Rutabaga's Reads 2025: Part 4

Last fall, I had a library patron ask aloud and disparagingly, “Who reads these books?” The books in question were these types: Christian/inspirational fiction. He was, specifically, poking fun at Amish fiction. I, confidently, because why wouldn’t I be confident in my own reading choices?, and forcefully replied, “I do.” “Really?” he asked. He was actually astonished.

            That’s a long-winded way for me to introduce my first Christian/inspirational fiction post of 2025. Do you read Christian/inspirational fiction? Why or why not?

Double Take (Jan. 9, 2024) by Lynette Eason.

<This is the first novel in a series.>

It’s been 18 months since Physician Assistant Lainie Jackson survived her would-be murder at the hands of her ex. She killed him in self-defense, she knows she did, but a man who looks like him (from a distance) is stalking her. Someone has gone to great lengths to make it look as though he was never deceased, and his parents and brother believe him to be in witness protection. Detective James Cross has worked with the Lake City Police Department for the past couple months, but he hasn’t told his family (parents, two brothers, Keegan and Dixon, and one sister, Steph). He was honorably discharged from the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division due to wounds sustained on active duty. When James rescues two young girls and takes a bullet, his family finds out he’s around when the story’s splashed on the local news. He’s been staying with his good friend and work partner, Cole Garrison, while he figures out his family dynamics. James has always known Lainie, she’s best friends with his sister, but it’s only recently that he’s recognized her as someone other than his little sister’s best friend. Lainie wants to look to the future, one with James in it. Unfortunately, Lainie believes she’s a quitter, but if she quits, she fails, and she’ll die.

            The first in the Lake City Heroes series hits the ground running from the first paragraph and only slows down enough to round a sharp bend on a mountain when your life is in danger. In other words, this high-octane, Christian romantic suspense novel never really slows down. Eason’s skill is such that she seamlessly balances suspense with care, laughter and faith. It’s faith that sustains, not faith that is preachy. The tale is gripping and swift-paced with protagonists you wish were your neighbors and friends.

Love on a Whim (May 7, 2024) by Suzanne Woods Fisher.

<This is the third and final novel in a series.>

Steady, level-headed Brynn Haywood is reeling after an impulsive marriage to a man named T.D. DeLima that she’d known less than 24 hours. She sneaks out while he’s still sleeping and flees to Chatham, Massachusetts, a Cape Cod seaside town. Her loyal best friend, Dawn Dixon Collins, thinks she needs to “fix” Brynn’s problem and find her a lawyer through her mom’s (Marnie Dixon) very good friend, Lincoln Hayes. Lincoln is preoccupied with his daughter’s lavish, over-the-top wedding that comes complete with repeat last-minute decisions from Lincoln’s ex-wife. To put it mildly, he wasn’t an involved parent. The arrival of Lincoln’s estranged son, Bear Hayes, further agitates the challenge-filled days leading up to the wedding. His automatic animosity toward the Dixons and his father’s generosity toward them generates friction. Then the wedding day arrives and Lincoln’s whereabouts are unknown.

            A matrimonial misadventure, a wedding with no spending threshold, individual wedding cakes and Dawn’s Double-Fold Vanilla Ice Cream mix together in this sweet, Christian contemporary romance novel and final in the Cape Cod Creamery series. It features friendship, faith and forgiveness with good humor folded in. Brynn may discover that her impulsive decision shows more resolve than she realizes she possesses, but it won’t be without upheaval. There’s a character that’s in the “dark corner of unforgiveness,” though, as another character states, “Apologies don’t have expiration dates.” This book is charming and is the right amount of sweet to fill the reader up. It’s a delightful ending to an ice-cream-filled series.

            Book One: The Sweet Life

            Book Two: The Secret to Happiness

One Wrong Move (Feb. 6, 2024) by Dani Pettrey.

<This is the first novel in a series.>

Two people forging different paths. A chain of heists that’s turned deadly. Taunting riddles. Andi (Miranda) Forester was once a brilliant FBI forensic analyst until she was set up, and her career was destroyed. She now channels her brilliance as an insurance investigator and encounters Christian O’Brady. He was immersed in a life of crime at a young age by his parents. He gained faith and walked away from his corrupt past to become a private investigator and security expert. The company Andi works for insures Tad’s galleries, and Christian’s the one who installed the security systems in each of the galleries. As the two work together to discover who’s behind the break-ins, they are targeted early on. But why would someone go to the trouble of leaving them riddles as they also try to kill them? Is there more than one entity at play, and they’re not on the same page? The notes are usually left in Andi’s name, save for one with Christian’s, so they also wonder which of them is the prime target. Meanwhile, Christian has convinced his brother, Deckard MacLeod, to take on Andi’s case and prove her innocence. Trouble is, Deckard is the one who ruined her career.

The first in the Jeopardy Falls series is a thrilling plunge at breakneck speeds featuring wholesome protagonists, murderous antagonists, intrigue, ever-present danger and faith with a dash of budding romances against a contemporary Southwest backdrop (Jeopardy Falls is a fictional town in New Mexico). The romance can be cringe (“He arched a sexy brow.”), but it passes quickly enough. I’d recommend any of Pettrey’s stories to readers familiar with Lynette Eason and to anyone who enjoys suspense novels that one knows will have a good outcome at the end.