Cycle One: The Invitation

Invitation Authors: Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, & Alton Gansky

Series: Harbingers #1

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: April 4, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

An intriguing tale of the supernatural by four of today’s top Christian suspense writers makes this a must read!

Broken into segments, the first is The Call by Bill Myers told from the viewpoint of a street hustling tattoo artist that sees the future and uses that to help a student at a psychic institute. He is being trained to use his gifts to help world leaders but at a very high cost. The next segment is by Frank Peretti called The Haunted. Peretti dives deep into the darkness within us all in this supernatural case of murder centered within a mysterious house. Third is The Sentinels by Angela Hunt which showcases a strange phenomenon of animals around the world mysteriously dying. The fourth and final section is by Alton Gansky called The Girl. It is a strange tale of a young girl found in the snow barefoot and holding a piece of parchment type paper. After careful investigation, it appears she is not of this world and someone wants to kill her. Brought together they make the first cycle in the Harbingers Series.

Invitation is a unique blend of several of the top Christian authors doing what they do best. I must admit before this I hadn’t read anything by several of the authors. I know Frank Peretti’s work and that is what drew me to this. Oddly enough, his section was probably my least favorite. When I first heard of the premise of this story I thought there were several ways it might work out. Each author took a character and told the story from their point of view. It wasn’t the same story over and over, instead it was a continuation. When one section is over you go to the next character further in time. This left me with several questions for how each section played out and how I thought it should have played out. Overall the story itself was very interesting, even though I do still have some questions. Since this is the first installment, my questions might still be answered in the next book. At least that is what I am hoping.

With each author taking a section, it was clearly noticeable the way the writing changed with who the new point of view character was and that we were in a different story. I don’t want to say it was an exceptional story, it could have been, but fell short at several points for me. With that said though, I still recommend this book to readers that love a supernatural story with suspense on every page. Each author brought his and her own personal touches to their section making it unique. The first section was the best to me and easily drew me into the story. I enjoyed that so much I stuck with the entire thing and am glad I did. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Without Warning

without warning Author: Joel C. Rosenberg

Series: J.B. Collins #3

Publisher: Tyndale

Release Date: March 14, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Will ISIS strike on American soil? This is Rosenberg at his best!

J. B. Collins and Yael were part of a team that successfully rescued the President of the United States. Now back in the US for two months, J.B. has been recovering and the President has been launching air strikes and driving ISIS back out of Iraq, but J.B. feels it is not enough. He wants the President to go after the leader, kill the snake by cutting off the head. Then the unthinkable happens. At the State of the Union address, mortar shells start hitting the capitol building. A full attack has been unleashed against the President, vice-president, and all the members of congress. Although the President survives, several members of congress do not. J. B. expects retaliation, but the President seems to be in denial. What’s worse is now the attack has turned personal when the terrorist find J.B. and his brother Matt’s family. If the president is not going to stop ISIS, maybe J.B. can do just that.

This was an incredible ending to the latest trilogy by Rosenberg. All three books flow seamlessly together and can easily be devoured in a short period of time. The way he writes current events into a novel can be truly frightening. Suddenly the ideas he has don’t seem so farfetched. I was glad to see that J.B.’s personal struggles were finally resolved in this book and that he had peace. I can definitely say that I didn’t expect the ending. That made me feel like it was cut a little short, even though it is the longest book in the trilogy by far. I was also really impressed with how Matt handle his suffering. I thought he might have gone into depression, but he stayed strong throughout. I was also really disappointed in the romance between Yael and J.B., but given the ending, it is probably for the best.

With high tension, fast-paced suspense, and well developed characters, this trilogy needs to be read by all!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The First Hostage

The First Hostage Author: Joel C. Rosenberg

Series: J.B. Collins #2

Publisher: Tyndale

Release Date: December 29, 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Could the President of the United States really be kidnapped by ISIS?

After ISIS has attacked the peace summit in Jordan that would bring peace to Israel and Palestine, the President of the United States has suddenly gone missing. In an attempt to elude the attackers, the President was rushed off by the secret service to get on air force one. J.B. Collins was pulled alongside the Jordanian President who managed to get to the airport in an attempt to board the plane as well. Only one problem, air force one is gone, and the President is not one it. Unfortunately, the airport has been hit with sarin gas, which killed all those who where present. Not long after the attack, a new video surfaces showing Abu Kalid, head of ISIS, with the President saying that American has 48 hours to turn Islam or the President will be beheaded. Can he be saved? If so, how?

If Rosenberg was wanting to ratchet up the suspense in his novel, he certainly found the right formula. The next book in the series picks up immediately where the previous left off. Fortunately, I read them back to back so I didn’t have to wait months like everyone else. Rosenberg continues to combine tension and suspense and play up the romance between J.B. and Yael. You really wonder if this could happen, but the way Rosenberg lays it out, it really seems like it could. I’m starting to get a little scared of what he is writing because it really seems believable. What could possibly happen next?

The Third Target

The Third Target Author: Joel C. Rosenberg

Series: J.B. Collins #1

Publisher: Tyndale

Release Date: February 6, 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

ISIS is growing fast and we have no idea where they will strike next, or do we?

J. B. Collins is a very successful foreign war correspondent working for the New York Times. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather who did some pretty foolish things. However, J.B. may have just trumped anything his grandfather could have ever done by taking an invitation to meet in person with one of the leaders of ISIS in Syria. Already a torn country ravaged by its civil war, Syria has become a stronghold for many followers of the Al-Qaeda split off and are very dangerous. J. B. gets his interview and manages to safely get away, but not before he can confirm that ISIS has procured chemical weapons. But will his interview put a target on his back once his story goes public? Or will ISIS keep him around as long as they can use him?

Rosenberg is well known for his end times novels and this is no exception. He keeps the novel on a fast pace with lots of action in a very realistic current events setting. J.B. embodies everything that Rosenberg typically has for a main character. He is successful. He has a job that puts him in the line of fire for current events. And he is not a Christian, yet. But he has people in his life that urge him to give his life to Christ.

I really enjoyed this book. The current events make you think about what could happen today. The tension keeps you moving through the book at a fast pace. And the potential love interest makes you root for the romance within the suspense. I can’t wait to read the next one!

Almost Missed You

Almost Missed You Author: Jessica Strawser

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: March 28, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A wonderful debut novel that will leave the reader guessing at every turn and wondering if we ever really know the people we have in our lives.

Violet and Finn’s relationship has been one people talk about as the couple that was meant to be. They came to be together by not one, but several coincidences. A chance meeting on a beach, another with a note on a website to find each other again, and friends that connect them as well. Three years into their marriage Violet thinks things are perfect. They have a little boy named Bear, whom they both love and are all going on a family vacation back to the beach. One afternoon as she is relaxing on the beach, Finn offers to take Bear back to the hotel for his nap so she can relax. As the afternoon wears on, she packs her things and heads back to the room to find it empty, no Finn, no Bear. All of the boy’s things are gone, it’s like they were never there to begin with. Violet finds herself living her worst nightmare and starts to wonder if she ever really knew the man she married.

Caitlin and Finn have been best friends for years. When he takes off with Bear it is Caitlin he runs to for help, demanding she help hide them or he will reveal a secret that could destroy her family. Caitlin is faced with a difficult decision, help her longest, closest friend to protect her secret, or do what she knows deep down is the right thing to do.

This story is told from alternating viewpoints of Violet, Finn and Caitlin and back and forth from present to past. It is rare that an author can pull something like that off, but Jessica Strawser did an outstanding job with Almost Missed You. For a debut novel, this was outstanding. Rarely have I read a book that made this kind of emotional connection, was a thrilling page turner, and made me think so hard about the possibility of this actually happening in my own life or the lives of people I know. It was incredibly easy to see the depth of love all of these characters had for their children and also the hard choices they were facing with each step they took. Violet lived every mother’s worst fear, losing a child, and more astounding to someone they thought they could trust. Finn was the epitome of someone in need of help dealing with pent up issues keeping him from moving forward with his life. And Caitlin is stuck in the middle. She knows about Finn’s past and doesn’t want to betray him in any way but can’t stand to see Violet hurting. I think the reason this story worked so well was the fact it was told from so many different viewpoints. We got to see more of what was happening compared to if it was just from one character’s viewpoint.

I love finding new authors that I will want to stick with for years to come and I am happy to say I think I found one in Strawser. I recommend this book to all those that enjoy a good mystery that is tight with emotional connections that will keep you turning the pages well past bedtime.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The Roanoke Girls

The Roanoke Girls Author: Amy Engel

Publisher: Crown

Release Date: March 7, 2017

Rating: 3 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Disturbing and creepy. That’s all I’m saying.

Lane Roanoke is fifteen years old and her mom has just committed suicide, which is really not surprising to her as she has been threatening it for most of her life. What is surprising is that her mom’s parents want Lane to come live with them in Kansas, which is vastly different than New York City. Once she gets there, she is greeted by her cousin Allegra and they become like sisters, even look like sisters too. Her grandparents are filthy rich from oil and she becomes one of the Roanoke girls, which pretty much gets you whatever you want. However, one day she discovers the secret that drives all Roanoke girls either to run or to die. She runs away and never looks back.

Eleven years later, Allegra has gone missing and Lane is called back to Roanoke. Even though time has passed, it feels the same as soon as she pulls up. Everyone she left is still there and her messed up family is still the same. But with Allegra gone, sights are now set on Lane to take her place as the next Roanoke girl.

This book was very disturbing and creepy too. I can’t delve too much into it because it would give away the context to the readers, but needless to say, this is not what I was expecting in some big Kansas farmhouse. Still gives me the heebie jeebies. One point that I do have to make is that I can tell this author has written YA novels previously. The flow and characterizations still tended to show up as YA, which I actually like. However, what I don’t like is when there is a great YA author that decides to go into mainstream adult fiction and it reads like a YA novel with lots of profanity and sex, which is a bit of the case here. I’ve seen this happen with lots of great authors in the YA genre. I like the YA better because it is usually cleaner. I understand that this book had to have sex since that is the pretense of the whole things, but the profanity could have been cut way back. This is why I only recommend this book to mature older readers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

As Red As Blood

as red as blood Author: Salla Simukka

Series: Lumikki Andersson #1

Publisher: Crown for Young Readers

Release Date: January 17, 2017

Rating: 3 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

This book had such potential to shine like the fairy tales it eludes, but for me it fell flat.

Lumikki Andersson likes to keep to herself and out of the business of others. Even though she is only sixteen she is living by herself and going to a charter school for the gifted. It is an ideal situation after the problems she had at her old school with some not so nice girls that attended the school. Trying to stay out of others business usually works well for her, until she stumbles upon thousands of washed Euro notes hanging in the school’s darkroom and three of her classmates acting very suspiciously. It doesn’t take long for Lumikki to become completely involved in the center of the problem these three have found themselves in. They all end up going against a drug lord, Polar Bear, and many others that end up hunting them for what they have and know. Lumikki is now in a race to stay alive and uncover the truth to try and save them all.

When I first heard about As Red as Blood I thought it sounded like a very intriguing read, especially for a YA, which are some of my favorites. I’m not sure if it is the fact that it was translated from Finnish or maybe just the story itself, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. One of my biggest pet peeves is a book marketed to young adults that has vulgar language. I’m not naive, I know that is how many kids speak but I still don’t like seeing it in books for this audience. I also felt like the story didn’t really get going until it was almost over. The best part of the book for me was the last twenty-five pages or so. Finding out more about the main character should have come earlier to help make the connection and establish a better relationship. I still think some of it could have been lost in the translation and don’t want to fault the author too much on that part. The two female leads really had good potential and I think there is further development to explore there, I just don’t feel compelled to explore it personally.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The Travelers

the-travelers Author: Chris Pavone

Publisher: Crown

Release Date: March 8, 2016

Rating: 3 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Spy thriller that lacked most of the thriller.

Will Rhodes is a travel writer who has really been ramping up the travel part lately. His wife used to work for the same magazine that he does, but to limit competition between them, she left to be an editor at another magazine. They move through the motions of marriage, but since they haven’t been able to get pregnant, things have started to dissolve lately and Will is not sure why. When he is at a conference in Europe, he meets a young Australian freelance writer who really hits it off with him. He is very drawn to her, but manages to stay faithful to his wife. Later while in South America, he meets her again and things end up going a little too far. Only then does Will realize that he has been played. The young woman is actually an American secret agent who is now using their videoed affair as blackmail to recruit him into the CIA. After all, he already has the perfect cover to move around without arising suspicions. But can Will actually do this? Is it worth it for his marriage? And is it really legit?

This seemed like a really interesting concept story. A travel writer turned into a spy sounds like a great idea. I mean, sure it’s been done before, but a good story is just that, a good story. Unfortunately, that is not how this one felt. The story was very disjointed in my opinion and just never really got traction. The prologue hooked me in, but then it was just like the line couldn’t reel me in. There were a lot of characters to set up and you spend half your reading time trying to figure out who this is referring to, maybe it’s her, maybe it’s him, maybe it’s someone who hasn’t even been introduced yet. Which got a little frustrating overall, but it is what it is. There was also a lot of strong language throughout the book which could have been handled a lot differently. Should you decide to read it, I would recommend it for mature audiences.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The Freedom Broker

the-freedom-broker Author: K. J. Howe

Publisher: Quercus Books

Release Date: February 7, 2017

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A fast paced, action packed story that will keep readers guessing until the very end!

When Thea Paris was a little girl she witnessed her brother being kidnapped. He was returned to the family after nine months, but that experience would shape the future for everyone in the Paris family. Thea is one of the best kidnap and ransom specialists in the world and she is the only woman in the freedom broker business. She is the team leader at Quantum Security International’s black-ops team, which goes on sensitive rescue missions to recover high value targets. On the eve of the party for her father’s sixtieth birthday party, Christos Paris is taken from his yacht, mere days before the biggest deal of his career. Everyone aboard the boat is killed and Thea waits for a ransom demand that is slow to come. Pushing aside the fact that she is too close to the case, she throws herself in to the job more determined to find her father than any case she has ever worked. The more she digs, the more the past comes to haunt them all and it becomes clear this is no ordinary case.

It is hard to believe that this is the debut novel. Howe wrote a very intriguing fast paced thriller that I very much enjoyed. One of the best aspects of the novel was the pace, it flowed easily even with chapters of different length. This actually helped because as the action intensified, the chapters got shorter making the pages fly faster and faster. The main character, Thea is the heroine, but is also very relatable with her weakness, diabetes. She is reluctant to share this information with anyone because she doesn’t want them to view her as weak because of it. I have read kidnap books before but never one where the focus is on the team that is sent in to get them back. It was a unique view of how things unfold on that side of the story. There was a fair amount of back and forth between past and present, usually this can be confusing and take the reader out of the story. Howe was able to make the transitions smoothly with the past scenes providing emotional support for the characters in the story. There were a few graphic moments of sexual content and some adult language making this only appropriate for a mature audience.

I picked this up after seeing a favorite author recommended it and I am really glad I did. I really hope there will be more to come from Thea Paris and her rescue missions. I recommend this book to lovers of suspense thrillers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The Trapped Girl

the-trapped-girl Author: Robert Dugoni

Series: Tracy Crosswhite #4

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Release Date: January 24, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

The fourth book in the Tracy Crosswhite series is a must read, top notch thriller with twists at every turn. This is Dugoni at his best!

Tracy Crosswhite finds herself called out when a woman’s body is found submerged in a crab pot in Puget Sound. This is not going to be an easy case. Before they can do anything else, Tracy and her team must first identify the victim who has gone to great lengths to keep her identity a secret. This raises the question, who and what was she running from. Following the evidence the team is lead to believe that their Jane Doe might be a woman who disappeared several months earlier climbing Mt. Rainier with her husband, who was a suspect in her disappearance. Without a body on the mountain, it was hard to make a case against the husband. All this hits close to home with Tracy as she remembers the disappearance of her sister and how that case consumed her life. Each clue brings about another one that conflicts with the previous, making the investigation that much harder. Tracy is more determined than ever to find the truth of what happened and is determined not to let anything get in her way.

Robert Dugoni is now one of my top favorite authors with the Tracy Crosswhite novels as one of my most recommended series. The first in the series is my favorite, but The Trapped Girl gives it a run for its money. This story goes back and forth at times between Tracy and what is happening with her and then to Andrea Strickland, the woman they think they found dead. This can sometimes be confusing but Dugoni has found a way to write both scenes without losing the reader at any point. These are the stories I love to sit down and devour in one siting if I have the time. With two boys at home it took me a few days to read but I loved every page. I’m can definitely say that a Dugoni novel has never bored me and a Tracy Crosswhite novel keeps me up well into the night. Dugoni has found a way to write characters that are easily likable (Tracy), and characters that you can’t help but despise, (Nolasco, Fields). I really hope this isn’t the last in the series. There is so much more I could see happening with Tracy and the squad. Her relationship with Dan is continuing to pay out nicely and the rest of the squad has developed a dynamic that is hard to find in other books. I know it is early in the year but I feel certain I can say this will be in my best of the year list, it will be hard for another book to top this one. I can’t say that this is the best in the series, the first one is one of my top books of all time and that’s just hard to beat. But this one is a very close second. The way I know a book is one of the best, like My Sister’s Grave, is several years later I can think about that book and recall most of it. Many of the books I read fade from my memory within the next year. I am sure The Trapped Girl will stick around and be one I recommend for a long time.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat guessing at what is going to happen next. There is some mild language that may not be suitable for young readers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.