story craft

Genre: Christian Suspense

Format: eBook

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Cautions: The hero could be a trigger for women who had more legalistic or self-righteous male friends, romantic partners, or fathers. I found myself feeling a little tense when he’d discuss his views on truth-telling and faith.

Favorite quote: “God often brings His children to Himself through many small moments until the final one, when He makes it all come together. Just trust Him, my friend.”

Review:

This was my first ever Jerusha Agen book and my first experience being part of a launch team for a novel—both of which I’ve enjoyed immensely.

Through a fast-paced tale of spooks, treason, witness protection, and super lovable K-9 warriors—Agen quickly grabs your attention and keeps it captive until the very last page.

I want to be friends with all the girls at Phoenix K-9 and can’t wait to read the other books in this series—a few specifically. (Like the protection agency’s namesake, Phoenix. Quite the mystery there.) While I found myself irritated with the hero (Michael Barrett) in many parts of the book, I loved the moments where we see his compassion and heart all the more. But I cheered and fist-pumped for the heroine (Amalia Perez) the entire way—her journey is simply beautiful.

Agen’s other characters stealthily worked their way into my heart too—especially Cora, mami, papi, Rocky, Neveah, and Phoenix. I appreciated that the romance was woven into the story steadily, despite a lengthy history between the love interests. None of Agen’s descriptions were over-the-top, leaving the reader with a smile and a taste of sweetness.

The faith element is incredibly strong in this book, tackling some tough philosophical topics like, Is lying ever morally acceptable? While I believe Agen handled them with grace, I could see some of the later faith discussions in the book being perceived as preachy.

Overall, I just can’t help but love a book that keeps me thinking I have it all figured out only to show me I don’t know anything. If you enjoy law enforcement and spy thrillers with faith woven into every page, you’ll enjoy this book. 

My take:

Life is full of decisions, and what we do matters. What we say matters. Telling the truth is important but so is the way we tell it. Truth must come gently along with grace.

**I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book with no obligation to post a review.