C Jane Read : Jane Reviews: Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey

Series: Alaskan Courage # 5
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: Feb. 3, 2015
325 pages

About the Book:

Growing up, goody-two-shoes Kirra Jacobs and troublemaker Reef McKenna were always at odds. Now, working together as search-and-rescue for Alaska's arduous Iditarod race, a growing attraction seems to be forcing aside old arguments. Then Reef catches Kirra sneaking from camp in the middle of the night.

Kirra's uncle, a musher in the race, has disappeared. Kirra and Reef quickly track the man, but what they discover is harrowing: Frank's daughter has been kidnapped. Kirra and Reef, along with the entire McKenna family, are thrown into a race to stop a shadowy villain who is not only threatening a girl's life--but appears willing to unleash one of the largest disasters Alaska has ever seen.

Goodreads / Amazon / Christianbook

Dani Pettrey's Website

My Rating & Thoughts: 🌟 🌟 🌟 (3 stars)

Kirra and Reef may have known each other all their lives, but do they really know one another? Over the course of this story we experience them learning more about each other.

Reef has returned to Alaska after spending quite a few years away living a carefree lifestyle with no commitments, doing what he wants when he wants. Kirra is his exact opposite, she has always followed the rules and by all appearances has it all together. However she has been keeping a heartbreaking secret from everyone.

When her uncle goes missing during the Iditarod race, Reef surprises her and commits to helping her search for him. When they do find the uncle they learn that his daughter has been kidnapped and he is being forced to do the kidnapper’s bidding in order to save her. At times it did not seem like they would be able to find the daughter and stop the kidnapper before something horrible happens.

Their search takes them Anchorage where Kirra is forced to face her past. Even though Reef doesn’t know what happened, he supports and stands up for her when she is verbally attacked. This moment really endeared me to him. When it is revealed what Kirra’s secret is and how her parents reacted, I hurt for her and was mad at her parents. It did not surprise me that Kirra struggled with understanding where God was during the difficult times. There was quite a bit of faith talk throughout with a very important message being presented – God is with us through everything.

While there were parts of the story that were suspenseful it did feel like each incident was recovered from very quickly. Overall the story felt predictable and I was able to guess how the case would end. As I don’t really know much about the Iditarod race I would have enjoyed more detail about it. My favourite part of the story was that the whole McKenna family was involved in this case. I enjoyed getting to spend more time with the siblings I got to know through the previous four books. However the ending epilogue left me a bit disappointed. I understand wanting to leave readers with answers of what is in future for the characters but Piper’s reveal felt impossible (too early to know). This is such a minor thing but it bothered me and sticks out in my memory when I think of this book.