Author: Samuel Parker

Publisher: Revell

Release Date: January 3, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A dark and twisted tale of survival in a remote part of the country where there is more to fear than you can imagine.

Jack and Laura are on a little vacation in Las Vegas to try and spark something back into their relationship. Jack wants a day out of the city so they set off on an adventure that turns into more than they can handle.  On a road in the middle of nowhere, the car breaks down and leaves them stranded in the desert.  As the hours pass and their supplies dwindle, they begin to wonder if anyone will come down the road to rescue them.  Rescue does come, but not in the form they would expect.  A desert hermit stumbles upon them and takes them back to his trailer further into the desert.  They are grateful for the help, but soon realize he isn’t helping them get home.  One night the hermit comes back with a kidnapped girl he found in a cave.  It doesn’t take long for Jack and Laura to realize that their vacation has turned into a nightmare.  Jack wants to go for help as it might be their only way to survive.  What he doesn’t realize is by leaving Laura alone the kidnapper has an opening to get back what was taken from him and more.

Purgatory Road is a gripping tale of what can happen when we take what we have for granted and to be aware of those around us.  Jack doesn’t think or seem to really care about his wife very much anymore.  It takes going through a terrifying ordeal for him to realize how much he needs to be there for her and what he needs to do to be the husband she needs. Boots, the hermit, was a very interesting character.  He was there to help but in his own special way.  Seth was like the little devil on your shoulder pushing people down the wrong path.  The way Parker wove these characters together made the story a riveting tale that was hard to put down.  This is the kind of novel that could easily be read in a single sitting.  I had a hard time liking Jack till the very end, but I think that is the way Parker intended it.  He’s not very likeable until he realizes the changes he needs to make.  I liked that Laura and Jack had these issues they needed to work through and the way the story made them do it.  Life can be tough plain and simple.  When you throw in the worst humanity has to offer, it can be too much for some without having a little faith to survive.  I recommend this to those looking for answers to some difficult questions and want a gripping tale to help them along the way.

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

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Publisher: Little Brown & Co.

Release Date: November 8, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A surprisingly good read that keeps you guessing and rooting for the characters survival.

After being on the run for three years trying to stay alive, Juliana must do one more job to clear her name. Juliana might be her real name but it’s not one she has gone by in the last three years. She has had to change her identity several times over the years to stay hidden.  She used to work for the U.S. Government, not something many ever knew.  She was the one they called on as a last resort to get information needed.  She liked to refer to herself as The Chemist.  In order to get secrets out of even the hardest to break, all she had to do was administer a few chemicals and wait for them to do their magic.  When she saw something she wasn’t supposed to see, she became a liability.  They want her dead.  Then she gets a cryptic email from her former handler, one last job to clear her name and ensure her safety.  She thinks it is too good to be true but has to find out more.  When she has the subject in a safe place and begins the process of extracting information, she quickly finds out that she was not given all the details.  It doesn’t take long for her to realize she has even fewer choices than she did before coming out of hiding and her life is now in more danger than ever.  Without knowing who to trust, she ends up forming an alliance with an unlikely partner in order to ensure both their safety and survival.

I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical when starting this. I read the Twilight series almost ten years ago and really enjoyed.  Now, as I look back at them after having read many, many more books, I feel they could have been written better.  But Stephanie Meyer was a first time writer at that point and even if they were not written as well as others out there, they sold like crazy so it really doesn’t matter.  A decade later, I am pleased to say Meyer’s writing has greatly improved.  I found The Chemist an overall improvement.  At times it did seem to drag a smidge and it could probably stand to cut close to a hundred pages and make the story flow better.  If you were to take out some of the unnecessary fluff, it would be a top notch thriller.  With that being said, I did enjoy this much more than anticipated.  The tension at the end, where it mattered most was delivered beautifully.  These characters had some real spunk to them.  The main character did get a bit confusing at times with the name changes but wasn’t too difficult to follow.  If this is an avenue that Meyer plans to continue writing down I see a bright future for her and an audience ready to read whatever she puts on the shelf.

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Author: Ronie Kendig

Series: The Tox Files #0.5

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

All the action of Kendig’s signature military thrillers combined with a little suspense and mystery as well as the likes of Indiana Jones thrown in the mix makes this an upcoming must read series!

Cole “Tox” Russell is a Special Forces operative and is used to being in tight spots full of danger. None of his previous missions will be anything like the one he now faces: a plague taking over villages, an ancient artifact has been stolen, and the president of the United States kidnapped!  Tox and his team are sent to find and rescue the president and keep the plague from spreading.  Before they are able to make much progress, they are sidelined when the toxin starts affecting the team.  The only ones who know anything about this toxin have now been taken.  Tox and the team will have to face their toughest challenges to try and save them all.

As the introduction novella to the new series, The Tox Files, Kendig has started things with a bang.  The intensity here starts on page one and doesn’t let up till the very end leaving things open for the first full book in the series. I have just recently gotten into Ronie Kendig books and am finding that I enjoy them more as I read them.  There was a lot of back and forth dialogue between Tox and his military men as well as Tziva and the archeologist dealing with the missing artifact and the danger it poses with the virus it releases.  Fortunately, being a novella didn’t give the action a chance to lighten up any making it an extremely fast read and very enjoyable.  Kendig has made a name for herself in the Christian writing world with her fast paced military thrillers and this will surely make the list of to be read.  I recommend this to all that enjoy a fast paced thriller with some fun archeological elements mixed in.

Author: Lee Child

Series: Jack Reacher #21

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: November 7, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Ever wonder about Jack Reacher’s military days? Find out in this exciting new book.

It’s 1996 and Jack Reacher is still in the army, finding bad guys and righting wrongs. He has just gotten another medal, but before he has any time to celebrate the army sends him back to school.  Not a normal school, he is now off the grid.  He is paired with an FBI agent and a CIA analyst, each a specialist in their own right and all wondering what they are going to have to do.  It doesn’t take long for them to get their orders.  A Jihadist sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany, has a visit from a Saudi courier needing a safe place to stay.  Inside the cell is an undercover CIA agent that overhears the courier send a message, “The American wants a hundred million dollars.”  More questions are raised and it is up to Reacher and his team to find the answers.

This is the 21^st Jack Reacher novel out and it is sure to be another hit.  This is only my second Reacher book to read but that wasn’t a problem since this one is set in 1996 and doesn’t follow the story line of the previous in the series.  While it is still Jack Reacher, it is a little less of the Jack you might have grown to love.  He doesn’t have some of the same methods and mannerisms readers have grown accustomed to over the years.  Several times throughout the story Child goes into Reacher’s size and how big he is.  With the newest movie coming out, fans are probably associating Reacher with Tom Cruise, who does make a good Reacher even though he is much shorter than described in the novels.  I read through it quickly and enjoyed the story for the most parts.  There was a lot of sitting and talking where I would have preferred more action and tenser scenes. This was especially prevalent in the last few chapters.  The problems were all solved but it wasn’t as heated of a moment as I thought it could have been.  You have to remember while reading this that it is set in 1996, no super computers and internet to make finding information at the drop of a hat easy.

I have pretty high standards for what I rate as top of the line reads, with that being said I wouldn’t rate this as a top read but it was still very good. Fans of the Reacher series will still enjoy this book and the characters they have grown to love.  This isn’t suitable for young readers with a few sex scenes and a few instances of language.

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

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