Summary:
(taken from goodreads)
A federal judge lies bleeding on his office floor, betrayed by a most unlikely source- people who helped him bring criminals to justice. Now, why would someone working for the FBI need to disappear after witnessing this crime?
When Remington Wyatt sees her godfather's murder, she recognizes the killers and knows it's only a matter of time before they come to silence her. She must do the only thing possible to stay alive...run.
FBI agent Rafe Baxter is serious about his career, and solving a cold case involving a federal judge's death puts him in line for a promotion he so desires. But the case leads him to the small town of Hopewell, Louisiana, where some secrets seem inextricably hidden deep within the bayou.
PLOT:
(taken from goodreads)
A federal judge lies bleeding on his office floor, betrayed by a most unlikely source- people who helped him bring criminals to justice. Now, why would someone working for the FBI need to disappear after witnessing this crime?
When Remington Wyatt sees her godfather's murder, she recognizes the killers and knows it's only a matter of time before they come to silence her. She must do the only thing possible to stay alive...run.
FBI agent Rafe Baxter is serious about his career, and solving a cold case involving a federal judge's death puts him in line for a promotion he so desires. But the case leads him to the small town of Hopewell, Louisiana, where some secrets seem inextricably hidden deep within the bayou.
PLOT:
It kept along at a pretty steady pace. It was fresh, intriguing. It didn't blow me away with it's "wow" factor, but I genuinely enjoyed it.
VIOLENCE:
Suspense fiction whatnot. Hand to hand combat, gunshot wounds, the judge is murdered at the beginning. Just expect the usual action/suspense/murder mystery type violence.
SEXUAL CONTENT:
There's mention of a few affairs, nothing explicit. Characters falling in love, that kind of thing.
CONS: (what I didn't like)
1) The religious content felt kinda stiff, uptight and scripted.
2) The phrase 'oh-my-stars' was overused to the extreme. I don't who'd say 'oh-my-stars' in their head if they found someone murdered in their house. And using it upwards of 20-30 times throughout the book, is annoying. But...perhaps things in the deep south are...different?
3) I didn't understand why the MC puts a rather large emphasis on how much she enjoyed the feeling of being doped up after she's injured and in the hospital. It just didn't make sense, when the book has nothing to do with drugs or drug users, and the character thinks to herself that she would basically do anything to stay feeling 'high'. It seemed an unnecessary addition to the book, especially given the very conservative nature of the characters & author.
4) Speaking of which, there were a few plot strains that were added to the book, that never got resolved or finished. Thus, that leaves me, as a reader, thinking all they were, were plot "fillers" and not actually needed.
5) I found it a tad bit confusing, the "Day 1" or "Day 27" sections where the MC is telling the story in the first person. Especially because the timing is jumping back and forth (to all the other parts that are either in the future or the past, comparatively speaking, and are described in the third person), and then they don't even continue throughout the rest of the book. There's three or four or so, and then they just up and go poof. That was just plain tacky, in my opinion.
CONCLUSION:
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the characters, especially Hayden. Remington I found a little hard to connect with, and I really was hoping for a little more connecting (getting to know you) time with Rafe, but- I enjoyed this read, even with the above mentioned 'Cons' section. Of course, I would've enjoyed the book more if the mentioned cons weren't in the book, but...it is what it is.
So I'll give it 3 Stars & I'd recommend this book for readers aged 16+ (it is adult fiction, but some teens may enjoy this read)
