"Still Life" by Dani Pettrey

Still Life (Jan. 31, 2017) by Dani Pettrey.*

When one door closes, another opens. When Avery Tate was blacklisted in the photography world, she answered an ad for a crime-scene photographer and, much to her surprise, nabbed it. Crime-scene analyst Dr. Parker Mitchell changed her life and her heart, so she left his employ after only six months.

            Avery has returned to the photography world to support her childhood friend, Skylar Pierce, as she headlines an “it” photographer’s Black-Dahlia-esque showing. But Skylar doesn’t show up, and all Avery sees is a chilling photo that the photographer didn’t take featuring a friend who appears dead. With the photographer dramatically calling foul, the FBI is called in, and Special Agent Declan Grey arrives on scene, covering for the coworker who usually handles art theft. And Skylar calls Parker when she can’t find Skylar, and it’s obvious that someone has cased her trailer home. In the search for Skylar, one of their suspects has perverse interests and stalker tendencies. But is he a cold-blooded killer? Avery, Parker and their friends will have to solve that mystery and bring the solution into focus.

            With appealing protagonists, a complex plot, certain creatively eccentric (that’s putting it nicely) characters and a probable killer, this second inspirational romantic suspense fiction story in Pettrey’s Chesapeake Valor series is both harrowing and exciting. The story was fast-paced from the Prologue to the end. There was a sub-plot that didn’t entirely seem to fit, one involving Declan, but I’m guessing it is setting up the next story. Whether or not you’re a reader of inspirational novels, Pettrey’s stories are standouts if you enjoy suspense fiction. It’s a rollercoaster that drops you, takes you upside down and goes at high speeds, but also has moments like you might find in a Disney ride when you move calmly through nice, happy scenes … and then get dropped down a waterfall. When the next story is released, I’ll happily hop on that rollercoaster ride again!

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”