DEADLOCK by DiAnn Mills

This book is part of the Houston FBI series that DiAnn Mills has written. FBI Agent Bethany Sanchez and her new partner Thatcher Graves are investigation a series of serial murders in Houston. Complicating matters is that Bethany's brother Lucas is out of prison and harassing her every chance he gets. Bethany and Thatcher have different methods of looking at cases and so they are getting used to each other.


This book kept building and I couldn't put it down. It kept me in suspense right up to the end and I was wildly satisfied with the outcome. The only down side (and I haven't noticed this in DiAnn Mills' other books) was that I was sometimes confused by the dialog between Bethany and Thatcher because it was almost like they were speaking in shorthand and weren't filling in enough details for me to make sense of the conversation.


The family dynamics and the faith of both Bethany and Thatcher were well developed and woven into the story in such a way that it enhanced the story and made the characters more enjoyable.


I received this book from Tyndale House in exchange for a fair and honest review. I have been trying to read everything from this author since I discovered her last year and I will definitely be watching closely for her next book.

DiAnn shares about her new novel Deadlock, in this extended interview

What inspired DiAnn Mills to write her new novel, Deadlock

Diann talk about her novel, Deadlock

DiAnn talks about her characters in her new novel, Deadlock

When Love Returns by Kim Vogel Sawyer

This is Book 3 in the Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy. I recommend you read all three because much of the story started in Book 1 continues on through Books 2 and 3. In this book Suzanne is back in Kansas helping out at the Bed & Breakfast while her adopted daughter makes a trip back to Indiana to look for her birth mother. Meanwhile, Suzanne's birth child is right there with Suzanne but she doesn't know who her birth mother is. This book explores the dilemmas that are faced by birth and adoptive parents and by the children they raise. But it is all masterfully woven into a marvelous story. The characters became so real to me I almost felt I could travel there and stay in the B&B and get to know them all. Kim Vogel Sawyer has a gift for writing spellbinding stories with intricately crafted characters and interweaving their faith into the tale. This book is my favorite of the three because it pulls it all together and ties up a lot of situations that the family was facing throughout the trilogy.

I received this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review and as part of the "Street Team." I can honestly say that I would have bought it the minute it was available for sale if I had not been on the team. This lady is one of my favorite authors and is from my home state of Kansas. I almost feel like we're related somehow. ;-)

After you read this trilogy if you are as captivated as I am by the story, and if you are new to this author, go back and find anything you can that she has written because all her books are keepers!

Chivalrous by Dina L. Sleiman

The sequel is rarely as fine a pearl as the original but this one is as good or better than the original. This book is delicious!

Lady Gweneth would rather be a knight like her three brothers than the lady her father expects her to be. Her father wants to arrange a marriage for her with a brute of a man who has no respect for women but Gwen has her heart set on Allen of Ellsworth who has newly arrived in their dukedom. A cousin of the Duke is working very hard to take over the Dukedom as he considers it his rightful inheritance. We met Allen in book one (Dauntless) and later in the story we meet up with the other main characters from the first book.

I loved this book, the characters, the attention to detail of how people lived and dressed and what they ate in the 1200s. I really enjoyed the attention the main characters gave to scripture and their prayers and relationship with God. It was all seamlessly part of the story.

Bethany House gave me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review but I would have bought it anyway and will rush to purchase any subsequent books from this author!

Below is my review of Book 1 of the Valiant Hearts series that I wrote a few months ago.







March 15, 2015 Dauntless by Dina L. Sleiman

All I can say is WOW! I loved this book! I love this time period, I love these kinds of stories and I want more! (And I don't want to wait till the Author's next installment. I want her to speed write!)


Lady Merry Ellison and Timothy Grey were once betrothed but her father's opposition to King John put a damper on the situation. Her parents and brother were murdered by the King's men and Merry and some of the village children were forced into exile by the circumstances. They formed a little band for survival and lived off their wits in the woods. Timothy, thinking Merry was dead too, eventually went to work for a nearby landholder. When he discovers Merry is still alive he doesn't know what to do. To let others know is to put her in danger.


This was so much fun -- a Robin Hood type of story. The characters are interesting, the time period is interesting, the political intrigue is fascinating and the storytelling is superb!

Bethany House gave me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review but I would have bought it anyway and will buy any subsequent books by this author. Loved it!!