Saturday Book Review: Lonestar Sanctuary

In honor of Colleen Coble's new granddaughter, I'm reviewing her latest suspense novel, Lonestar Sanctuary. I actually read it a couple of week ago, but that was around the same time that Blogger recreated their system and...well, you know the rest.

Synopsis: Though tragedy has wrecked her life, Allie Siders holds on to the hope that her five-year-old daughter, Betsy, will speak again. But with a stalker out for revenge, all Allie can think about now is their safety. She must sever all ties and abandon life as she knows it. She heads to the peaceful Bluebird Ranch, nestled deep in Texas hill country, and to the only person who can help them.

The ranch is a sanctuary for abused horses, and also for troubled youths: the perfect place for Betsy to grow and recover. Ranch owner Elijah DeAngelo eagerly welcomes the duo. But Rick Bailey -- the ranch foreman and DeAngelo's right hand man -- hasn't decided to let his guard down...yet.

Promises made long ago soon force Rick and Allie to work together to escape danger. Will they discover love along the way?

My reivew: I love a well-crafted, Christian suspense, and this one scored high. Colleen's writing is smooth, very close third person that makes you feel that you're in the characters' heads. I also liked that the killer's point-of-view isn't written: for me, it ups the level of suspense, and besides, I don't like knowing what the bad guy is going to do.

The characters are well-rounded. I immediately sympathized with Allie: her predicament, the struggles she endured were realistically portrayed, as were her reactions. Rick...he took me longer to understand. I grew frustrated with him in the beginning, but as his character grew I appreciated him more. Even though both characters are Christians, they have flaws and problems that make them more real.

Colleen wove plenty of twists into this plot, but they aren't too confusing, and she ties up loose ends while leaving enough for the reader to figure out. I was scrambling to discover the killer before the end -- especially since I had to go to bed before I finished it! And the romance side sounds realistic; I've read books before with the same romantic plot thread that just fell flat. Colleen gives her characters plenty of obstacles, including themselves.

I enjoyed this work and definitely recommend it as a "tell-everyone-including-your-dentist" book.