Tag: Christian Romantic Suspense

Quote from Dangerous Relations: The pieces were falling into place, but she didn’t like where they were landing.

Book Review | Dangerous Relations by Carol J Post

Shelby Adair isn’t on the best of terms with her sister, but she still doesn’t expect to arrive for a dinner invitation and find her sister dead and her apartment crawling with police.

Nor does Shelby expect the brother of her sister’s useless ex to show up, trying to claim custody of her niece.

Ryan McConnell has a good relationship with his niece and wants to raise her. More than that, he doesn’t want his parents raising her—and he knows his father is prepared to fight dirty. He’ll let Shelby take Mia for now. But only because Abby, Mia’s nanny, has offered to go as well, so at least there will be someone familiar in Mia’s life.

Shelby runs her aunt’s diner in a small Washington town. Taking care of Mia is something she can do. She’s determined not to let Ryan’s parents get Mia, especially as there as something fishy about her sister’s death …

Well, this is Love Inspired Suspense …

That means there is something fishy, and there is plenty of tension, especially once it becomes obvious someone is after them. But who? Why? And how is Mia’s father involved?

Dangerous Relations has all the necessary ingredients of an enjoyable romantic suspense novel—a loving and independent heroine, an ex-military hero, something that draws them together (their niece), and some outside force that’s trying to keep them apart. It’s a fast and gripping read, perfect for romantic suspense fans.

Thanks to Carol J Post for providing a free ebook for review.

About Carol J Post

Carol J PostFrom medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special events decorating company, Carol’s resume reads as if she doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love for writing. She currently pens fun and fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for a RITA® award and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award.

Carol lives in sunshiny Central Florida with her husband, who is her own real-life hero, and writes her stories under the shade of the huge oaks in her yard. Besides writing, she works alongside her music minister husband singing and playing the piano. She enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. Her two grown daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.

You can find Carol J Post online at:

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About Dangerous Relations

He’ll do anything to save his niece…

When her sister’s murdered, navy man Ryan McConnell insists on protecting Shelby Adair and their niece—especially after someone tries to kidnap little Chloe.

But can Shelby trust the child’s uncle? After all, she’s convinced his family’s behind the attacks. But the longer Ryan shields them, the more Shelby wonders if becoming a forever family is their only shot at survival.

Find Dangerous Relations online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Read the introduction to Dangerous Relations below:

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Book Review | Living Lies (Harbored Secrets 1) by Natalie Walters

I read Living Lies right after reading two other brilliant Christian thriller novels. That may well have been a mistake, because Living Lies didn’t measure up. But the other two novels were both from multi-published award-winning authors, and I fully expect one or both of those other novels to feature in various 2020 award lists. So it may not be a fair comparison, given that Living Lies is the debut novel from Natalie Walters.

Lane Kent is the widowed mother of a young son, and the owner of a small-town bakery. She lives a quiet life, but that changes when she discovers a body in the woods. Charlie Lynch, the new deputy in town, is assigned to the case. This brings him into contact with Lane and her son. The police think the case a suicide at first, but it soon becomes apparent that it’s a murder … a murder to hide another crime.

Living Lies is one of the few Christian novels I’ve read that depicts mental health issues in a realistic way.

In addition, it was refreshing to see Christian fiction where the mental health issue wasn’t PTSD resulting from the hero’s time in military service in some place with more sand than water. After all, Christian fiction readers tend to be women, so it’s good and healthy to see a romance novel dealing with an all-too-common mental health issue that affects women as much as or more than men.

But there were a few things which bothered me.

One was the heroine’s name: Lane Kent. Every time I saw it, my brain thought “Lois Lane and Clark Kent”. Yeah, that’s weird. But it is what it is. Another botheration was a research fact: I’ve heard (from a forensic pathologist) that Jane Does are identified by fingerprints, dental records, or DNA—not by distraught parents (apparently, distraught friends and relatives have a nasty habit of getting IDs wrong, especially when bodies have been in the woods for a few days).

The final botheration was Lane’s father’s attitude towards her depression. He came across overbearing and controlling for most of the novel. I later realised this was the attitude of a caring and protective father who didn’t know how to deal with something he didn’t understand, but by then the damage had been done. I’d been set up to not like him, and I didn’t.

Overall, Living Lies was a solid first novel that addresses issues most Christian fiction ignores.

It was perhaps a bit too careful to tick all the plot and character boxes (but that’s better than the opposite), and I’ll look forward to seeing what Natalie Walters can produce next.

Thanks to Revell Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Natalie Walters

Natalie WaltersNatalie Walters is a military wife who currently resides in Hawaii with her soldier husband and their three kids. She writes full-time and has been published in Proverbs 31 magazine and has blogged for Guideposts online. Natalie comes from a long line of military and law enforcement veterans and is passionate about supporting them through volunteer work, races, and writing stories that affirm no one is defined by their past.

Find Natalie Walters online at:

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About Living Lies

In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name–but no one knows your secret. At least that’s what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton’s newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she’ll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

Debut novelist Natalie Walters pulls you to the edge of your seat on the first page and keeps you there until the last in this riveting story that will have you believing no one is defined by their past.

Find Living Lies online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Kobo icon| Koorong

Read the introduction to Living Lies below: