A Mini Book Review of Fallout by Carrie Stuart Parks, A Faith-Based Suspense Novel
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. Also, this blog post includes affiliate links. You can view my affiliate disclaimer here.
Her carefully crafted life is about to be demolished.
After a difficult childhood, Samantha Williams craves simplicity: jigsaw puzzles, lectures at the library, and the students she adores in her role as an elementary school art teacher in the dusty farming community of LaCrosse, Washington.
But when an SUV crashes into the building where she teaches, her entire world is upended. Samantha manages to keep the children safe, but her car isn’t so lucky. Oddly, her purse—with her driver’s license, credit cards, and other identification—is missing from the wreckage.
After authorities discover that the driver in the accident was shot seconds before the crash, Samantha quickly becomes entangled in increasingly strange events that have her constantly looking over her shoulder.
Samantha has long tried to forget the tragedy of her past, but the twisting connections she discovers between the murdered driver, a deadly secret government project, and an abandoned town can't be ignored. Those involved are determined to keep these secrets buried, and they’ll use any means necessary to stop Samantha’s search for truth.
MY REVIEW: ★★★★/5
Carrie Stuart Parks is back with an exciting, mind-bending mystery! I love her books for their multi-layered plots that twist and turn, keeping me turning the pages and guessing!
HIGHLIGHTS:
Full Length, Standalone Novel · Suspenseful · Art Teacher Heroine · A Mysterious Group of Former Police · Adoption Thread · Faith-Based Fiction
WHAT I LIKED:
This story begins with a dramatic event and the suspense continues throughout, making for a fascinating read! I love Parks’ Clan Ferrin, a fictional recovery group for former police, and was excited to see it pop up again in this story.
There were plenty of unexpected events that took place in this story that served to hold my interest. I enjoyed the forensic aspect as well. There were a handful of parts that lulled just a little for me, but that didn’t detract enough from the story for me to lose interest.
I enjoyed the main character, Samantha, and how she was comfortable with her quirky personality. The hidden threads of her past that came to light throughout this story made her relatable and unique. She and a man named Dutch have a mild romantic interest that added just a little bit of extra flair to the story, but that was certainly not a strong point in this novel. Instead, the author focused on more on suspense, with the ending being every bit as thrilling as the beginning.
SUMMARY:
A solid four stars! I believe readers who enjoy faith-based suspense without a lot of fluff (or romance) will enjoy this story. It appeals, in my opinion, to both male and female readers and various age groups as well.
