"Dark Deception" by Nancy Mehl

Dark Deception (June 6, 2017) by Nancy Mehl.*

In fictional Shelter Cove, Arkansas, Emily Lockhart has been running the Shelter Café diner. Her cook, Bella, is probably the closest person to a friend she has in the small town, though Bobby Wade – who runs the fishing resort – and Sheriff’s Deputy Warren Killian are good to look out for her. It’s unfortunate that she can’t share with them her deepest secret. That her name is not Emily Lockhart, but Kate O’Brien. Her twin sister was brutally murdered six years ago, and she almost died, too. Kate has felt safe in Shelter Cove until the day Tony DeLuca, the Deputy U.S. Marshal who protected her in the original trial, arrives in her small town with the devastating news that the man convicted of murdering her sister might’ve been wrongly convicted. And because of that doubt, he might go free, which is why she’s been subpoenaed to testify.

            Since Kate thinks she’s put the past behind her, she doesn’t want to delve into those dark, scary memories. But it may be that she didn’t really give herself time to process and grieve. Seeing Tony doesn’t help, either. She loved him all those years ago, but she chalked it up to her youth and the situation she was in. And with Tony seven years her senior, he can’t see her as more than a kid, right? But before a relationship can be pursued, they’ve both got to survive first, because Kate isn’t the only one threatened.

            Sometimes the past comes back to haunt us and getting through it takes more inner strength and faith than Kate knew she had. As she struggles with her faith, she realizes that, “No matter what happened in life, God’s love and grace were constant.” Lines like those – like little “Aha!” moments – send a message without being preachy. Mehl’s story takes off running, and while it slows down in spots during the novel, it generally keeps up the pace. I’m almost always up for a suspense novel, though it seems to me that considering it romantic is a bit of a stretch. Budding romance, sure, but nothing beyond that. Love is always rather tentative in such stories of late, which is fine by me, as I’m looking toward the suspense of the novel, not the dewy eyes and nervous butterflies. I thought the main antagonists were strong. However, I feel as though we could’ve known more about Tony and Kate, but they were still likable main characters. I didn’t like this story better than the first one in the Defenders of Justice series, but it’s still one I’m glad to have picked up.

            Book One: Fatal Frost

* 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.”

"Fatal Frost" by Nancy Mehl

Fatal Frost (Nov. 1, 2016) by Nancy Mehl.*

Although her father was mostly absent during her growing up years, U.S. Marshal Mercy Brennan still followed in his law enforcement footsteps. Her father’s recent reappearance in St. Louis (STL) has put Mercy in the sights of STL’s most powerful gang, and this puts her in danger enough that could end her career. Or worse, her life. Because of these very valid concerns, Mercy’s boss assigns Deputy U.S. Marshal Mark St. Laurent – Mercy’s ex-boyfriend – and the St. Louis PD allows her best friend, Lieutenant Tally Williams, to provide protection for her. She does not know the true story, but when they are stranded in a remote, unknown location during a blizzard/ice storm, the seriousness of their situation becomes crystal clear. They have not reached their destination of Piedmont, MO, and they have no way to contact their bosses with communications down. Mother Nature and the potential enemy lurking nearby (maybe in that barn over there) puts everyone in significant danger. How do you find someone when you don’t know where they are?

            A remote location, danger in the storm and bad guys stir the pot to brew up this suspenseful, inspirational fiction caper. This story throws you right into the action from the first chapter and keeps going. I could do without the romantic plight, but that is trivial. The tension can be gripping, and you root for Mercy, the strong female lead who’s so good at hiding her emotions, but that you can also tell struggles, especially with her faith. Like all of us, she has room to grow, and Mehl displays that, while balancing Mercy’s obvious strength and independence. This romantic suspense series is one I wouldn’t mind following as this literary journey continues beyond this first story in her ‘Defenders of Justice’ series.

* 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.”

"Rising Darkness" by Nancy Mehl

Rising Darkness (Nov. 3, 2015) by Nancy Mehl.*

Armed with a potential lead from a man she knew from her old life, Sophie Wittenbauer a.k.a. Sophie Bauer a.k.a. Emily McClure heads to the small town of Sanctuary, Missouri. She’s trying to track down a suspect connected to a decades-old unsolved crime in which people were slain and a great sum of money was stolen. She envisions finding Terrance Chase and solving the crime, thus catapulting her to fame in the world of investigative reporting. She wants all of the families affected to have closure as well, but somehow that seems second to the fame. An afterthought, almost.

            Sanctuary is a town reminiscent of Kingdom (a primarily Mennonite town), where she grew up, and a place which she vowed never to return. Her past there is threaded with darkness and despair. It’s a place to be forgotten. There are kind memories of good people, but they are sporadic to surface. One such face, Jonathon Wiese, is the one person she loved, though she can’t picture him ever having seen her as more than a broken person to be fixed. On the contrary, Jonathon has prayed about Sophie and thought of her often over the years. Fortuitously, he is even in Sanctuary, in good standing as the pastor of the other church in town. And there is something about Emily that reminds him of Sophie …

            With the permission of Sanctuary’s Mennonite pastor, Pastor Troyer, Emily gains access to the town’s records of new arrivals, moves and deaths. She’s researching all of that under the guise of learning her family history, with her crafted story of having recently learned her mother was adopted. Her hostess, Esther Lapp, knew Emily’s supposed ancestors well. Will she see through Emily’s deceit? As her research continues, threatening notes begin to arrive. Who’s onto her? How far will someone go to make sure she doesn’t uncover the truth?

            As much as I enjoy historical Christian fiction, it was a nice change to read present-day Christian fiction. I’m a fan of suspense, and I was not disappointed with “Rising Darkness.” My first story from this author, I found it to be well-written and actually quite remarkable. Mehl has a lovely way with words. Many parts of her story jump out, but here’s my favorite: “Look at God as your sunscreen. When you’re healthy, you’ll go outside again. But this time, you’ll have a covering. The grace, love, and protection of God” (p. 268). The ending did not turn out totally as I would have expected, which I thought was terrific. The characters are distinct, and I appreciated that Sophie wasn’t all patience and pearls; she had a troubled past and spends most of the story not wholly trusting God. She’s still got to find herself and the light on the path, which is something most, if not all, of us must do at some point in our lives.

* 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.”