Tag Archives: suspense

Review: Peril, by Suzanne Hartmann

Cover art: Peril, by Suzanne HartmannPeril, by Suzanne Hartmann (OakTara Publishers, 2011)

Danger, intrigue, faith and racing… what’s not to like? Lady Anne is a private bodyguard, medically enhanced to possess super-human strength and speed. Her security, and that of her family, comes from utter secrecy. If terrorists or foreign powers discovered her abilities and tracked her location, how far would they go to learn how to create an army just like her?

Lady Anne operates in the shadows until a high-profile assignment to guard a foreign diplomat exposes her to the world. That’s also when she meets Stuart Jackson, champion NASCAR driver.

Stuart and Lady Anne meet a few times, and he can’t stop thinking about her. Eventually he plots to meet her through her friend Joanne.

Stuart also can’t stop thinking about how empty he feels despite his successful life. His growing relationship with Joanne and her husband, Neil, lets him work through his questions and find his way to faith.

I enjoyed the racing aspects, although I confess I was hoping for some behind-the-wheel scenes. Instead we stick with the characters touring the grounds and watching the cars on-track. The author includes enough detail to make it feel real and to orient readers with no NASCAR background, but it’s not over-done. Non-racing fans can still enjoy the book.

I also appreciated the way Peril isn’t told as a romance. Stuart is attracted to Lady Anne, but she’s in a committed relationship. Although she feels a pull to him, she’s committed to her faith and her family. It adds an extra dimension to the story.

Author Suzanne Hartmann writes “fiction with a twist.” Click here to read an excerpt from Peril and to learn more about the author and her other work. Book 2 in the Fast Track Thrillers series, Conspiracy, is now available.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Lee Brandt from On the Pineapple Express

Today we meet Lee Brandt, one of the characters from H. L. Wegley‘s suspense novel, On the Pineapple Express.

Janet: Welcome, Lee, and thanks for taking time to join us. I’m writing these questions before reading your story, so forgive me if I blunder over something that should be obvious. This way I can’t accidentally toss out a spoiler. Let’s start with the basics: tell us what you look like, and what you do for a living.

Lee: Here’s a picture of me. Photo of Lee BrandtI’ve never been very good at descriptions. Jenn says my eyes usually have an intense look … except when I’m teasing her. That’s what tells her I’m not serious. But you asked about my work. I recently jumped ship from computer systems development back to Meteorology, my first career. I’m a partner in a weather consulting firm doing specialized weather forecasting for our clients.

Janet: I understand you’re engaged—and that you met your fiancée through a cyber investigation. Could you tell us a bit about that? And is it true she’s brilliant? How easy is that to live with?

Lee: Jennifer? Yeah, she’s brilliant. Has an IQ a few points above Einstein, so you don’t want to challenge her to a game of chess … or to a deadly game of wits. She’s an Internet forensics specialist. If you’re a bad dude collaborating on the net, she can find you, all your partners, and what you’re up to. Our mentor, Howie, uh, Dr. Martin, sent her to help me with a computer security problem and her probing into a cyber espionage plot nearly got us killed. That’s how I got to know her. And, as long as you’re completely honest with Jennifer, believe it or not she’s easy to live, even for someone like me, a man from the dregs of the genius barrel.

Janet: I also hear Jennifer is good with a gun. That’s not something I expect of a computer genius. How about you, Lee? What’s your comfort level with danger?

Lee: When you’re small, young looking, and beautiful, like Jenn, you sometimes attract men you’d rather not have around. One of those types stalked her and he had some really bad intentions. He’s behind bars now and walks with a permanent limp. She hits what she aims at. But danger … when I accept it on my terms, I can live with a little danger. However, when it comes at you unexpectedly, and threatens someone you love, I can get a little crazy if I don’t get on my knees first. Even after I do, I can still get a little crazy. Jenn can vouch for that.

Janet: On the Pineapple Express is the second time you and Jennifer have faced death together. Has it been easy working with such a strong-willed and perhaps impetuous woman?

Lee: Strong-willed. Yeah, that’s Jennifer if she knows she’s right. But she only seems impetuous. By the time my mind catches up to what she’s thinking, she’s already thought it through and made a decision, a carefully weighed decision. We both have strengths such that we complement each other. Together, we make an awesome team. At least I think so.

Janet: Is it true you’re also a man of prayer? How does that play out in your life?

Lee: Prayer, 10 years of it, brought me a soul mate after I had given up on finding anyone. God does things right, doesn’t He? He allowed me to introduce Jennifer to Himself. I’ve been privileged to do that with some other people too. I’m something of a self-taught apologist who enjoys answering questions like, if God exists, how can He be good when He allows so much evil in the world? That’s one agnostics like to throw at me. Or, how can you believe all those myths and legends about Jesus? Sorry. I got a little carried away. But, as you can see, I’m pretty good at apology. J

Janet: Your first story was Hide and Seek, but there’s even more at stake this time: the lives of those girls about to be sold into slavery. If I’ve got this right, Jennifer found out about this operation but the FBI say there’s not enough to go on—so you and she are going to take on a human trafficking ring by yourselves?

Lee: Take on the ring by ourselves. It sounds a little crazy when you word it like that, but taking on heavily armed traffickers wasn’t our intent. Jennifer believed that the holding location was an abandoned mill on the Olympic Peninsula, but the Peninsula is dotted with old mill sites. We did some research to locate sawmills and simply wanted to find a site with some squatters living on it, then sic the Feds on them. But the storm got in the way, isolating us. If the girls were going to be saved, our options for doing so were reduced to only one or two, and they didn’t include FBI support.

Janet: Where do you have to go to rescue them? And is it true there’s a major storm heading that way?

Lee: The old mill sites are strung out along the coastal road, Highway 101, on the outer Olympic Peninsula. A beautiful place when the sun is shining. Using satellite pictures, we found 5 candidate sites that we planned to visit … very cautiously. The Pineapple Express, the heavy rainstorm, presented some problems, mainly flooding. But the greatest danger came from a windstorm forming near the coastline. This storm didn’t move in. It developed in something called explosive cyclogenesis. It’s unusual in the Pacific Northwest and, by the time the computer models picked it up, we had barely 24-hours advance warning about the hurricane-strength winds.

Janet: How likely is it you’ll pull this off?

Lee: Twenty-four hours notice still gave us time to visit all 5 mill sites. The odds were in our favour. But then we encountered several delays, and the clock became a major factor in what had become a deadly game. Jennifer’s certainty about God wanting her to find the girls was the only thing that kept us in a game, a game where our odds of winning had become long.

Janet: What scares you more than anything?

Lee: What scares me to death is that Jennifer might try to sacrifice her life for mine in the hope that I would survive to contact the authorities so they could stop the sale of the girls. If I lost her after waiting 10 years for someone like her to come along … I can’t let my mind go there.

Janet: If you could say one thing to H. L. Wegley, what would it be?

Lee: Good old H. L… Janet, you did know that he and I have similar resumes, right? And the stuff I did in Hide and Seek, much of it he did years ago, but he swore me to secrecy on the details. What would I say to him? Probably this—H. L., I can never thank you enough for bringing me Jennifer. But if you put us in one more predicament like this, I’m going to pray that you get the worst case of writer’s block you’ve ever had—maybe a permanent case.

Janet: I hear you! If you and Jennifer survive this crisis, do you hope life settles down, or are you developing a taste for adventure?

Lee: Taste for adventure? You’ve got to be kidding! I want to marry Jenn and go on a long honeymoon in Maui where nothing bad ever happens. Walk barefoot in the sand on Keawakapu Beach, watching the Moon over Maalaea Bay.

Janet: Describe your idea of a perfect day.

Lee: I can see the perfect day now. Jenn and I pull our snorkelling gear on in the morning sun on Maui’s Ulua Beach and then plunge into 80-degree water, where brilliantly colored tropical fish swarm around us while we swim hand-in-hand above a coral reef in one of the most beautiful settings in all of creation.

Janet: Thanks for chatting, Lee. And I hope you and Jennifer can rescue those girls and save your own lives too—and enjoy a beautiful, safe time in Maalaea Bay, although I have a suspicion it won’t be as calm as you’d like.

===

Author H.L. Wegley

For more about the author and the Pure Genius series, visit H.L. Wegley’s website.

H. L. Wegley has a related post, “Fear, Courage and Foolishness” at Inner Source, and you can read interviews with Jennifer Akihara at Ralene Burke’s site and Fay Lamb’s site. You can read my review of On the Pineapple Express here.

 

On The Pineapple Express, by H L Wegley

On the Pineapple Express, by H.L. Wegley

In one of the most beautiful places on earth the ugliest of crimes holds young, innocent lives in its evil grip. An intercepted cell-phone call from a remote area on the Olympic Peninsula tells beautiful, brilliant NSA researcher, Jennifer Akihara, a group of girls will soon be sold into slavery by human traffickers. She enlists her fiancé, Lee Brandt, to help find the holding location and convince the FBI to intervene. With the clock ticking off the last few hours before both the sale of the girls and the arrival of a deadly storm, and with international criminals pursuing them, can Jennifer and Lee save the girls, or will their wedding plans be cancelled … permanently?

Review: Sidetracked, by Brandilyn Collins

Sidetracked, by Brandilyn CollinsSidetracked, by Brandilyn Collins (Challow Press, 2014)

Life looks like it’s finally coming together for 30-something Delanie Miller. She’s living in a nice Kentucky town, she has friends and her boyfriend is giving signals that he’s ready to propose. With no family of her own, Delanie has assembled one by inviting a few other loners to share her home.

When a friend is murdered, Delanie has to find the truth—or an innocent man will go to jail. That’s something she absolutely can’t allow. Even if it destroys the life she’s worked so hard to build.

Sidetracked is two stories in one: Delanie’s fight to find her friend’s killer, and the events that shattered her teen years and brought her to this place, alone. Both plot threads find closure at the end.

Delanie and her housemates are engaging and quirky. I took a special liking to Pete, the older man who appoints himself as a surrogate grandfather. He spent his working life as a train engineer and he overflows with interesting anecdotes.

I always enjoy Brandilyn Collins’ suspense novels, with strong characters and fast-paced plots. I’ve read enough of them now to know I can trust this author to deliver a crackling tale that’s realistic but that won’t traumatize me. This one jumped to the top of my reading list when I bought it, and it’s a great read.

Favourite lines:

Some say memory blurs when you’re shocked beyond belief. Not mine. I still remember every detail of that moment. Kindle location 140

Evidence was a fluid word, manufactured in a suspicious cop’s mind, packaged by a skillful attorney in court. Kindle location 478

Sidetracked is award-winning author Brandilyn Collins‘ newest Seatbelt Suspense® novel. Visit the author’s website to learn more about Brandilyn Collins and her other books. For more about Sidetracked, visit the book’s page, where you can read chapter 1.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

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Review: Stella’s Plea, by R A Giggie

Stella's Plea, by R A GiggieStella’s Plea, by R A Giggie (Amazon Digital Services, 2012)

A Canadian Forces wife whose husband is deployed overseas, Stella Brigg’s life wraps around their three-year-old daughter, Alexis.

One clear autumn day, the unthinkable happens. Alexis disappears from the local playground, with no witnesses.

Stella had only turned her back for a minute, but now she’s full of self-reproach—and full of blame for her friend, Joni, who suggested the park play date.

Alexis has no fear of strangers, which helped her kidnapper get away. At age two, a bout with meningitis left the little girl unable to speak or to hear. Alexis is used to strangers from her time in the hospital, and she and her family are still learning to communicate through sign language.

I’m a total wimp about reading about crimes against children, but author R. A. Giggie handles this story so well that I was never afraid to turn the page. It helps that we see Alexis with her captor, a young woman hired to provide a child for a black market adoption.

So many times in the story, the searchers’ paths cross—or just miss—the kidnapper’s as she moves Alexis from one location to another. Alone and desperate, Stella senses God whispering “trust Me.” But how can she trust the one who allowed her daughter to go deaf?

Kind citizens, Christian and non, reach out to Stella, but the only help she wants is to have her daughter home again. Stella’s Plea touches a parent’s worst nightmare, but gently, in a way that tugs the heart but won’t keep you awake all night worrying.

Author R. A. Giggie blogs at reneeanngiggie.com, and you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: On the Pineapple Express, by H. L. Wegley

On The Pineapple Express, by H L WegleyOn the Pineapple Express, by H. L. Wegley (Harbourlight Books, Pelican Book Group, 2014)

You’d think monitoring messages in a rural part of coastal Washington State would be safe, even boring. But Jennifer Akihara has intercepted a coded message about a human trafficking ring selling teen girls—or younger—from the US to offshore bidders. She has to act. Now.

Jennifer’s contact with the FBI needs more proof before he can mobilize a team. That makes Jennifer and her fiancé, Lee Brandt, the team on the ground.

Jennifer and Lee have survived what they hoped was a once in a lifetime brush with death in book 1 of this series, Hide and Seek. They’re smart (she’s brilliant), brave, and they know whatever happens, God is with them.

But will that be enough to save these young girls? Especially the one Jennifer can hear crying in her mind?

With time running out, and a killer storm moving in, Jennifer and Lee take some crazy risks to find the traffickers’ hideout.

Human trafficking is one of those hard-to-read-about subjects, but H. L. Wegley delivers a story even teens could read without scarring themselves. It helps that the buyers want these girls “unspoiled.” And readers don’t see inside the girls’ heads, although we’re told that one of them hanged herself with her own shoelaces rather than face what their captors had planned.

On the Pineapple Express is a fast-moving, adrenaline-laced adventure, clean and gripping. The banter between Jennifer and Lee provides breaks in the tension, but not for long. It’s also a story with some surprising, heart-warming moments.

Favourite quotes:

If he [Lee] believed in luck, his would have been all used up by now. But a good and gracious God transcended that thing called luck. Kindle Location 520

The wind volume cranked up several decibels, sounding like a crowd of demons rooting for the devil. Kindle Location 1674

Author H. L. Wegley is a former meteorologist, and his weather knowledge lets him write detailed storm scenes. You can learn more about Mr. Wegley and his writing at his website. On the Pineapple Express is book 2 in the Pure Genius series. Book 3, Moon over Maalaea Bay, releases June 2014, with book 4, Triple Threat, slated for Fall 2014.

[Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.]

Review: The Devil Walks in Mattingly, by Billy Coffey

The Devil Walks in Mattingly, by Billy CoffeyThe Devil Walks in Mattingly, by Billy Coffey (Thomas Nelson, 2014)

Jake and his wife, Kate, live under long-held regrets centering around one of their high school classmates, Phillip. Phillip’s death 20 years ago was ruled a suicide, but Jake and Kate each believe they killed him.

Jake is sheriff of the small mountain town of Mattingly, VA. He took the job because he’s desperate for peace, not because he’s strong like his father was. When violence rocks his town, Jake is out of his depth.

Characters like Jake and Kate feel real yet a touch distant, as if we’re peering into another world. Others like the hermit Taylor, are even more distant yet eerily believable. This separation may be due in part to the multiple points of view (each one expertly rendered) and to the switch from third person to first for Jake’s viewpoint. It’s probably a good thing, too, because it lets us read without being overwhelmed by the characters’ pain.

Billy Coffey’s writing impressed me from the start. The novel has a haunting, lyrical feel, and I understand why one reviewer called the author a minstrel. This is not my type of story, but I found much to appreciate in its pages. It’s deeper, introspective, literary. A slow read, not a race.

The title says “horror” to me, but the devil in question is the sins of the townsfolk. It’s eerie and supernatural, but definitely not the “screamfest” type of horror.

The Devil Walks in Mattingly digs into those regrets we all hold, big or small, and reminds us that although we can never undo the past or earn a pardon, there is forgiveness and grace if we’ll stop holding onto the past.

Favourite lines:

Jake: “I came into this world pure and unblemished, but I will leave it bearing all of my scars. My comfort rests in a grace that will mold those scars into the jewels of my crown.” p. 3

Narrator: “Few people knew of Charlie Givens. Those who did agreed that not only was he born to trouble, but the sole purpose of his head was to keep rain out of his neck.” p. 26

Jake: “It’s our desire to be left alone that causes evil to flourish in this world.” p. 187

Jake: “None of us can write a new beginning to our story. All we can do is start a new end.” p. 328

You can learn about Billy Coffey and his writing on his website, and if you sign up for his newsletter you’ll receive the opening chapters of The Devil Walks in Mattingly for free. You can read a shorter sample on the publisher’s website. The Devil Walks in Mattingly takes place four years before one of Mr. Coffey’s previous novels, When Mockingbirds Sing.

[A review copy was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.]

Review: Riptide, by Eric E. Wright

Riptide, by Eric E. Wright (Harbourlight Books, 2014)Riptide, by Eric E. Wright

Vacationing on St. Simon’s Island to revive their marriage, Ashlyn and her husband, Craig, are in church when he hands her an envelope of divorce papers and walks out of her life. Betrayed and bewildered, Ashlynn soon finds out it’s worse than she thinks. The FBI has frozen her and Craig’s assets and seized their house in an investigation into Craig’s alleged money-laundering.

Ashlynn is a respected marriage counsellor. How can she face her clients? Craig is a deacon in their church. How could he have an affair, let alone commit a crime like this?

She can’t even ask him, because he’s disappeared with his attractive female co-worker. Leaving Ashlynn to fend off FBI agents and the Russian Mafia, who claim Craig lost their money. Naturally, they want it back.

Riptide is an engaging story of one woman who discovers inner strength and deeper empathy for the people in situations she’s only addressed professionally in the past. She also learns to trust good friends instead of relying solely on herself. Most of these friends are new, people who reach out to her in her pain on the island: Remy, captain of a shrimp boat; Lottie-Jean from the restaurant where Ashlynn takes temporary work; Valerie from the local church.

The counsellor part of Ashlynn observes her reactions to Craig’s desertion. If she goes back to her clients, she’ll have a greater insight into their pain.

Remy, who fancies himself a “knight in blue jeans” appoints himself her protector—from car repossessors and from the Mafia goons when they find her. Ashlynn can’t trust her feelings toward him. Even though Craig won’t consider reconciling, shouldn’t she keep trying? And is she really drawn to Remy, or is she just rebounding from Craig?

Riptide is a suspense novel, but the danger isn’t overt until far into the story. Until it escalates, readers develop a strong sympathy for Ashlynn as she spars with the FBI agents and dives into a busy waitressing job with no experience.

Eric Wright brings St. Simons Island to life and gives us a look at shrimp fishing and storms at sea. Once the action starts for Ashlynn, it doesn’t stop. Don’t plan to put the book down unfinished.

Eric E. Wright is the author of suspense novels, non-fiction books about country life, and books on theology. Visit him at The Country Window to learn more about the author and his work, and follow this link to read chapter 1 of Riptide.

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Review: Shadows of the Past, by Patricia Bradley

Shadows of the Past, by Patricia BradleyShadows of the Past, by Patricia Bradley (Revell, 2014)

Taylor Martin’s criminal profiling skills have solved some high-profile crimes. Now someone is stalking her: sending photos and gifts. She suspects a former student, Scott Sinclair, who has dropped out of sight.

Suspense novelist Nick Sinclair, Scott’s brother, hasn’t seen him in years. He’s hoping the local police can help find Scott so they can reconcile. Nick and Taylor both want to find Scott, but can they work together when one believes him innocent and the other guilty?

There’s so much going on in this story, but nothing gets in the way. It flows like real life, with the information we need trickling in as needed. No information dumping, no slowing the pace to explain. Patricia Bradley weaves every nuance and detail together into a delightful read.

Taylor and Nick have fully-developed personalities and histories, each with a lot of pain. Taylor’s fiancé dumped her for another woman. Nick’s wife was murdered. Nick’s mother walked out when he was a child. So did Taylor’s dad, except he didn’t say goodbye.

In the midst of trying to find her stalker before the danger escalates, Taylor is dealing with nightmares from her father’s desertion. Her family refuses to talk about it, but she’s determined this time to find some answers.

Even the secondary characters are lifelike. Taylor dreads going home to her family in Logan Point because of the undercurrents and barriers, yet when she has to go, we discover they’re not the stereotypical dysfunctional family we expect. They’re individuals with hurts and attitudes, but they’re a family who care for one another.

My favourite line: Taylor phones her friend, Livy, to say she’s meeting Nick to discuss the case—at a blues restaurant. Livy’s response?

“Very romantic.” Taylor could imagine Livy’s eyebrows doing a Groucho Marx. (p. 151)

Shadows of the Past is book 1 in the Logan Point series, and I’m happy to know there are more to come. Book 2, A Promise to Protect, releases November 2014. Suspense lovers will want to be in on this series from the beginning.

For more about author Patricia Bradley, visit her website, “where love and faith cross paths with murder” and also check out her guest post on surviving the long road to publication at The Over 50 Writer. (Leave a comment there, and you might win a copy of the novel.) Or if you’ve already read the book, check out her discussion questions for Shadows of the Past.

[Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]

Carol Daniels, Heroine

If you called Carol a hero, she’d laugh. One of her friends calls her a survivor, and she’s not even sure how to take that. Sure, she’s taken a lot of pain and she’s still standing, but for how much longer?

Carol’s a single mom, starting over in Toronto after some anonymous creep threatened her son, Paul. She didn’t tell Paul that’s why they left Calgary—why she dyed her dark hair honey ash and cut it short, why she started wearing glasses with non-corrective lenses. Why she’s so “controlling,” to use his word for it.

Paul is sixteen and pushing the limits she sets. He’s a good kid, does well enough in school, but she can’t stop worrying that he’ll end up like his father: a loser musician who loved the spotlight—and the female fans—more than he loved his wife and sons.

I say “sons” because Carol and Skip had two, after she miscarried a daughter as a teen. Carol would tell you life got easier once Skip died in a car wreck, but losing her other son nearly killed her. Keith was only twelve when he died of a drug overdose. If she hadn’t still had Paul to care for, and Keith’s dog, she’d never have kept her sanity.

No wonder a threat on Paul’s life sent her fleeing half-way across the country.

Why would someone threaten an innocent teen? Technically, the guy threatened them both, but he did suggest that her son was an easier target. As for why? Carol has a brother who’s a dangerous offender: Harry Silver. You may have read about him in Heaven’s Prey. Harry’s enemies can’t touch him directly, but his family are walking around unprotected.

That’s what the note said, and that’s why Carol and Paul relocated with no forwarding address.

These days Carol works at the Sticky Fingers Café, baking desserts and waiting tables. She’s trying to keep anonymous in this new city, and outside of work she hasn’t met many people. Is it sad that speed dial #1 on her phone is the late-night deejay on the local oldies station? And #2 is a friend in Calgary?

Carol loves to bake, especially with chocolate. When the nightmares wake her, she’ll often whip up a pan of brownies or a batch of cookies. She’ll make herself a cup of tea—peppermint is her favourite—and ask for a Billy Joel song on the all-request oldies show. The deejay, Joey, is easy to talk to. And he doesn’t know who—or where—she is, so she’s safe.

What else do I need to tell you about Carol? She’s not as safe as she thinks she is. What’s coming is more than she can handle on her own. And she’s determined not to pray for help, not after what happened the last time she tried prayer.

Blog hop for writers

You can meet Carol, Paul, Joey and a few others this November in Secrets and Lies, Redemption’s Edge Book 2.

Today’s introduction is part of Ruth Snyder‘s biweekly writers’ blog hop series, the assignment being “a character sketch of your hero.” To see the other posts in this thread, click on the blog hop image.

Letting Christ Shine In You At Christmas (Guest Post)

Letting Christ Shine In You At Christmas
by Nike Chillemi

Nike Chillemi

Nike Chillemi

The Christmas season can get kinda funny when I start thinking about God’s will and plan for me. That’s true even though I dearly desire for God’s priorities to be my priorities.

Right after Thanksgiving, if not before, I’m in the Christmas spirit. Things seem a little lighter, a little brighter. You don’t have to be a believer to feel this. Lots of individuals who do not classify themselves as Christians have moments during the Christmas season when they get all warm and fuzzy inside and they can’t put their finger on why. I think the light of Jesus coming into the world as a tiny baby in a manger simply has that effect on people. As a writer, I love a good story and this story warms us inside.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. [Gospel of Luke: 7-11 ~ KJV]

On the other hand, my schedule is so full during this time of year that even though I’m all wrapped up in holiday goings on, I can forget the reason for the season, as they say. Then I have to remind myself to slow down and let Christ shine through me. To do this, I’ve got to push aside the decorating, the cooking, the menu planning, the Christmas card sending, and make sure I’m connected to God, listening to Him, letting him direct the show.

But God will have His way and very often at Christmas He presents to me somebody with a great need, somebody who’s lonely… and I will welcome that person as a friend, include them at my Christmas dinner table, and/or get them a gift.

In my 1940s Christmas novel GOODBYE NOEL, pediatric nurse Katrina Lenart has been asked by the local police chief to care for an infant whose mother has been found murdered in front of a decorated Christmas tree. Katrina soon falls in love with the baby and we see Christ’s love shine through her as she sets her mind and will to protect this child from a heinous killer. At one point, Katrina risks her own life to save the infant from a kidnapping. I loved writing this Christmas story and particularly enjoyed crafting Katrina, whose faith grows and deepens as the novel goes forward through all the twists and turns of a murder mystery novel.

Goodbye Noel, by Nike Chillemi

Purchase Links:

Amazon/Kindle, Christianbooks.com

Author Bio:

Like so many writers, Nike Chillemi started writing at a very young age. She still has the Crayola, fully illustrated book she penned (penciled might be more accurate) as a little girl about her then off-the-chart love of horses. Today, you might call her a crime fictionista. Her passion is crime fiction. She likes her bad guys really bad and her good guys smarter and better.

She is the founding board member of the Grace Awards and is its Chairman, a reader’s choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction. She writes book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine. She was an Inspy Awards 2010 judge in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category and a judge in the 2011 and 2012 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories. BURNING HEARTS, the first book in the crime wave that is sweeping the south shore of Long Island in The Sanctuary Point series, finaled in the Grace Awards 2011 in the Romance/Historical Romance category. GOODBYE NOEL, the second book in the series released in December, 2011 won the Grace Award 2011 in the Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller category. PERILOUS SHADOWS, third in the series released July, 2012, and DARKEST HOUR, the fourth in the series released in February, 2013.  She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers (Ning).