Reviewing: Buried Secrets

Buried Secrets
by Irene Hannon

Buried Secrets is the first in Irene Hannon’s new series about the three McGregor brothers, all members of elite military branches.  Mac McGregor, the oldest brother, has stepped down from life as a Navy SEAL and is easing into a new role as a county detective.  Similarly, Lisa Grant is ready for a quieter existence than what she experienced as a detective in Chicago’s homicide division.  She is now the chief of police in a small town in Missouri.  When human bones are unearthed, Lisa’s and Mac’s paths cross as they partner to solve the decades-old mystery.

The premise of Buried Secrets was very promising to me.  I enjoy detective stories—I like to see how the detectives interact with each other, how the evidence is discovered and the clues are planted, and how the good guys take down the bad guys.  This is a romantic suspense, however, so the crime and its solving take a backseat to the romantic sparks flying between Mac and Lisa.  As each chapter unfolds, Hannon moves from a third person focus on Mac to a third person focus on Lisa.  This allows a glimpse inside Mac’s head and Lisa’s—the dual focus can be appealing to people who enjoy romances and like to see how men think (though, written by a woman it’s hard to know if this is actually how men think). 

It was entertaining enough.  Since I prefer my mysteries with a side of romance rather than the other way around, it took me a while to get into the book.  I had to slog through the mutual attraction and the “we can’t be together because we work together” until I got to the meat of the mystery.  Once I was there, I really enjoyed the way Hannon broke it down.  Because of the prologue, we never truly wonder who buried the bones.  In a way that made the story interesting—instead of trying to guess who did it, I got to wonder how they would be caught, and I got to enjoy that process.  For lovers of romantic suspense, I can see that this is a well-written book and would recommend it for them.  For lovers of crime fiction, it’s probably worth the read as long as you don’t mind romance in the form of lingering looks, fingers accidentally brushing, and racing hearts.

Disclosure: I received this book free from Revell through the Revell Reads (http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/revell/revell-reads) program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.

Reviewing: A Glorious Dark

A Glorious Dark: Finding Hope in the Tension Between Belief and Experience
A.J. Swoboda

When I read a book, be it fiction or nonfiction, and I come across something that strikes me—a turn of phrase or an important point—I fold the corner of the page over, marking that spot.  Then, when I’m finished with the book, I go back to that page, reread it, and see if something strikes me again.  If it does, I must have really meant it, and I underline it. 

In A Glorious Dark, I had 23 pages folded over.  In a 15-chapter book.  And I almost skipped the folding over and went straight to the underlining.

A.J. Swoboda has a way with words.  He mixes humor with heartfelt vulnerability and thought-provoking seriousness, and he does it all against a backdrop of Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and the in-between Saturday. 

It has been said, “It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming.”  That is almost always spoken to move us quickly from the trauma, the sadness, the fear of Jesus’ death and into the celebration of His resurrection.  And Swoboda does start with Good Friday.  He starts with Jesus’ death, and he asks us to sit there in the numbness of it.  But then he doesn’t rush from that into the joy and celebration.  He calls us to pause and fully enter in to Saturday first.  Saturday, when Jesus had been killed and was dead in the tomb.  Saturday, when nobody knew Sunday was coming.  Saturday, when it seems like my life is falling apart, and I can’t even find a friend let alone God.  Saturday, where we live a good portion of our lives.  Saturday, where Jesus may have lain dead in a tomb but, just like a river in the winter, there is a glorious dark underneath.

I have truly never read a book like this.  It is with regret that I can only recommend A Glorious Dark to anyone who reads this review, and I can’t actually go out and buy a copy for every one of my friends, my family members, and people I don’t even know very well.


 Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksbloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.