From USA TODAY bestselling author Laura Scott

Keeping out of sight

is the only way to survive.

A frantic call from a witness whose Colorado safe house is breached sends US marshal Slade Brooks to Robyn Lowry’s side at Christmastime. But when he reaches her, she doesn’t remember him—or the crime she witnessed. With the trial just days away, someone won’t stop until Robyn’s dead. And while she might recover her memory in time, keeping Robyn alive long enough to testify is Slade’s hardest mission.

From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

Justice Seekers

Book 1: Soldier’s Christmas Secrets
Book 2: Guarded by the Soldier
Book 3: Wyoming Mountain Escape
Book 4: Hiding His Holiday Witness
Book 5: Rocky Mountain Standoff

I love suspense and this offering from Laura Scott fit the bill quite nicely. A witness to a crime ring’s deeds needs a place to hide and a US Marshal is taking her case. Unfortunately, the safe house is compromised and from then on, non-stop action ensues. I enjoyed it very much.

My thanks to Love Inspired for a copy of this book via Net Galley.

Publisher: Love Inspired
Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense
Publication Date: October 26, 2021
Length: 186 pages
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09166H1DF/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i3

About The Book

BOOK FIVE in the bestselling BARKS & BEANS CAFE cozy mystery series!!

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java…and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

Convinced that the elderly lady in her care didn’t die of natural causes, Macy’s friend Della determines to look into the broken relationships surrounding the woman. She books a Halloween-themed getaway at a local inn and talks Macy into coming along with her to spy on her prime suspect.

As they join a ghost tour of the candlelit town, Macy and Della feel their guide is a little too fanatical as he shares his spooky tales. He tells the story of the Greenbrier ghost, a newlywed who supposedly came back from the grave to tell her family that her husband murdered her.

When a disturbing apparition makes its presence known, guests at the inn become apprehensive…and for good reason, because soon after, a young bride turns up dead. Although everything points to a copycat killer replicating the historical Greenbrier murder, Macy has her doubts. She’s discovered that the inn harbors secrets of its own, and when she pokes into one darkened corner too many, she might not stand a ghost of a chance.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown…with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series in order:
Book 1: No Filter
Book 2: Iced Over
Book 3: Fair Trade
Book 4: Spilled Milk
Book 5: Trouble Brewing
Book 6: Cold Drip

‘I handed her my pepper spray just in case. It wasn’t’ outside the realm of possibility that the killer had left something behind.’

The Barks and Beans Cafe series is so good. Heather Day Gilbert sure knows how to do a great cozy mystery. A coffee bar/cafe paired with an area for shelter dogs that will hopefully lead to adoption is a very novel idea (pun intended). The Cafe is opened and ran by two siblings, Bo and Macy Hatfield, and it’s a huge hit in their small West Virginia town. The only trouble is, crimes keep getting committed and the siblings, Macy especially, are a dab hand at solving them.

This time around, Macy and her friend spend a weekend at a manor house hosting a spooky tour for their guests. They have guaranteed a good and scary time for their guests and well, they do make good on that scary guarantee when someone ends up dead. Except it isn’t quite a good time. You know what I mean? Can Macy once again solve a crime? I LOVE this series so much!

My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book. The opinion here is my own.

A Christmas wager for a lasting love?

Genevieve Munroe is determined to give her newly impoverished family one last happy Christmas, including making peace with their long-time rivals, the Pentercasts. But she is shocked when the handsome oldest son Alan proposes a wager: if he can give her all the gifts from the Twelve Days of Christmas song, without spending a penny, she must marry him.

Alan’s wild gambit is his last-ditch effort to win Gen’s heart. After all, no Munroe would ever consider marrying a Pentercast. But perhaps the joy of Christmas can open her eyes to the man behind the wager, a man determined to turn the twelve days of Christmas into a lifetime of love.

If you love warm, witty holiday Regency romances, then you’ll love My True Love Gave to Me, the first book in The Marvelous Munroes series by an award-winning author.

Readers have called it wonderful, funny, and charming, a great book to read over the holidays, or anytime you’re in the holiday spirit.

Fall marvelously in love with The Marvelous Munroes, today.

‘Miracles do happen, Miss Munroe, if we believe in them.’

How did I somehow miss this absolutely delightful Regency from Regina Scott? I have a series now to catch up on. I do love a good Regency and Scott is perfect at telling one. This one captured my attention from the first page. Imagine, if you will, a very respectable family having to live in their country house because the deceased head of the household had spent all their money. Now imagine that the family theirs had been at odds with forever is prospering so very close by. And further imagine that the very handsome and very much a bachelor head of that family wants to marry the elder daughter? And he promises her he will grant her all the items on the Twelve Days of Christmas if she’ll agree to marry him. Hmmm. Quite an interesting premise, if I do say so myself.

Regina Scott has a definite winner here. Totally captivating with a hint of mystery, populated with lovely characters. I especially enjoyed the butler of the fine house and the man of work at the less well off family. I loved every minute and can highly recommend it. 

She came in search of the family she’d always wanted—and found the kind of love she’d never dared to imagine.

When Katelyn Loveland’s car veered off a winding Appalachian Mountain road, she thought she was done for. That is until Cooper Robinson, local sheriff’s deputy, came to her rescue. And though Katie narrowly escaped her brush with death, she still fell. Hard.

She wasn’t the only one. But soon Cooper learns that the woman he’s more attracted to than any he’s ever met is his brother’s new girlfriend—and therefore unquestionably off limits. Yet, despite his best efforts, Cooper and Katie can’t seem to avoid running into each other. Or ignore the undeniable chemistry between them.

As they grow closer, Katie shares the secrets of her past and the real reason she moved to their small North Carolina town. She also wins over Cooper’s welcoming and bighearted family. But they don’t know that her feelings for Cooper keep growing—all while she’s dating his brother. Soon the stakes of their emotional connection become higher than either of them could have imagined. Katie stands to lose the first family she’s ever had, and a scandal could doom Cooper’s campaign for sheriff’s office. Suddenly they find themselves on the edge of another precipice—and they’re forced to make a decision that could change their lives forever.

About Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of forty novels, three of which have been adapted into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on the The 700 Club and won awards such as The Holt Medallion Award, The Carol Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist.

Denise writes heartwarming, small-town love stories, peopled with layered characters who have real-life issues. Her readers enjoy the vicarious thrill of falling in love and the promise of a happily-ever-after sigh as they savor the final pages of her books.

In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

When Denise isn’t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking chai lattes, hiking, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband raised three boys and are currently enjoying an empty nest and two beautiful granddaughters.

You can learn more about Denise through her website http://www.DeniseHunterBooks.com or by visiting her FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/authordenisehunter

I have been a Denise Hunter fan for many years and never miss one of her books. This was no exception. Written well with a wonderfully crafted story, she brings us the first in a new series set in the small town of Riverbend Gap. I enjoyed every minute. Looking forward to seeing more in the series.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishers for a copy of this book via Net Galley. I was not required to leave a positive review. The opinion here is expressly my own.

About Susan Sleeman

SUSAN SLEEMAN is the bestselling author of over forty romantic suspense novels with more than one million books sold. She writes romantic suspense novels that are clean with inspiring messages of faith. Readers love her series for the well-drawn characters and edge-of-your-seat action. She graduated from the FBI and local police citizen academies, so her research is spot-on and her characters are real.

In addition to writing, Susan also hosts TheSuspenseZone.com. She has lived in nine states but now calls Oregon home. Her husband is a retired church music director, and they have two beautiful daughters, two special sons-in-law, and two amazing grandsons.

To learn more about Susan’s books sign up for her monthly email that includes exclusive excerpts, giveaways, and other goodies. http://www.susansleeman.com/susans-newsletter/

Or stop by any of these locations on the web.

Website – http://www.susansleeman.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/SusanSleemanBooks

Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/susansleeman

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/susansleeman/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4053429.Susan_Sleeman

BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/susan-sleeman

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Sleeman/e/B003ANF6Z8

Review Site – http://www.TheSuspenseZone.com

‘She needed answers. Desperately.’

Susan Sleeman has been my go-to for inspirational romantic suspense for years. Her books occupy serious real estate on my shelves and for good reason. She knows exactly how to tell an incredibly good story, full of great characters and ratcheting up the suspense level till the reader is on pins and needles to see how it ends. She never fails to minister to me in someway with her powerful spiritual content, too. And in this last book of her Night Hawk Security series, she again proves she is a dab hand at suspense, and she gives her readers a very nice surprising twist near the end. Well done1

My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book. The opinion in this review is entirely my own.

Rory Perez, a food truck owner who can’t cook, is struggling to keep the business she inherited from her aunt out of the red–and an upcoming contest during Modest’s annual food truck festival seems the best way to do it. The prize money could finally give her a solid financial footing and keep her cousin with special needs paid up at her beloved assisted living home. Then maybe Rory will have enough time to meet the man she’s been talking to via an anonymous online dating site.

Jude Strong is tired of being a puppet at his manipulative father’s law firm, and the food truck festival seems like the perfect opportunity to dive into his passion for cooking and finally call his life his own. But if he loses the contest, he’s back at the law firm for good. Failure is not an option.

Complications arise when Rory’s chef gets mono and she realizes she has to cook after all. Then Jude discovers that his stiffest competition is the same woman he’s been falling for online the past month.

Will these unlikely chefs sacrifice it all for the sake of love? Or will there only ever be tacos for one?

What a delightful story! When two people are doing online messaging, they thoroughly enjoy it. But wait! They meet, but as themselves, not the online persona they have cultivated. They both decide to enter a food truck contest, both doing the same type of food, too. All kind of craziness ensues and nothing is as it seems. And I was so hungry all through the book! I could smell the food on those trucks! Recommended.

My thanks to Revell Publishers for a copy of this book via Net Galley. The opinion here is my own.

Publisher: Revell
Publication Date: October 12, 2021
Length: 336 pages:
Genre: Contemporary Inspirational
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08XLPMM8G/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i3

So far I have only read Dana Mentink’s contribution to this set but it was incredibly good! I will update as I read more!

I have also read Loree Lough’s novella and it is another good one.

Cynthia Hickey’s contribution was really well done! Loved it!

Shared Stover’s story of a deadly cyber criminal is pretty doggone good also!

I will update as I read more stories, but if the rest are as good as these four, the purchase price was a bargain!

Publication Date: October 12, 2021
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Pursuits-Stories-Popular-Suspense-ebook/dp/B0957Z35PW/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=dangerous+pursuits&qid=1633793788&sr=8-1

I really enjoy find new authors to read and when I saw the cover of Kerry Johnson’s debut novel, I knew I wanted to read it. I am glad I did because it is very, very good! Suspense is my favorite genre, and she did it well indeed. Good characters that the reader can connect with and a ton of great suspense, including non-stop action. With a very unexpected surprise at the ending, which I never suspect. A winner all the way around! Well done!

My thanks to the publisher and author for a copy of this book.\

Publisher: Love Inspired:
Publication Date: September 28, 2021
Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense
Length: 175 pages
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WXBWFFS/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

When he agreed to guard her, he never bargained on having to guard his heart.

Brilliant scientist Linnea Newberry is on the adventure of a lifetime, traveling the Santa Fe Trail with her grandfather, Dr. Powell, on a botanical expedition to Colorado Territory.
She longs to be valued for her contributions and not seen as a helpless liability. But at every calamity she faces, her grandfather threatens to send her home.

After watching his ma suffer and die in childbirth, Flynn McQuaid has sworn off women and marriage forever. Headed west to start a new life, he has his hands full not only taking care of his younger siblings but also delivering cattle to his older brother. He doesn’t need more complications.

When Flynn rescues Linnea from drowning during a river crossing, Dr. Powell promptly
hires Flynn–unbeknownst to Linnea–to act as her bodyguard for the rest of the trip. As
Flynn fights against the many dangers of the trail, he soon finds himself in the greatest
danger of all–falling for a woman he’s determined not to love.

‘He was about as good at parenting Ivy as a hen was at mothering a porcupine.’

I have loved Jody Hedlund’s books since her very first. She is very adept at switching genres, and I love each one she does. This series, her cowboy one, she proves yet again how great a writer she is. Fromm crafting believable characters and wonderful plots, when you sit down to read a Hedlund book, you can be sure of a pleasurable reading experience. Well done1

My thanks to Bethany House for a copy of this book via Net Galley. I was not expected to write a positive review and the opinion here is my own.

Falling for someone who doesn’t want to get married is soon be the least of his concerns.

While his brothers and their new wives search for who shot him, Wyatt Hunt is temporarily bedridden and completely miserable. Somehow Molly Garner’s limited skills have made her the most qualified in their circle to care for Wyatt. But by the time he’s healed, she’s fed up with him and the whole ungrateful family. For even worse than his grumpiness were the few unguarded moments when he pulled at her heartstrings, and she has been long determined to never repeat her mother’s mistakes.

When alternate plans of finding her own independent life fall through, Molly volunteers to work for the Pinkertons and help investigate nearby ranch owner Oliver Hawkins. She signs on to be his housekeeper, hoping to find clues to prove his nefarious, and possibly murderous, past. Wyatt refuses to let her risk it alone and offers to act as Hawkins’s new foreman.

But when another Pinkerton agent gets shot, they realize Hawkins isn’t the only danger. The Hunt brothers will have to band together to face all the troubles of life and love that suddenly surround them.

I purely love a Mary Connealy book. I have been a fan since I read the first book by her. Now I never miss one and eagerly look to each new one. This series is so much fun. Three brothers, who never knew they were brothers, try to come to grips with the fact that their biological father was a low down snake in the grass.

Here is Wyatt and Molly’s story. Connealy ties everything up quite nicely as all the family pulls together to set things right. I am always giggling throughout at Connealy’s dry wit. And she always includes a sweet spiritual truth. Each time I finish one of her books, I am hungry for the next. Well done!!

My thanks to Bethany House for a copy of this book via Net Galley. The opinion here is my own.