a deepening personal care for Chloe.
They band together in search of answers, and suddenly the stakes skyrocket. It’s clear they’re onto something, but will they be able to find the answers before it’s too late?
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Kregel Publications | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop
More Books from this Series:
About the Author
Cara Putman is a professor, an attorney, and an award-winning, best-selling author of more than forty novels, including the Cornhusker Dreams series, the Hidden Justice series, and The Vanished.
Connect with Cara by visiting caraputman.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
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My Impressions
“‘I am always alone.’ He will never leave me or forsake me…
It didn’t matter if people would leave her or let her down. God never would. He promised that, and his promises were true. Always.”
This review may well be one of the hardest I’ve ever written. Because The Targeted by Cara Putman, contains such sensitive and trigger-inducing content that I may have ever read. The legal drama, book three of the Secrets to Keep series, tells the story of the last of three young women involved in the legal world.
Very well executed and written with an obvious knowledge of the law, this fictional story becomes very relatable and painful to read. Plus, a second trigger was lying in wait in the form of Cloe’s mom, as we see her fading in and out of reality with her early-onset dementia.
Putman shines a light on how easily abuse can occur between a minor and a trusted adult. Her character, Cloe, is a great example of a groomed victim who, because of age, trust in adults, and negative reaction when she tries to share bits of her story, stuffs it all inside. Without her once-beloved older sister, Ginny, who left fourteen years prior, and her mother’s dementia clouded mind, Cloe has learned to become an island onto herself.
Roadblocks occur when she attempts to bring her abuser to justice. Sometimes, Cloe herself is the issue. Sometimes it is others. Can 2nd year law student Dare help her file a complaint years after the event? What happens when the abuser is closer than Cloe is comfortable with? Will she use the community of friends and law resources around her, or will she quietly run away from her memories and hurt?
There’s hope in this story! I could keep reading, hard as it was to be confronted with truths and memories of the past, as I realized Cloe would fight not for herself but for the new crop of gymnasts. She is determined to make a difference. The hardest question keeps her going: “What if by not trying, by staying silent, we’ve all been complicit? We’ve all allowed him to continue his behavior because none of us have taken the risk of saying it has to stop?” Ooh. Rough. Time to take action!
While needing to stay unattached as her legal counsel, Dare realizes his attraction to this brave, strong-though-wounded young gym coach. He looks for ways to help, and prays for her. I loved this line…
“How was it possible that the man morphed more into her hero each time he showed up? It wasn’t so much big, heroic actions as the small, consistent moments of showing up again and again.” That’s how these two and their team hope to win at this terrible loop life has thrown them… start with the small steps, complete each task step by step, until they have solved this case and won. Unfortunately, a big twist occurs and the action becomes very urgent!
In summary, expect a very well-written read with potentially difficult subject matter. I wish there had been a trigger warning at the front of the book. But… knowing what kind of fiction this author writes, I did know she would show how God can bring good out of bad. That makes a hard story worth reading!
I received a copy of the book from JustRead Tours. I also bought my own ebook. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“He couldn’t change her history, but he could create a different future.” (Dare)
“Remember that sometimes God simply asks us to take the next step. He rarely tells us every part of the journey that’s coming.” – Janae
“Before, this was about me and the past. Now, it’s about the present and protecting my girls, today’s gymnasts.” – Clie
“‘What could I do as a junior man on the team?’ ‘Speak up. Believe them. Validate their experience.’” – Dare, Cloe
“Life demanded a decision. Everyone else had to move on, even if she didn’t.” ( Cloe)
“She needed the possibility of more, even if she chose to stay. What she really wanted was the illusion of choice.” (Cloe)
“She knew her strength at one level, but at another level, she was still the girl who had allowed bad things to happen to her.” ( Cloe)
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magnificent! For legal drama lovers, those who have endured abuse, or those who need to understand victims of abuse and how to help them.
Tour Givaway
(1) winner will receive a signed copy of The Targeted and $20 Amazon gift card!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight May 20, 2026 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on May 27, 2026. 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.
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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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