Breaker's Reef

Terri Blackstock in her new book, Breakers Reef Book Four in the Cape Refuge series published by Zondervan gives us another adventure with Blair Owens and Police Chief Cade.

From the back cover: The murders occurring on Cape Refuge mirror scenes in a local writers novels. Could the killer be a copycat or the author himself?

When a teenage girls body is discovered in a boat between Tybee Island and Cape Refuge, all evidence points to a famous mystery writer who has taken up residence in the small town: Marcus Gibson. After all, ex-con Sheila Caruso discovers that a scene in one of his books perfectly mirrors the brutal crime scene, and Gibson seems just eccentric enough to be murderous.

Police Chief Cade works to confirm the evidencebut more devastation is just around the corner. He and Blair Owens discover a second dead teenager, again paralleling a scene in one of Gibsons books. Then Sheilas daughter, Sadie, goes missing.

In a race against time, there are many questions to be answered. Can Cade find the killer before Sadie is murdered too? What connection does Sheila have with the crimes? And is Marcus one of the killersor is the murderer still walking free, ready to prey on his next victim?

Ms. Blackstock makes us hit the ground running and just does not let up with the suspense. There is a murder that looks as though it was copied from a mystery writers book. Then a young girl goes missing while another murder occurs that also looks like a scene from a mystery. Could the mystery writer himself be committing these murders? Once the action gets going Ms. Blackstock revs up the thriller quotient considerably which will have you reading and flipping pages as fast as you can. I think it takes a highly skilled author to pull of something like this and let me tell you I think Ms. Blackstock is one highly skilled author. Blair Owens and Police Chief Cade are well-defined characters that know what they are doing and whom we root for to figure out just what is going on. Dont start this book late at night because it will be very difficult to put it down or stop thinking about it. I recommend this book highly.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

And God wins.

I do not, in the least, mean for the three previous words to be flippant, sarcastic, or misconstrued in any way. God wins! Terri Blackstock weaves this theme throughout her Cape Refuge Series, and greatly desires that if you dont get anything else from her works of fiction, you will come away with this message: God wins!

When a teenage girls body is discovered in a boat between Tybee Island and Cape Refuge, all evidence points to a famous mystery writer who has taken up residence in the small town, Marcus Gibson. Sheila Caruso, a newly-employed secretary for the best-selling author, discovers that a scene in one of his books perfectly mirrors the crime scene, and the authors eccentricities lend support to the theory.

When a second dead teenager is discovered again, paralleling a scene from one of Gibsons novels Police Chief Cade is pretty much convinced he has his man. Then Sheilas daughter, Sadie, goes missing. In a race against time, there are many questions to be answered. And many lessons to be learned.

Facing the challenges of stereotypes, prejudice, injustice, and the ever-present darkness of the human heart, Terri Blackstock just wants every one of her readers to know . . . God wins.

In the latest chapter of the series, BREAKERS REEF, Terri Blackstock brings new challenges to familiar faces. While references are made to situations in the previous books, BREAKERS REEF is easily read on its own. Readers new to the Cape Refuge series will be able to meet the residents of Cape Refuge, and develop a relationship with them that will instill in them a desire to go back to the beginning.

5 Stars for a message for page-turning suspense!

I'm a big fan of Terri Blackstock and the Cape Refuge Series with its theme of redemption. Sheila Caruso, although a fictional character, represents what God can do to change a life surrendered to Him, no matter what mistakes were made in the past. This is Christian fiction but with all the trademarks of a great suspense novel. I read the book in one day as the characters and story line captured my attention. I always appreciate a surprise ending and this had one.

This is number four in the series so it is helpful to start with the previous books, but a first-time reader won't be completely lost since enough back story is given on the characters. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series to read more about the citizens of Cape Refuge.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher through the BookLook Blogger book review program but the opinion of it is my own and was not solicited, nor was a positive review required.