Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Echoes of Darkness by Darlene L. Turner

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Love Inspired Trade
Releases: June 24, 2025
352 pages

About the Book:

A serial killer stalks a small town, and a police officer must face her family’s dark past to catch him.

The sleepy community of Kenorapeake Falls in northern Ontario seems like somewhere Constable Oaklynn Brock can finally outrun her violent past. That is, until she’s assigned to investigate a series of suspicious deaths. She can’t reveal that she knows how serial killers think because she grew up with one. Yet the eerie similarities between these murders and those committed by her father, known as the Suicide Slayer, hint at a copycat in their midst. But why here and why now?

Caleb Greene of the Canadian Watchers Squad, a special task force, has his own reasons to be wary of working alongside Oaklynn. But with rumors of a local cult known as the Light Paragons gaining power, the stakes are too high to refuse.

As they explore connections between the killings and cult, Oaklynn and Caleb are forced to confront old secrets…and a terrifying new threat. Someone is watching Oaklynn’s every move. They know exactly who she is and what she might be capable of. And soon her biggest fear isn’t just having her past exposed, but that a killer will turn whatever days she has left into a living nightmare…
 

My Rating & Thoughts:    


Constable Oaklynn Brock is the daughter of a serial killer and an abuse victim herself. She entered the police force to catch those responsible for horrible crimes. Caleb is part of a civilian group tasked by the Mayor to assist the police in figuring out what is going on in their community and putting a stop to it. There appears to be a copycat serial killer in the community who is taunting and targeting Oaklynn. Both Caleb and Oaklynn having issues from their pasts that are hitting very close to home with this case. Can they work together to stop the person or people responsible before others or themselves get hurt? This was dark and creepy at times as the case involves a serial killer, a cult, and drugs. In the midst of the darkness though there is a light and quite a bit of conversation about God and faith. I enjoyed the friendships and family support portrayed, along with a bit of humor from a matchmaking teen. It is filled with twists and turns, light verses dark and overcoming struggles with God's help. I had no idea who was responsible and was along for the ride trying to figure it out.

(I received an ARC of this book from the authoropinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Series: Cape Cod Creamery #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Revell
Released: May 3, 2022
283 pages

About the Book:

Dawn Dixon can hardly believe she's on a groomless honeymoon on beautiful Cape Cod . . . with her mother. Sure, Marnie Dixon is good company, but Dawn was supposed to be here with Kevin, the love of her life (or so she thought).

Marnie Dixon needs some time away from the absolute realness of life as much as her jilted daughter does, and she's not about to let her only child suffer alone--even if Marnie herself had been doing precisely that for the past month.

Given the circumstances, maybe it was inevitable that Marnie would do something as rash as buy a run-down ice-cream shop in the town's tightly regulated historic district. After all, everything's better with ice cream.

Her exasperated daughter knows that she's the one who will have to clean up this mess. Even when her mother's impulsive real estate purchase brings Kevin back into her life, Dawn doesn't get her hopes up. Everyone knows that broken romances stay broken . . . don't they?

Welcome to a summer of sweet surprises on Cape Cod--a place where dreams just might come true.



My Rating & Thoughts:    

A Mother-Daughter story filled with characters I wanted to root for. If you love ice cream this will definitely have you craving some. Dawn and her mother are completely different personalities and approach life differently, but they are family and support one another. I related to Dawn so much. When Dawn's fiancé breaks up with her but gives her the honeymoon vacation she takes her mom to Cape Cod. This trip changes the direction of both of their lives. Dawn's mom, Marnie, decides to stay at the Cape and buys an ice cream shop. We follow the process of fixing up the shop and preparing to open for the season and the struggles faced along the way. The story deals with touches on various life challenges - the loss of a family member, cancer, and unexpected changes in life's direction. There was a character I didn't like at the beginning, but as the story progressed my opinion began to change and by the end I was okay with them. There was one character that really intrigued me and I am looking forward to the next in the series in hopes that we get to know more about them. Also there are some fun quotes shared at the beginning of each chapter.

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

 

Monday, June 16, 2025

Distortion by Terri Blackstock

Series: Moonlighters #2
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Zondervan 
Released: March 11, 2014
338 pages

About the Book:

A husband's lies can have deadly consequences.

When Juliet Cole's husband of fifteen years is murdered before her eyes, she thinks it was a random shooting. Devastated and traumatized, she answers hours of questioning, then returns home to break the tragic news to her boys. But a threatening voicemail takes this from a random shooting to a planned, deliberate attack.

Juliet realizes that she and her children are in danger too, unless she meets the killers' demands. But as she and her sisters untangle the clues, her husband's dark secrets come to light. The more she learns, the more of her life is dismantled. Was her husband an innocent victim or a hardened criminal?







My Rating & Thoughts:    

Book 2 of the Moonlighter series. This book picks up a couple months after book 1 ends. It starts out with a bang, literally, right in chapter one Juliet witnesses the murder of her husband. As the three sisters and friend, Michael, begin to investigate his death they unravel things about his life that none of them knew or suspected. As they dig deeper and deeper, the lives of her children are threatened by those who don't want her to know the truth. I felt for Juliet as the life she knew came crashing down around her and she tried to pick up the pieces, move forward and also make sure the guilty people where held responsible. I was surprised to find out who was the one that had recruited Juliet's husband into this whole situation. And then for Michael to be punished for trying to do the right thing, so not right, this better be rectified in the next book. The story held my interest the whole way through and moved at a good pace.

(I was purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Other books from this author that I have reviewed:   

   

Aftermath

Catching Christmas

Emerald Windows

Predator

Smoke Screen

Cape Refuge - Cape Refuge #1

Southern Storm - Cape Refuge #2

River's Edge - Cape Refuge #3

Beakers Reef - Cape Refuge #4

Double Minds

If I Run - If I Run #1

If I'm Found - If I Run #2

If I Live - If I Run #3

Intervention - Intervention #1

Vicious Cycle - Intervention #2

Downfall - Intervention #3

Truth Stained Lies - Moonlighters #1 

Private Justice - Newpointe 911 #1 

Shadow of Doubt - Newpointe 911 #2 

Word of Honor - Newpointe 911 #3  

Trial by Fire - Newpointe 911 #4 

Line of Duty - Newpointe 911 #5 

Last Light - Restoration #1 

Night Light - Restoration #2

True Light - Restoration #3 

Dawn's Light - Restoration # 4

Never Again Good-bye - Second Chances #1

When Dreams Cross - Second Chances #2

Blind Trust - Second Chances #3

Broken Wings- Second Chances #4 

 

 

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Truth Stained Lies by Terri Blackstock

Series: Moonlighters #1
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Zondervan 
Released: March 12, 2013
299 pages

About the Book:

When truth doesn’t make sense, will lies prevail?

Cathy Cramer is a former lawyer and investigative blogger who writes commentary on high-profile homicides. When she finds a threatening note warning her that she’s about to experience the same kind of judgment and speculation that she dishes out in her blog, Cathy writes it off as mischief . . . until her brother’s wife is murdered and all the “facts” point to him. The killer has staged the crime to make the truth too far-fetched to believe. Working to solve the murder and clear her brother’s name, Cathy and her two sisters, Holly and Juliet, moonlight as part-time private investigators. Juliet, a stay-at-home mom of two boys, and Holly, a scattered ne’er-do-well who drives a taxi, put aside their fear to hunt down the real killer.

Stakes rise when their brother’s grieving five-year-old son is kidnapped. As police focus on the wrong set of clues, the three sisters and their battered detective friend are the only hope for solving this bizarre crime, saving the child, and freeing their brother.


My Rating & Thoughts:    

This book felt like a really fast read, I couldn't put it down. When the book first opens, you fell like you are started in the middle of the story, as it starts talking about events of the past without really explaining what happened. But this didn't deter me, as the suspense was just beginning. Who was the murderer and why was Joe being framed? As the 3 sisters and a friend try to get to the bottom of this the mystery continues to grow and the perpetrator is slowly revealed. At a certain point I was sure I knew who it was but couldn't figure out why they would have done it or what they had to gain. As the story moved along and more details were revealed, I was happy to find out I was correct. My favourite part was the stand-off scene. It was tense and I was really beginning to wonder if the good guys would all get out and survive. The scene was described perfectly and I felt like I was watching it play out on tv. There were a couple characters I was really drawn to and was pleased with the way the book ended for them. There was one character that really bothered me, but there wasn't much focus around him, so I didn't get to explore this feeling. I hope more is revealed about him in the next book and I can understand why I had this feeling about him. I look forward to spending more time with this family in the next books.

(I was purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Other books from this author that I have reviewed: