Summer of Suspense: Sixteen Tales By Some of Christian Fiction’s Most Popular Mystery and Suspense Authors

 

I really enjoyed this group of novellas from some of today's leading suspense authors. Every story grabbed my attention but luckily they were novellas so I could budget 1 a night and not lose too much sleep. Each story is complete. So settle in for 16 nights of suspense. Grab a pot of coffee and settle in for a great read.

Diamond In The Rough by Jen Turano

Diamond In The Rough is a delightful book full of fun characters. I loved Poppy Garrison. I think she is one of the freest, most entertaining women that I have had the pleasure of reading about in a while. Beatrix is also a lot of fun. I liked Murry and Reginald also. The setting is the gilded age of New York city when the 400 ruled society. Ia m looking forward to book three in the American Heiress series, Storing Up Trouble. So grab a cup of tea and read in a secluded place so no one looks at you strangely when you start giggling at Poppy's adventures!

From Amazon:

To save her family from financial ruin, Miss Poppy Garrison accepts an unusual proposition to participate in the New York social season in exchange for her grandmother settling a family loan that has unexpectedly come due. Ill-equipped to handle the intricacies of mingling within the New York Four Hundred, Poppy becomes embroiled in one hilarious fiasco after another, doomed to suffer a grand societal failure instead of being deemed the diamond of the first water her grandmother longs for her to become.

Reginald Blackburn, second son of a duke, has been forced to travel to America to help his cousin, Charles Wynn, Earl of Lonsdale, find an American heiress to wed in order to shore up his family estate that is in desperate need of funds. Reginald himself has no interest in finding an heiress to marry, but when Poppy's grandmother asks him to give etiquette lessons to Poppy, he swiftly discovers he may be in for much more than he bargained for.

About the author:

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Biography

Named One of the Funniest Voices in Inspirational Romance by Booklist, Jen Turano is a USA Today Best-Selling Author, known for penning quirky historical romances set in the Gilded Age. Her books have earned Publisher Weekly and Booklist starred reviews, top picks from Romantic Times, and praise from Library Journal. She’s been a finalist twice for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards and had two of her books listed in the top 100 romances of the past decade from Booklist. When she’s not writing, she spends her time outside of Denver, CO. She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jenturanoauthor/ or visit her on the web at www.jenturano.com. She is represented by the Natasha Kern Literary Agency.

#JenTurano 

Flights Of Fancy by Jen Turano

Pure enjoyment! I had never read anything by Jen Turano before, but Flights Of Fancy will not be the only one. What a fun book! I really loved Buttercup and Elmer, they were delightful! Izzy and Ian are a fantastic couple! The story was fast-moving and very enjoyable. So grab a hot tea and settle into your favorite chair for a delightful read!


From Amazon:

Miss Isadora Delafield may be an heiress, but her life is far from carefree. When her mother begins pressuring her to marry an elderly and uncouth duke, she escapes from the high society world she's always known and finds herself to be an unlikely candidate for a housekeeper position in rural Pennsylvania.

Mr. Ian MacKenzie is known for his savvy business sense and has built his reputation and fortune completely on his own merits. But when his adopted parents are in need of a new housekeeper and Isadora is thrown into his path, he's unexpectedly charmed by her unconventional manner.

Neither Isadora nor Ian expected to find the other so intriguing, but when mysterious incidents on the farm and the truth of Isadora's secret threaten those they love, they'll have to set aside everything they thought they wanted for a chance at happy-ever-after.

About the author:

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Biography

Named One of the Funniest Voices in Inspirational Romance by Booklist, Jen Turano is a USA Today Best-Selling Author, known for penning quirky historical romances set in the Gilded Age. Her books have earned Publisher Weekly and Booklist starred reviews, top picks from Romantic Times, and praise from Library Journal. She’s been a finalist twice for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards and had two of her books listed in the top 100 romances of the past decade from Booklist. When she’s not writing, she spends her time outside of Denver, CO. She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jenturanoauthor/ or visit her on the web at www.jenturano.com. She is represented by the Natasha Kern Literary Agency.

From Sky To Sky by Amanda Stevens

I finished From Sky To Sky last night. I am sitting here trying to decide what to say about this book. It is definitely thought-provoking. I mean, what if you couldn't die? How would you live your life? How would you form relationships knowing that they would end and you would go on ...alone? I love From Sky To Sky as much as or even more than the first book, No Less Days. I really hope that there will be a third book as I want to know more. The characters are interesting and I love the relationships between them. I also love the theme of redemption and forgiveness.
So grab a pot of tea and a warm blanket. Cuddle up and enjoy a fascinating read by Amanda Stevens.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley.com with no expectations. All thoughts are my own.

From Amazon:

Zac Wilson can’t die.
 
Daredevil Zac Wilson isn’t the first celebrity to keep a secret from the world, but his might be the most marvelous in history: Zac doesn’t age and injuries can’t kill him. What’s more, he’s part of a close-knit group of others just like him.
 
Holed up in Harbor Vale, Michigan, Zac meets two more of his kind who claim others in their circle have died. Are their lifetimes finally ending naturally, or is someone targeting them—a predator who knows what they are?
 
The answers Zac unearths present impossible dilemmas: whom to protect, how to seek justice, how to bring peace to turmoil. His next action could fracture forever the family he longs to unite. Now might be the time to ask for help. . .from God Himself. But Zac’s greatest fear is facing the God he has run from for more than a century.

About the author:

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Biography

As a child, Amanda G. Stevens disparaged Mary Poppins and Stuart Little because they could never happen. Now, she writes speculative fiction. She is the author of the Haven Seekers series, and her debut Seek and Hide was a 2015 INSPY Award finalist. She lives in Michigan and loves trade paperbacks, folk music, the Golden Era of Hollywood, and white cheddar popcorn.

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Michaelsen

This book is not among the genres that I usually read. That said I read it because the sixth-grade class where I work was reading it and I wanted to be able to help the kids if I could. I found myself quite absorbed in Touching Spirit Bear. It is fast-paced and shows a different justice system that has existed among the Indigenous peoples for centuries. The focus is on healing and restoration rather than punishment. I rather doubt any court system would allow a teenager to spend a year alone on an Alaskan island, but it made for a fascinating story. Other than one extremely gross chapter I really enjoyed this book. I was interested to learn of some native customs and the scenery descriptions were fantastic. I also like the theme of restitution. This is a great book for group reading, offering many discussion topics. So grab your coffee and your students to enjoy a great read.

From Amazon:

In his Napra Nautilus Award-winning novel Touching Spirit Bear, author Ben Mikaelson delivers a poignant coming-of-age story of a boy who must overcome the effects that violence has had on his life.

After severely injuring Peter Driscal in an empty parking lot, mischief-maker Cole Matthews is in major trouble. But instead of jail time, Cole is given another option: attend Circle Justice, an alternative program that sends juvenile offenders to a remote Alaskan Island to focus on changing their ways. Desperate to avoid prison, Cole fakes humility and agrees to go.

While there, Cole is mauled by a mysterious white bear and left for dead. Thoughts of his abusive parents, helpless Peter, and his own anger cause him to examine his actions and seek redemption—from the spirit bear that attacked him, from his victims, and from himself.

About the author:

Biography

Ben Mikaelsen has won the International Reading Association Award and the Western Writers Golden Spur Award. His novels have won critical acclaim, as well as several state reader's choice awards. These novels include Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red, Stranded, Countdown, Petey, and Touching Spirit Bear. His newest book is "Jungle of Bones". Ben's articles and photos appear in numerous magazines around the world. Ben and his wife, Connie, live in a log cabin near Bozeman, Montana, and they adopted a 700-pound black bear that they raised for 27

On Wings Of Devotion by Roseanna White

My first review of 2020 is Roseanna White's On Wings Of Devotion which sets the bar high for the rest of the year.  Such an awesome book. I am still so involved with the story that I am having a hard time deciding what to read next. My fear is I will compare it to On Wings Of Devotion and not give my next book the love and attention it deserves.
What I loved about this book were the characters and the plot. I was able to disappear in this book, I would look up from my Kindle and have to reorient myself to this world. I loved the cameos by characters from her former books.  I am eagerly awaiting her next book as I know it will be awesome. So grab a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits and settle in for a fantastic read.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley.com with no expectations. All thoughts are my own.

From Amazon:

All of England thinks Phillip Camden a monster--a man who deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But as nurse Arabelle Denler watches the so-dubbed "Black Heart" every day, she sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And when their paths twist together and he declares himself her new protector, she realizes she has her own role to play in his healing.

Phillip Camden would have preferred to die that day with his squadron rather than be recruited to the Admiralty's codebreaking division. The threats he receives daily are no great surprise and, in his opinion, well deserved. What comes as a shock is the reborn desire to truly live that Arabelle inspires in him.

But when an old acquaintance shows up and seems set on using him in a plot that has the codebreakers of Room 40 in a frenzy, new affections are put to the test.

About the author:

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Biography

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award-nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.