Tag: Suspense

Fallout + Giveaway

Samantha Williams’s carefully crafted life is about to be demolished as thoroughly as her art classroom when a careening SUV smashes into the school.

In the dusty farming community of LaCrosse, Washington, art teacher Samantha Williams manages to save her students when an SUV crashes into the school. Her car isn’t so lucky. Oddly, her purse—containing her driver’s license, credit cards, and other identification—is missing from the wreckage, forcing her to rely on the kindness of strangers. Never one to trust easily, Samantha is thrust into a world far different from her simple life of jigsaw puzzles, children’s books, and lectures at the library.

One of the strangers who befriends her is a reporter from Spokane who is in town investigating two sets of skeletal remains that were recently discovered. When authorities discover that the driver in the school accident was shot before the crash, Samantha quickly becomes enmeshed in strange events, which turn ominous with the discovery of blackmail, murder, an abandoned town, and a secret government project.

Samantha has long tried to forget the tragedy of her past, but the links here can’t be ignored. Yet these are secrets that others are determined to keep buried, and they’ll use any means necessary to stop Samantha’s search for truth.

My Review:

Um….so I’m a little lost for words about this thrilling suspense. The way Parks builds the intrigue is edge-of-your-seat good. Half the time I wasn’t sure what was happening. Other times I was painstakingly putting the pieces together and accomplishing mini ‘aha’ moments, only to be plunged back into confusion. There were characters I didn’t trust from the get go and sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong.

And mercy, but that opening scene with the SUV smashing into Samantha’s classroom! I was on high alert from that moment on. Incredible pacing between action scenes (hair-raising!!!!) and investigative puzzle piecing. And all the while I’m wondering who she can trust. It got to the point that I was madly shouting out warnings (which were mostly ignored…gah, some characters just can’t take direction)

And I really loved the…I don’t know how to say it but…phrasing beats — the way Parks uses sentence structure to add to the suspense. Like sometimes it’s sharp and terse — almost staccato beats of unfinished thoughts that leaves the reader hanging and imagining and desperate to get to the truth. All while she feeds us bits of random clues that we aren’t really sure are clues until after the fact. It’s so well done! The kind of suspense that carries a reader away from her mundane real world.

There’s a bit of light romance — but more the hint of it. I wouldn’t categorize this as romantic suspense. And some great faith tie-ins as well, including scriptures which I really appreciated.

While I wouldn’t say that Fallout is part of a series, it does feature the Clan Firinn (Scottish Gaelic for Family of Truth) which is a place of healing for first-responders and law-enforcement personnel recovering from trauma. It’s like a university campus that provides everything from spiritual and emotional counselling to educational opportunities and physical activities. So keep that in mind if you haven’t read any of the author’s previous books featuring the Clan Firinn.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone, anywhere with a .com Kindle account.

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Fallout, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday June 24, 2023.

All That I Dread + Giveaway

RANDOM RETRO READ

After a tragic loss, Jessica Chamberlain changes jobs, moves, and adopts a rowdy German Shepherd. The two begin training with a Virginia search-and-rescue group. The group’s training director, Nathan Tanner, is a former military working dog handler with scars of his own and he quickly picks up on Jess’s ongoing anxiety. After the unexpected discovery of a body in the woods, Jess and her dog and Nate are drawn into the FBI’s search for an abductor targeting women. Tormented by her past and terrified of the future, Jess still forges ahead. Can the secrets of her late father give her the courage she needs to continue?

My Review:

published in 2019

Wow. New-to-me author (an instagram discovery) and I am hooked on her storytelling style! It puts me in mind of Carrie Stuart Parks — has that same depth and grittiness infused with faith. The author digs deep to push past layers of characterization that is raw and real and emotionally sucker punching at times. And she draws out Jessica’s backstory with intriguing hints of foreshadowing. I was on tenterhooks trying to put the puzzle pieces together and once I knew everything….whoa!!!!

The K-9 details are incredibly well done. I knew a bit about Search and Rescue from other suspense novels, but there are so many new elements (at least to me) addressed in this story. Jess’s K-9 is a work-in-progress. Mischievous Luke makes for an endearing four-legged hero — good for laughs, ‘ahhh’ moments and heroic Lassie flare. 🙂

Told from three points of view, the author expertly weaves disparate lives together in a compelling way. Faith might be considered a fourth POV as inspirational subplots interlace throughout. Powerful. Moving. Redemptive. Healing. I was as captivated by Jess’s faith journey as I was the suspense.

I enjoyed listening to the audible edition of All That I Dread, narrated by Vanessa Daniels. She has the right ‘voice’ for Jessica and the rest of these characters and enhanced my ‘reading’ pleasure.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of All that I Dread, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday March 4 2023. Offer open to International Readers.