Traces of Guilt - Dee Henderson

Lieutenant Evie Blackwell is taking a "vacation."  A vacation that involves trying to solve several missing person cold cases centered in Carin County, Illinois, as a test case for a special task force that the Governor Elect is trying to form.  Gabriel Thane is the current Sheriff, son of the former Sheriff, and as such, becomes Evie's partner in sifting through the old evidence and searching for new links that may help them to solve these cases that have not been forgotten within the local community.  These cases may be linked by more than just the memories and relationships of the Thane family.

When Ann Falcon first appeared in this book, and mentioned "three brothers," I was excited to think maybe we'd finally gotten the story of the third Bishop brother.   Alas, it was not to be, but instead centered around three new brothers - the Thane brothers: Gabriel, Josh, and Will - who are equally interesting and engaging.  I enjoyed getting to know this new family, but I feel like they were such rich characters that they would have been better served if they'd gotten their own books.  Even still, the author manages to tuck quirky little personality traits into such a full story, like a habit of leaving SweeTarts behind.  This family would have made for a rich trilogy, and instead, their story felt under-served by condensing it into a single book.

The loose tie-in of Ann is an interesting thread to hold these stand-alone novels together.  This particular installment was made more interesting by the introduction of Evie Blackwell, who, it appears, is going to get her own series.  The concept of a task force to solve cold cases is intriguing, and I hope that the series does each case justice, as well as giving its lead characters room to grow.  This one hooked me, but I wanted tighter focus on a few characters and one or two cases, rather than trying to tie so many people, romances, and mysteries together into one novel.  I hope that Evie stays in touch with the Thane family, so that we can as well.

I give this book 3.5 stars.  I look forward to reading more about Evie (and I still want to read about Jim Bishop!).

You can find Traces of Guilt HERE.
You can find Dee Henderson's site HERE.
You can find more from the publisher, including an excerpt and author Q&A HERE.

I received an e-book copy of this book from Bethany House, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Taken - Dee Henderson

Shannon Bliss has been missing for 11 years, having disappeared at the age of 16.  She has managed to free herself from an incredibly complicated and violent family associated with a shockingly vast array of crimes, and she has chosen Matthew Dane to help her sort through the ramifications of her life in captivity and her escape.  Matthew is a retired cop, current private investigator, whose own daughter had been kidnapped and recovered, and Shannon needs his sensitivity and skills to return to a normal life.

Taken is loosely connected with several of Dee Henderson's previous books, including Full Disclosure, Undetected, and Unspoken.  Characters from each of these previous books assist in Shannon's reappearance - some through law enforcement assistance, and some through personal experience and relationships.  My opinions of this string of books has been all over the place; I loved Undetected and Unspoken, and was not thrilled with Full Disclosure.  Unfortunately, Taken fell on the side of Full Disclosure for me.  Shannon was not a very lovable character; she survived what appeared to be a horrible ordeal, but she played it so close to the vest and had such an in-depth collection of knowledge on this complicated crime family that she came across pretty cold and calculating.  Matthew fell into a weird place of being a father figure to her as he related her to his daughter who'd been kidnapped, but then there was clearly a bend towards bringing them together romantically, which seemed messy.  He was a compassionate and safe relationship for her, but he had none of the strong characteristics that Henderson's main characters usually have.  Even the story of the kidnapping and the thieves and criminals involved got too complicated and drawn out to keep me invested as a reader.

Overall, I felt that this story dragged a bit.  There were no great characters for me to latch onto and love, and there was no romance to root for.  I just couldn't love this book.  I give it 2 stars.  I'm STILL hoping for the 3rd brother from the military novels to get his own book!

You can find Taken HERE.
You can find Dee Henderson's site HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Undetected - Dee Henderson

Commander Mark Bishop is one of only a few people in the world with the particular power he holds - the command of a ballistic missile submarine.  His job is tough, but he carries the responsibility well, and is respected by those under his command.  Gina Gray is the sister of one of Mark's friends and fellow submarine captain Jeff, and she's profoundly gifted.  She could have studied anything, but with her brother in the Navy, she has turned to researching ways to improve submarine defenses and capabilities, and she has turned everything the Navy knows upside down.  Riding the two-edged sword of making our own submarine's capabilities stronger, while knowing that some day other countries may use that knowledge against us, Gina needs someone to protect her while encouraging her gifts and discoveries.

I typically enjoy Dee Henderson's novels, and I especially enjoy her military ones.  This was no exception; well-written, thrilling, and just enough romance that you can see coming, but isn't the focus of the story, so it fits in nicely.  I have no military background, so I can't speak to her authenticity regarding military matters, but it certainly feels respectful and honoring of those who serve.  I love the handling of Gina's gift, and how those who are meant to be in her life don't feel threatened by her success, but encourage her to use what God has given her and led her to discover.

When I finished this book, I found that it was the third in a series, and I quickly rushed to find the others.  Turns out I had already read (and reviewed) the first: Full Disclosure, and I loved the second: Unspoken. I definitely recommend reading them in order (And Full Disclosure makes the most sense if you've already read the O'Malley series.)  I also REALLY hope this series continues - I want to read about the 3rd brother!

I give this book 4 stars.  I loved the action, I loved the characters, and I enjoyed filling in the story by going back and reading the missing book in the series.

You can find Undetected HERE.
You can find Dee Henderson's website HERE. (Although it is a rather bare bones site, I can attest that if you request bookmarks, you receive them quickly!)

I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.