Book Reviews

Buried Secrets
by Irene Hannon
Rating: 4/5
Book 1 of the Men of Valor Series
Revell – Fiction | Romantic Suspense

As a small town police chief, Lisa Grant expected life to be pretty easy and tame compared to her years as a homicide detective with the Chicago PD, but when a construction crew discovers unidentifiable buried remains on the outskirts of town, she calls in some help from county. When they send Detective Mac McGregor, an ex-Navy SEAL, she gets more than she bargained for. As the two of them work together to find out who the victim was and what happened, this cold case quickly becomes more than just another case to be solved. As the attraction and admiration between Lisa and Mac grows, they both are determined to stay professional until they close the case. As they dig deeper into the case, someone with a lot to lose seems determined to keep this case buried.

I am such a huge fan of Irene Hannon; she is such a great storyteller when it comes to romantic suspense. Her characters were well rounded out and felt like people I would want to get to know and have as my friends. The beginning of the story wasn’t as attention grabbing as some of her other books but after the first third of the book, the plot got more exciting. I always love the way she weaves faith into her stories and the way she introduces characters that will be in the next books in the series. She is an expert at foreshadowing and introducing new characters.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys clean, fictional, romantic suspense.

I received this book for free from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Saving Justice
by Susan Crawford
Rating: 4/5
Redbud Press – Fiction | Christian Romance
Release Date: March 24, 2015

Nash has made great strides to overcome his poor and underprivileged upbringing in a bad neighborhood. He has vowed to never return, but circumstances bring him back to his old home in need of renovation and into a young boy, Justice, and his teacher, Kinley.

Kinley is on a mission to provide the best care and education for her elementary students. She stops by her student Justice’s house to find him vandalizing Nash’s car. Kinley is sure that Justice didn’t mean to do it and will pay Nash back with community service — by helping with house repairs. Kinley is convinced that she can reach her students before they fall to far into the gangs and end up dead like her brother.

Nash and Kinley butt heads because Kinley thinks that her students can be saved from a life of poverty and destruction but Nash just thinks she’s got her head in the clouds. The odds are not in favor of Justice. What is Justice involved in? Can Nash and Kinley save Justice before it’s too late. Is someone after Kinley because of her meddling? Is it possible for Nash and Kinley to get along to save Justice?

This debut novel by Susan Crawford was an excellent read. I was captivated by the characters from the start. She wrote from a very interesting perspective: a teacher that’s determined to make a positive impact on her students. Kinley reminds me of the kind of teacher I would want to be if I had chosen to teach. She just loves on her students and truly cares what happens to them.

I loved the play on words with the title. What a great name for a little boy. It was interesting to see Nash, who had overcome his past, begin to see his own value in the lives of those from his old neighborhood. Justice just needed a good male role model in his life. He needed hope that his life was not the end of the road if he didn’t want it to be.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian romance with a bit of intrigue.

I received this book for free from Redbud Press in exchange for an honest review.