June 2017

Threads of Suspicion

Evie Blackwell Cold Case #2

Dee Henderson

Romantic Suspense

WILL HER LATEST COLD CASE UNRAVEL BEFORE

JUSTICE IS SERVED?

Evie Blackwell's reputation as a top investigator for the Illinois State Police has landed her an appointment to the governor's Missing Persons Task Force. With so much public fanfare surrounding the launch of this elite investigative team, the political stakes are high, and the team will have to produce results--and quickly.

Evie and her new partner, David Marshal, are assigned to a pair of unrelated cases in suburban Chicago, and while both involve persons now missing for several years, the cases couldn't be more different. As Evie opens old wounds in a close-knit neighborhood over the disappearance of a college student, David searches for a private investigator whose last case involved a high-powered client.

With a deep conviction that "justice for all" truly matters, Evie and David are unrelenting in their search for the truth. But the questions that lie just beneath the surface in Evie's personal life are also begging for answers.

READ AN EXCERPT

My Thoughts

With this second Evie Blackwell Cold Case book I am even more enthralled with this new series. With the governor's Missing Persons Task Force up and running Evie finds herself in the outskirts of Chicago on her next case. This time around she has a new partner, David Marshal.

David and Evie have two completely different cases but use their skills to help each other out on their assigned missing person. We also get to catch up a little with some of the other members of the team as they pop in and out of the storyline.

I love a good mystery and that includes cozy mysteries. This series is definitely not cozy and does lean heavily towards suspense. Evie is very thoughtful and thorough in her approach to solving the mystery of the missing person. I enjoy reading about how she methodically plots out the case and then dives in to hunt down each piece seeing if it fits or not. Evie's new partner, David, takes a very different approach to solving his missing person case and it is fascinating to watch the two use their skills to help the other one out.

There's also a secondary ongoing storyline that involves Evie and her past. She's seriously involved with Rob, who is seemingly the perfect match for Evie, but something just won't let her commit. With this second book a bit more of her past is revealed so we get a bit more information on her commitment issues. I'm looking forward to future books to find out what all has happened to mold her into who she is.

If you like a story that builds in intensity right up to the very end you'll get it in Threads of Suspicion. I thought it was a fast read because the plot just kept uncovering more and more details that lead further and further down a sinister road. By the end I was reading and flipping pages as fast as I could. It was a completely satisfying read and I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment.

Other Reviews For This Author

Sins of the Past

Traces of Guilt

Connect With The Author

www.DeeHenderson.com

Facebook - Goodreads

The Sacrament of Happy:

What a Smiling God Brings to a Wounded World

Lisa Harper

Christian Living

Imagine hearing your physician tell you that chips and queso contain more nutritional benefits than kale and quinoa.

In her new book, The Sacrament of Happy: What a Smiling God Brings to a Wounded World, Lisa Harper unveils a similarly extravagant, unexpected surprise, declaring that happiness is a gift from God that we can unashamedly enjoy.

Wearing the twin hats of both seminarian and belly-laughing adoptive mom, Harper builds upon solid theological scaffolding for happiness in a warm, vignette style. She dismantles the old-school idea that joy, not happiness, is the truly spiritual emotion of the Christian family and asserts that Christ-followers are actually called to happiness . . . to such a deep conviction in the unmitigated goodness of our Creator-Redeemer that we are free to feel and express genuine joy, fulfillment and contentment, regardless of personal and global tumult.

Harper’s personal story includes such happiness killers as sexual abuse, the death of loved ones, and heartbreaking failed adoptions. Yet she writes on themes like:
“The lost sacrament of laughter”
“Happiness is not the absence of sadness”
“Tuning out the Pharisees who try to mute your happiness in the context of spiritual maturity”

This book goes well beneath most people’s surface understanding of happiness, gently guiding readers closer to the heart of God . . . with naturally a few genuine guffaws to enjoy along the way.

My Thoughts
In her newest book, The Sacrament of Happy, Lisa Harper reminds us that happiness isn't the absence of sadness. That thought is kind of mind boggling. How in the world can I be happy in the midst of great sorrow? It has the tendency to seem foreign to us, yet we've all met that rare person that seems to be happy and content in the midst of a great tragedy or an overwhelming sorrow.
As I read through the book and absorbed Lisa's thoughts that are backed up with Scripture it began to make sense. Not only did it make sense but it seemed achievable. Lisa goes on to tell us that happiness can be ours when we remember the fundamental truth that God is and does good. It's what He desires for us. It's what He gives us in the midst of tragedy if we will let Him.
This is a short book, only 10 chapters, but it will make a huge impact on how you think about happiness and where it originates from. We live in a society that tells us that happiness comes from things and experiences. The truth is it comes from the One who made us.
I think this would make a wonderful small group read. Each chapter ends with very thought provoking questions that relate to the chapter's topic. While most of the personal stories obviously have a female feel to them I still think the subject matter would go over well in a mixed small group.
Connect With The Author