Kate O’Brien has been leading a quiet life in small-town Shelter Cove, Arkansas, for the past four years when her past suddenly comes roaring back to life. Four years ago, she and her twin sister were attacked by an elusive serial killer. Only Kate survived, and it was her drawing of the attacker–along with some last-minute evidence–that convicted the suspect.
She’s been in witness protection ever since, but new evidence suggests the convicted man isn’t the murderer and she’s been subpoenaed to testify in the new trial. Nervous about the risk, she’ll only agree if the same marshal who protected her during the original trial escorts her to St. Louis.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Tony DeLuca accepts the assignment to bring Kate to the trial, remembering how her strength impressed him. While in Shelter Cove, however, he gets a call from his chief, advising them to stay in Shelter Cove until a new development in the case can be straightened out. But when Kate’s safety is threatened, Tony must race against the clock to keep her alive and put this ugly case to rest before anyone else gets killed.
SERIES: Defenders of Justice #2
GENRE: Inspirational Romantic Suspense
PUBLISHER: Bethany House
RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2017
PAGES: 320
Other Books In This Series
“…real safety isn’t a place you are. It’s being held in God’s arms.”
Wow! What an intense ride! A serial killer on the loose plus a US Marshal charged to protect the only survivor equals masterfully written tension and suspense. Add in a quiet small town nestled in a mountain lake cove? The stuff of thrillers.
I love Kate’s character! Her gracious heart is evident, and so is her will to survive. As the novel progresses – while you’re gnawing your nails to the quick and frantically turning pages – we see her will to live emerge as well. Tony is a swoonworthy hero in his own right, but the connection between him and Kate is electric. Even as a friendship, the way his eyes center her when she’s feeling vulnerable – so sweet.
Nancy Mehl has done a phenomenal job in this book (and its predecessor) of creating settings and characters that heighten the tension and contribute to the helpless feeling that the reader experiences as we experience the plot vicariously through the characters. As with Fatal Frost, this story is multi-layered and dimensional. In fact, once you discover one layer, you’ve unearthed about ten more to take its place!
Bottom Line: Dark Deception is a thrilling roller coaster ride of emotion and suspense. While the romance in this particular novel is light, it is there and adds an even deeper – and more tender – layer to the already high tension. Readers will be on the edges of their favorite reading chairs from start to finish, the twists and turns of the mountain road mirroring the twists and turns of the riveting plot. The faith element to the book is authentic and sincere, as well as relevant, without being preachy. A few familiar faces from the first book return in Dark Deception, but it can be read as a standalone as well!
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)
My Rating: 5 stars / Can’t put it down!
KissingBook Level: 2 / Sweet & tender
Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Ginger Murray PhotographyNancy Mehl is the author of twenty-three books, including the Road to Kingdom, Finding Sanctuary, and Defenders of Justice series. She is a Carol Award finalist and writes from her home in Missouri, where she lives with her husband, Norman, and their Puggle, Watson.
Other Books by Nancy Mehl
In conjunction with TLC Book Tours, I have a copy of Dark Deception to give away to one of my readers (US/CAN)! This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Follow along with the tour for more chances to win!
What about you? If you could reinvent your life through Witness Protection (minus, you know, the reason you’re IN Witness Protection lol), what would you want to do and where would you want to go?
I’m intrigued. I love this genre but haven’t read the first book in this series. Congratulations, Nancy!
I’d work in a library in a small town in New England.
that sounds delightful
oops forgot about the relocation… Scotland. Please relocate me for the protection of others!
😀 haha!
I’m not sure how much freedom one would have to choose where & what you would do or end up in witness protection. So I say, as long as I feel safe and secure, it doesn’t matter where I’d end up or what I’d end up doing. 🙂
My choice would be New Zealand where my mom lives 🙂
well… you know… this is purely hypothetical so I can make the rules 😉 LOL
I would want to be a librarian in a children’s library! . . . . . Imagine, how fun to read children’s books all day!
And I would want to be children’s librarian in sunny Arizona!
i’m all for the children’s librarian thing… but i would aim for somewhere cooler 😉
I love Nancy’s books and have read most of them. Would love to read this one!
Blessings. Joy
she is a great author!
I would like to work in a bookstore or library in a small town in the mountains of Montana.
me too!
I would love to live in a village right next to Miss Marple! Thanks for the chance to win.
oh that would be delightful! And handy 😀
travel Europe and then settle in small town Manitoba
that sounds like a good plan!
Somewhere in Vermont/New Hampshire volunteering at a museum of some sort…..or in Orlando, FL working or volunteering in Disney World ?
Can get a lot of anonymity in those places….
that’s a very good point!
I would like to be a pineapple taster or grower if it’s not too hard in HI!
Wow such a cool question. I would live somwhere near the ocean eitehr in the US or go to Italy and reinvent myself totally. If in Italy I’d be a wealthy woman who runs a non profit for orphanges around the world and I’d do innternational business on the side.
That is a great question. I don’t think I could handle witness protection without my family so we would need to leave the country. Maybe we could go to Ireland or Scotland. I love the librarian job, but I think I would like to own a bookstore.
I am excited about Nancy’s newest series. They sound so suspenseful and I love the covers!
Thanks for the review and the giveaway!
I’d relocate to Switzerland or Scotland and spend time exploring the area. I’d have to take my husband with me. Maybe I’ll have to opt for Switzerland–I don’t think I’d trust my husband driving on the left side of the road. (We might not live very long).
This book sounds so intriguing! It must go on my TBR pile.
I’d relocate to a resort in Canada. An activities director would be fun. 😉
Oh, I like the idea of running an independent bookstore or working in a library in Ireland or southern France!
I’d love to be a rancher in Hawaii. Combining my love for horses with paradise!
I would like to live in a cabin in the woods with a little stream out front and work in a bookstore.
Just hide me in the mountains, near the lake… oh, & make sure I have lots of books! ?
I would still like to live in a southern state and work in a Christian book store, so I would be surrounded by wonderful books and could see all the new books coming in, and get a discount on purchases!
I would like to live in the Keys or an island collecting seashells and reading or working in a coffee/bookstore.
not sure
I would like to live in the Orlando, Florida area where I would volunteer at Give Kids the World and visit Disney World alot!
I would want to be relocated to Colorado, somewhere in the mountains.
Hmm, there’s a list of places I want to travel. I’d be more than happy around books/writing with a pseudonym in Hawaii, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand…
that sounds like such fun!
I would like to own a bookstore in a charming small town. Possibly in France? Possibly Colorado, if we are sticking to the U.S. 🙂
This sounds like a book I could really get into – I love this kind of thriller!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.
I agree with some others that being a librarian in a small town would be cool!
me too 🙂
Well…yeah… it’s not a case I’d necessarily like to be in. I kind of like my life and it would be SO hard to start anew. :/ But… if I HAD to… I’d still want to be a writer and musician! 🙂 Maybe Colorado would be a good place to live… 😉
lol!
Since I have already been a librarian in a small town in Kentucky I don’t think that new identity will work. How about working for a famous couple who like to help people redo their homes in a place where the stars at night are big and bright?
hahaha! I won’t tell 😉
I would be a librarian in a small town in the south where the weather is better in the winter. I’m looking forward to reading this one! Thanks for the review and giveaway.
sounds like fun! Except for the ‘no winter’ part 😉
I would like to live in Vancouvet, B.C., and live in a high rise top floor overlooking Stanley Park.
i would love to visit there at least 😀
That is a hard question to answer,I’ve never thought about that before.
my first impulse would be a beach, but anyone that knows me, would figure that out, so i guess if i couldn’t find an isolated island, then maybe somewhere like Ireland would be nice 🙂
oh yes – i could get used to Ireland for the rest of my life very quickly 🙂
I’d like to live in a small town in Italy or England with my family. We could have quiet lives where no one could find us. I’d probably sell vegetables at the local farmer’s market or something.
that sounds lovely!
Love the sound of this book!
it’s really good!