Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze

Being a huge fan of the mystery and suspense genre, I'm always on the lookout for new authors to try. Vicki Hinze came up on my radar with her debut Christian suspense novel, "Forget Me Not", the first novel in the Crossroads Crisis Center series.

Her second book, "Deadly Ties", wasn't quite as well written, but I still found characters to love and a story to entertain. Lisa Harper has witnessed something horrific. Problem is, she can't remember what it is, nor how it impacts her life today.

What Lisa does know is that her mother's second husband is a monster, bent on destroying Annie and Lisa both. But was sending Lisa away as a young child the best thing for her? Protecting her daughter at all cost may have cost Annie a relationship with the adult Lisa.

Special Operations Officer Mark Taylor has been tasked with keeping Lisa safe, finding a way out of a living nightmare for Annie, and bringing Annie's husband, Dutch, to justice. A tall order, complicated by his growing feelings for Lisa.

Feelings Mark cannot give in to, not if he wants to stay true to his mission. And to keep another from dying on his watch...again. But when Lisa's life becomes threatened by forces more evil than originally believed, can Mark keep his heart and his head in line?

Mark's team was a hoot, adding just the right amount of humor into a tense situation. Lisa was easy to feel compassion for, and the characters I grew to love in the first story made repeat appearances in this one.

But I felt lost some of the time. It was hard to track Annie's reasons for sending Lisa away, and Dutch's reasons for wanting to keep Annie under his tight control. By the end, it all fell into place. I was especially bothered by Annie's misguided need to remain with an abuser to honor her marriage vows.

I've known women like the fictional Annie, and I just cannot believe God would have these women remain in harm's way. Hopefully, this story will nudge them to do what is right for themselves and those they love and leave the situation and get help.

Not sure if that message was clear in the conclusion, but it should have been. In all, I enjoyed the story...just wasn't one of my favorites. That's why "Deadly Ties" gets three bookmarks from me, with a cell phone as a charm.

If you are in an abusive relationship, get help. Don't stay and take it. Learn from Annie's story.

My thanks to my friends at Multnomah for my opportunity to read "Deadly Ties".

Happy Reading!







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