By
Kelly Bridgewater
Back Cover Copy:
One
case from her past defines homicide detective Abby Hart.
With a possible serial killer stalking elderly women in Long Beach, California, Abby’s best lead is Luke Murphy, an irritating private investigator who saw a suspect flee the scene of the latest homicide. When Abby discovers that the most recent victim is related to the governor, she’s anxious to talk to him about a cold case that’s personal to her—one Luke is interested in as well.
As she learns more about the restaurant fire that took her parents’ lives years ago, Abby discovers why Luke is so invested in finding the ones responsible. The more they uncover, though, the more questions they have. Can Abby find peace without having all the answers?
With a possible serial killer stalking elderly women in Long Beach, California, Abby’s best lead is Luke Murphy, an irritating private investigator who saw a suspect flee the scene of the latest homicide. When Abby discovers that the most recent victim is related to the governor, she’s anxious to talk to him about a cold case that’s personal to her—one Luke is interested in as well.
As she learns more about the restaurant fire that took her parents’ lives years ago, Abby discovers why Luke is so invested in finding the ones responsible. The more they uncover, though, the more questions they have. Can Abby find peace without having all the answers?
My Review:
I
have become a fan of Janice Cantore’s police procedural romantic suspense when
I read Accused, the first book in her
Pacific Coast Justice Series. I love how Janice Cantore uses her knowledge from
working on the police force to create a realistic look into all the drama and
struggles that occur for the men and women who serve our local communities. Drawing Fire gives readers a ride along
for the hunt to bring justice to a cold case.
True
to a romantic suspense, the story needs to start with an inciting incident and
try to solve that mystery, which propels the story forward. The conflict starts
in the first chapter, allowing Abby Hart and Luke Murphy’s world to collide as
Abby is called to a home of a dead elder lady. The officers call this a case of
the serial killer they nickname granny murder. Most romantic suspense stories
wrap themselves in trying to solve the initial problem, but Cantore solves this
murder pretty quickly and does not return, leaving the one suspect to take the
fall for the murder without question.
The
incident that drives Abby and Luke is the cold case of the Triple Seven murders.
Abby is blinded by drive to seek justice and revenge for her parents’ death. Similarly,
Luke is determined to hunt for a young runaway named Nadine who ran away from
home because she is pregnant. As much as the inciting incident being solved so
quickly bothered me, Cantore allows Nadine to get beaten up, but there is no
mention of what happens to her pregnancy. Along the same lines, the first sixty
percent of the story is back-story and catching the reader up on all the
research that Luke and Abby have personally done on the Triple Seven Murders.
It was slow going. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but it
didn’t. Once Luke went on a run and got shot at, the story started to take off
and moved like a suspense book, but it was about sixty-five percent in.
Cantore
created Luke and Abby to be practically equal foils. While Luke is a private
investigator, Abby Hart is a homicide investigator. Both of them have lost
significant people in their early life. Both of them have had mentors who helped
them settle in their final career choices. Cantore does a good job at showing
the readers how Abby and Luke think, but I feel disconnected between how Abby
and Luke actually feel. Cantore tells us how they feel, not show the readers.
One of the favorite aspects of the book was the laid back romance. Abby is
engaged to someone else, but she wonders about Luke. Luke can’t stop thinking
about Abby. It was nice to see the guy falling for Abby, which breaks tradition
because most books have the girl falling in love first. Even with the
difficulties of the plot, I still like the characters of Abby and Luke.
Writing
is what can make or break a story. As
for the dialogue, Cantore does allow words to flow naturally and reflect the
attitude of Abby and Luke. The story world of Long Beach, California, is not
described that well. It appears to be an afterthought for Cantore, not an
important element to tie the reader to the story. Lastly, I never doubted
Cantore’s expertise into the police world. Abby and the other officers treaded
through this world naturally. I enjoyed this peek into the world of police
work.
Drawing Fire has no
questionable content that conservative readers of any age would question. The
last thirty percent of the book would bring a great story to the romantic
suspense genre. I just wished Cantore would weave in all the back-story while
working hard to solve the cold case of her parents’ death while having
complications to the serial killer and finding Nadine. Abby and Luke were never
in any harm until the last third of the book. It was an original idea with
using Abby as the victim and the investigator on the sly, but the story is not
predictable. I had no idea who the actual bad guy was until Cantore revealed it
at the last minute. If you can sludge through the first part of the book, the
last part is more of Cantore’s style, which is evident in her other books. I
truly enjoyed her first five books, but this one is not her usual writing
style.
Overall,
Janice Cantore’s Drawing Fire uses
her vast knowledge in police work to bring three mysteries to the table with
wounded characters on the path for justice but tells the story of leaving
justice and revenge to God.
This
review first appeared on The Christian Manifesto where I am an Assistant Editor
and a Featured Reviewer.
Janice Cantore’s Writing Bio:
 |
| Taken from Cantore's Amazon Author's Page |
A
retired Long Beach California police officer of 22 years (16 in uniform and 6
as a non-career officer), Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments,
patrol, administration, juvenile investigations and training. During the course
of her career in uniform Janice found that faith was indispensable to every
aspect of the job and published articles on faith at work, one for a quarterly
newspaper called "Cop and Christ", and another for the monthly
magazine "Today's Christian Woman".
With retirement Janice began to write longer pieces and several novels were born. Janice is excited and honored to now be a part of the Tyndale Publishing House family. Accused, the first installment in her new suspense offering, The Pacific Coast Justice Series, was released February 1, 2012 and kicked off a brand new chapter in her writing career. In addition to suspense and action, her books feature strong female leads. Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep you engrossed and leave you inspired.
With retirement Janice began to write longer pieces and several novels were born. Janice is excited and honored to now be a part of the Tyndale Publishing House family. Accused, the first installment in her new suspense offering, The Pacific Coast Justice Series, was released February 1, 2012 and kicked off a brand new chapter in her writing career. In addition to suspense and action, her books feature strong female leads. Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep you engrossed and leave you inspired.
Where to connect with Janice:
Where to purchase Drawing Fire:
Your
local Favorite bookstore
What
aspect of police procedurals draw you into the story?
Good review. I found it very insightful, answering any questions I have and giving me enough info to help me decide to use some of my limited reading time with a book, which is what a good review does. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteJeff
Thank you, Jeff for your kind words. I'm really glad my review helped.
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