I just finished reading Irene Hannon's newest release, Buried Secrets, and as much as I couldn't put it down, I was sad when I read the last page and had to say goodbye to the hero and heroine I'd come to know and love so much.
Like always, Hannon keeps the twists and turns coming in this suspense, while at the same time ramping up the very magnetic attraction between Mac McGregor and Lisa Grant, small town Carson Missouri's police chief.
Mac, a former Navy Seal and now a detective for the county, teams up with Lisa to solve a 20-year-old mystery. In the process of digging out the truth Lisa finds herself in dangerous territory when she gets too close to the truth.
Hannon's expert characterization skills go deep into whichever POV character she is writing in, including the killer, as layers of hurt and mistrust are peeled away like an onion. Like all her suspense stories Buried Secrets has more twists and turns than one of those switchback roads up a mountainside. I can't wait for the next book in this series to come out!
Hannon's books are always an autobuy for me, but I'm very grateful to Revell Publishing for providing a complimentary ebook to me for review purposes. All opinions are mine alone.
You can read more about Irene Hannon at her website. And while you are there, check out her other titles. She also writes contemporary romance, which I also enjoy.
Today’s stop on the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Tour is In The Shadow of Evil by Robin Caroll. Robin’s books are auto-buys for me, and she didn’t fail my expectations this time.
Layla Taylor is a general contractor, an occupation not heavily populated by women. She and her sister Alana are both heavily involved in their small town community in Louisiana, Layla working with Homes of Hope, a group of volunteers who build houses for those who lost their homes to the recent hurricanes. Alana works with an addiction recovery ministry, using the family home as a retreat center for the organization.
When the body of a property inspector is found among the ashes of a burnt out Homes for Hope house, Layla and her sister become a targets of suspicion and one of the two detectives working the case, Maddox Bishop, is sure she’s involved somehow. She has to be because he is falling hard for her and he doesn’t want to. Not willing to wait for more murders to take place, Layla begins an investigation of her own.
Carroll expertly weaves this tale of suspense and romance in a way that you cannot put the book down. Her characters go deep and move the reader’s heart as you laugh and cry with them. As I turned the last page of this one, I reached for a tissue. A satisfying ending, but I was sad to see the story end.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books. When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty years, her three beautiful daughters, one precious grandson, and their four character-filled pets at home—in the South, where else?
Robin gives back to the writing community by serving as Conference Director for ACFW. Her books have finaled/placed in such contests as RT Reviewer's Choice, Bookseller's Best, and Book of the Year. An avid reader herself, Robin loves hearing from and chatting with other readers. Although her favorite genre to read is mystery/suspense, of course, she’ll read just about any good story. Except historicals!
If you want a gripping romantic suspense to read by the fire on these chilly winter evenings, look no further than Irene Hannon's latest novel, Fatal Judgment, which is the first in a new series called Guardians of Justice.
I had not read any of Hannon's books until now, but I look forward to catching up on her backlist. The story is that good!
U.S. Marshal Jake Taylor has seen plenty of action during his years in law enforcement. But he'd rather go back to Iraq than face his next assignment: protection detail for federal judge Liz Michaels, his best friend's widow. Although his job had kept him from personally socializing with the couple before his friend died, he'd heard plenty about the cold-hearted workaholic who drove her husband to possible suicide. As danger mounts and he observes Liz as she truly is, he's forced to revise his opinion of her. When it becomes clear someone wants her dead, her life and his heart are in peril.
I don't want to give anymore away because you will want to read this for yourself.
One note of caution. Like me, you may find the first quarter or so of the book to be slower paced than a lot of suspense books as the foundation for the storyline is established. Hang in there, because all at once the tension pushes into overdrive and you will not want to put this book down until you read the last page and enjoy the satisfying ending.
I look forward to reading the books to come in this new series.
Irene Hannon has written more than 35 romance and romantic suspense novels. Her books have been honored with a RITA award—the “Oscar” of romantic fiction—and she is a four-time finalist for that prestigious honor. Her books have also won a Daphne du Maurier award, a HOLT Medallion and two Reviewers’ Choice awards from RTBOOKreviews magazine.
Irene, who holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in journalism, juggled two careers for many years until she gave up her executive corporate communications position with a Fortune 500 company to write full-time. She is happy to say she has no regrets!
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, gardening and singing. A trained vocalist, she has sung the leading role in numerous musicals, including “South Pacific,” “Brigadoon,” “Oklahoma” “The King and I” and “Anything Goes.” She is also a soloist at her church.
This has been an exciting month for my friend, Cara Putman. She has seen the birth of two babies! The most important birth, of course, is the arrival of her third child, Rebecca, just two weeks ago. And the other birth was that of her second book to be published. Deadly Exposure is a mystery in Love Inspired's Romantic Supsense line.
Cara describes herself as “an attorney, wife, mom, women's ministry leader, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, my husband, and my kids, that is.” In her "spare" time she serves as publicity officer for American Christian Fiction Writers (www.acfw.com) and adviser to the ACFW Indiana chapter.
I had the privilege of meeting Cara several years ago in a mentoring group with ACFW. At the time she was just sticking her toe in the waters of fiction writing. While we were in that group she submitted for critiquing the manuscript that eventually became Deadly Exposure. It wasn't long before her writing career took off like a whirlwind. Within two years I watched as she was awarded her first book contract for Canteen Dreams from Barbour's Heartsong Presents imprint. It's been exciting to watch Cara's career blossom and grow.
Now I have another privilege! Being able to be a part of Cara's blog tour for Deadly Exposure. I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed in this fast-paced mystery that takes place in Lincoln, Nebraska. Imagine attending an Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Cats and discovering after the first act that the woman in an adjoining box was murdered while you were entranced by the music on stage. That's what happens to television reporter, Dani Richards. Imagine when the police come to investigate the murder and the lead investigator is the same man you were romantically involved with ten years earlier. That's what happens to Dani Richards. Imagine that someone doesn't want you to find out who murdered the woman and will go to any extreme to make sure you are silenced. That's what happens to Dani Richards. The tension and excitement oozes from nearly every page of this story. A story you won't want to miss!
I'm very excited that Cara agreed to answer a few questions for Writer's Journey. So without further ado let's proceed. At the end you will find instructions for signing up for a drawing to receive a signed copy of Deadly Exposure from Cara. So be sure to read to the end!
Where did you get the idea of the story? My husband and I were driving across the Midwest, brainstorming ideas for a book. I knew I wanted it to be suspense, and I was pretty sure I wanted it to be set in Lincoln, Nebraska. Then I also thought I wanted the heroine to be a television reporter. With that background, I tried to think of unusual places for a reporter to find a body. And the germ of an idea was born.
How much as the story changed from the first inception? The original germ remained the same. However, the antagonist changed -- in the last 20 pages. I was praying about how to wrap up the story, and God whispered that it should go one direction. As I went back through the book, I realized many of the seeds had already been planted, and the change worked really well. I also had to cut a couple characters as it went from a stand-alone to Love Inspired Suspense size.
How much does your legal experience as an attorney help in writing a romantic mystery? In this book it didn't necessarily hurt or really help. But if I get to write the next two books in this series, my background as an attorney will be critical, since both involve heroines who are attorneys. And my longer suspense ideas all involve the law in some facet.
How much research did you have to do for this story? Because I lived in Lincoln while I went to college at UNL and still go through Lincoln a couple times a year, I didn't have to do hardly any setting research. I also worked at a TV station while I was in college, so didn't need much on that either. The research was more on details and the police in Lincoln. For example, detectives are called investigators.
You use the play “Cats” as an integral part of this story. Was there a reason you chose that play over another? Did you have to get permission from the producers of “Cats” to use the play? I didn't because it's mentioned at the beginning and in a favorable light. I specifically chose the play because I didn't think there was anything that would offend most of my readers in the play. It's also one of my all-time favorites...kind of like Dani LOL
Are you planning a sequel to this story? Yes. I'm just waiting to hear if Love Inspired Suspense likes it. And if I get to write book two, Tricia Jamison is the main character with Dani and Caleb back as strong supporting characters. And in book three Logan Collins will be back as the hero (can't wait to write his story!), and Dani and Caleb will have another subplot. It's been fun to see which characters resonate with readers. And they have definite opinions about who they want to see more of.
Anything else in your writing arsenal unrelated to this story that we can look forward to? Book two in my Nebraska World War Two romances released in May as well. And I am getting ready to start book one in the Ohio World War Two series...both with Heartsong Presents.
You’ve just welcomed a new baby to your family. How does a busy mom like yourself find time to write novels? I don't get much sleep :-) My writing has to occur after the older kids are in bed, so after 9 p.m. And I'm still figuring out the schedule with the new baby, so we're trying to be flexible as I write two books this summer!
Thank you, Cara. You are one busy and talented lady! And thank you for providing a signed book for the winner of my drawing.
If you want to be in on the drawing for Deadly Exposure please leave a comment to this post ALONG WITH YOUR CONTACT INFO SO I CAN CONTACT YOU.
The drawing will take place Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
Hannon's expert characterization skills go deep into whichever POV character she is writing in, including the killer, as layers of hurt and mistrust are peeled away like an onion. Like all her suspense stories Buried Secrets has more twists and turns than one of those switchback roads up a mountainside. I can't wait for the next book in this series to come out!
