DESCRIPTION:
Is she a mistaken target…or next on an enemy’s hit list?
Sandy Lynn Forrester's Christmas holiday takes a terrifying turn when someone breaks into her home and attacks her roommate…thinking it's her. But no one believes that an imprisoned man from Sandy Lynn's past is behind the attacks—except for her high school heartbreak, ex-cop Clay Danforth. Can she trust Clay to keep her safe in the Ozark wilderness long enough to stop a ruthless criminal’s vengeance?
MY THOUGHTS:
Author: Valerie Hansen
Series: Emergency Responders #4
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 224
Date of Publication: November 30, 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Sandy Lynn Forrester and Clay Danforth knew each other as teenagers. Although they had romantic feelings for one another, Clay joined the Air Force and at some point Sandy Lynn eloped with a man named Charles Hood. The marriage was a disaster as Charles was extremely violent. Violent to the point that Sandy Lynn eventually found the strength to press charges and Charles was imprisoned. At this point in time, Sandy Lynn's roommate Enid was attacked while sleeping and it soon becomes evident that Sandy Lynn herself was the intended target.
Sandy Lynn is torn. For starters, she is in a state of constant worry while Enid is recovering in the hospital. Clay is now the neighbor to Sandy Lynn and Enid and heard the commotion. Clay was able to save Sandy Lynn after she tried to stop the attack on Enid. As a former policeman, Clay easily displays enough authority to scare the attacker off. However, as things start to unfold it is soon discovered that Clay was indeed once a policeman but left the force due to being falsely accused. Although he does not have official capacity he is determined to stick by Sandy Lynn, especially when it seems Enid's attacker is determined to get to Sandy Lynn one way or another.
Although I am new to this series, this book did perfectly well as a standalone novel. I had no trouble connecting to the characters and to the story itself. The obstacles facing Clay and Sandy Lynn were addressed, all while their feelings for one another began to grow. I would like to read the next book in this series as this one was a quick read.
Many thanks to Love Inspired Suspense and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please enjoy the following excerpt:
Excerpt, CHRISTMAS VENDETTA by Valerie Hansen
The lack of explanation from Clay caused her to glance over at him. Instead of paying attention to her, he was frowning and looking in the car mirrors.
Sandy Lynn whipped around as far as her seat belt would allow. Since the snow had stopped, more people had ventured outside, evidently to take advantage of the respite. The street was crowded. “What? What do you see?”
“Probably nothing.”
“Okay,” she drawled, “then why are you making scary faces?”
“I’m not.” Clay flashed her a lopsided smile. “This is my normal face.”
“Maybe it’s the black-and-blue eye socket that makes you look odd,” she said, not believing that excuse for an instant.
Again he stayed silent. She felt the car begin to accelerate. The tires slipped in the slushy street, and they fishtailed several times before Clay got it under control.
“Okay. That does it. What is going on?”
“We’re being followed,” Clay said as he sped up, sliding again and again. “I’m heading for the police station.”
“Finally, something that makes sense.” Bracing with her left hand on the dash, her right gripping the over-the-door assist handle, Sandy Lynn did her best to anchor herself on the seat.
Clay turned corner after corner until she was unsure of their position. “I thought you said—”
A hard smack jolted her car and snapped her head back against the support at the top of the seat. She wanted to shout orders at him, to tell him how to get them out of this situation, but truth to tell, she didn’t have a clue.
Prayer would be good, she reasoned, if she had the words to pray or knew what to ask for.
Survival leaped into her thoughts as she called out wordlessly to her heavenly Father.
The car was hit again. Clay righted it.
A harder smash followed quickly.
Clay hollered, “Hang on!”
They went airborne, diving nose-first into a drainage ditch.
Sandy Lynn saw his head snap forward just as the airbag engulfed him. The passenger side of the dated vehicle was not equipped with crash protection, so the seat belt was the only thing keeping her from flying through the shattering windshield.
Breathless and shocked, she just sat there, wondering if this was as bad as it was going to get or if their pursuers were going to stop to finish them off. E
No comments:
Post a Comment