Steal Away, by Linda Hall (Multnomah, 2003)
Steal Away is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Private Investigator Teri Blake-Addison, a vibrant former cop who has recently returned to the Christian faith. Teri is an interesting character in her own right, struggling to balance her independent career within her new role as the wife of a university English professor.
In this story, she is approached by a well-known evangelist to discover the truth about the sailing accident that killed his wife, Ellen, and two of Ellen’s friends five years earlier. The boat—and Ellen’s body—was never found. Teri’s investigations take her to coastal Maine, and to St. Andrews and Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick.
This complex mystery is filled with real people and their real struggles. Readers can nod and say, “Yeah, I know someone just like that.”
As always, Linda Hall writes with an honest and unvarnished view of life and faith. The book deals with choices, redemption, betrayal and mercy, as well as with some of the stumbling-blocks that can cause people to “go off church.” It’s hard to put it down once you’ve started reading. But when you’re finished, it would be a good book to share with a friend—Christian or non.
Steal Away was originally published in 2003 but is now available in audio book format, narrated by Kirsten Potter, at Audible.com and through iTunes.
Linda Hall currently writes romantic suspense for the Love Inspired line, and her next release with them is Storm Warning (January 2010). She’s also the author of a number of stand-alone suspense novels, including Sadie’s Song, Dark Water and Black Ice.Each of her novels delivers the memorable characters and struggles that we’ve come to expect from this award-winning Canadian author.
You can learn more about Linda at her website. She also contributes to multiple blogs and maintains a Facebook fan page. Read the prologue of Steal Away here.