Irene Hannon: Dark Ambitions

By Kelly Bridgewater

Former Army Night Stalker Rick Jordan usually has his camp for foster children to himself during the winter months. But someone has visited recently--leaving a trail of blood. One of the two clues left behind tips Rick off to the identity of his visitor, who soon turns up dead. The police deem it an accident, but Rick isn't convinced. With the help of private investigator Heather Shields, he sets out to decipher the remaining clue. Except someone doesn't want them to succeed--and will stop at nothing to keep them from finding the truth.

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My Thoughts:

Dark Ambitions by Irene Hannon is exactly what fans of romantic suspense novels are looking for. A sweet romance developing while a high-octane chase for their lives threatened their every move. Hannon definitely creates tension with the fast moving plot. Her romance develops slowly over the course of the book to the happily-ever-after ending. The suspense kept me guessing and wowed me with the identity of the villains. The writing is top-notch. I enjoyed spending a  couple of hours with this novel. While it is labeled for the Christian market, there really isn't that much mention of God or spirituality in the story. Overall, Dark Ambitions by Irene Hannon is a delightful attention to my library and fans of romantic suspense like Colleen Coble, DiAnn Mills, and Lynette Eason would enjoy this novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Dark Ambitions by Irene Hannon from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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About the Author:

From Amazon

Irene Hannon is the best-selling author of more than 35 novels. Her books have been honored with the coveted RITA Award from Romance Writers of America, the HOLT Medallion, the Reviewer's Choice Award from Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine and the Daphne du Maurier Award for mystery/suspense. Irene and her husband make their home in Missouri, USA. Irene invites you to visit her at her website, www.irenehannon.com (Taken from Amazon).

Irene Hannon: Hidden Peril

By Kelly Bridgewater

As teenagers, Kristin Dane and her two best friends took a vow to make the world a better place. Twenty years later, she's fulfilling that pledge through her fair trade shop that features products from around the world. All is well until, one by one, people connected to the shop begin dying.

Detective Luke Carter, new to the St. Louis PD, wants to know why. Before he can answer that question, however, the FBI weighs in and Kristin suddenly finds herself in the middle of international intrigue--and in the sights of the ruthless mastermind behind an ingenious and deadly, scheme. Can this cold-blooded killer be stopped before more people die . . . including Kristin?

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Irene Hannon is one of the go-to author for me when it comes to writing suspense. I know she will have a solid story with plenty of research and high tension enough to grab and keep my attention. With her newest novel, Hidden Peril, the suspense seemed, to me, pretty watered down. It was another novel having to with a terrorist threat on American soil. For me, this type of suspense really doesn't capture my attention. I know the threat is real. I'm not that naive, but I honestly don't want to keep reading it over and over again in my suspense novels. The suspense didn't appear to be that important to Kristin's life until about eighty-five percent into the novel. The romance between Kristin Dane and Luke occurred from the moment the couple met and kept increasing its sparks as the story progressed along. The ending is predictable with, even so far as me knowing who was behind the attacks pretty early in the novel and Hannon proved me correct at the end of the novel. The romance ending was completely predictable too.

Overall, Hidden Peril by Irene Hannon started out with a unique twist but then morphed into a terrorist plot on American soil, losing my attention pretty quickly. I still believe fan so DiAnn Mills novels would enjoy this novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Hidden Peril by Irene Hannon, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

From Amazon

About the Author:

Irene Hannon is the best-selling author of more than 35 novels. Her books have been honored with the coveted RITA Award from Romance Writers of America, the HOLT Medallion, the Reviewer's Choice Award from Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine and the Daphne du Maurier Award for mystery/suspense. Irene and her husband make their home in Missouri, USA. Irene invites you to visit her at her website, www.irenehannon.com. (Taken from Amazon.)

Irene Hannon: Dangerous Illusions

By Kelly Bridgewater

Trish Bailey is on overload trying to deal with a demanding job, an ailing mother, and a healing heart. When a series of unsettling memory lapses leads to a tragic death--and puts Trish under police scrutiny--her world is once again thrown into turmoil.

Detective Colin Flynn isn't certain what to think of the facts he uncovers during his investigation. Did Trish simply make a terrible mistake or is there more to the case than meets the eye? As he searches for answers, disturbing information begins to emerge--and if the forces at work are as evil as he suspects, the situation isn't just dangerous . . . it's deadly.

Bestselling and award-winning author Irene Hannon captures readers with a mind-bending story that will have them doubling back to retrace their steps--and figure out what they missed!

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Dangerous Illusions by Irene Hannon is the introduction to her new Code of Honor series. In her last series, Men of Valor, I believed there was too much romance that outdid the suspense. But in this introduction, she has brought the suspense back to the forefront of her novels, which makes me really proud. With a romantic suspense, I know that I'm getting a little bit of romance, a lot of suspense, and reoccurring characters. With Dangerous Illusions, I received all that.

With her writing, Hannon does a great job at inviting me into the story. I never once had to guess where I was at or which character was doing the talking. I had that pretty figured out. She shows the internal struggle from Trish's perspective and the bad guy.

The romance was pretty laid back. I enjoyed watching Trish and Colin wiggle their way through the romance. Where they going to like each other or were they not? It wasn't too pushy, but Colin does protect Trish when she needs him the most.

The suspense. The number reason why I pick up Hannon's novels in the first place. It was gripping and kept my attention on what was happening in the story. It was different and predictable. I had a suspicion on what was going on, and I was a little off. The problem that I did have with the suspense element was that Hannon played her cards for the readers about half way into the novel. If you didn't know who the bad guy was by then, Hannon showed you. The rest of  the novel was watching Trish and Colin figure out their budding romance and figure out how to bring enough of a warrant to find evidence to arrest the person. I would have liked to have watch the bad guy's perspective for as long as possible, but then figure out near the end if I was right or wrong.

Overall, Dangerous Illusions by Irene Hannon is a thrill-ride of a suspense novel with a hint of romance during an unique plot idea carried by refreshing characters. Fans of Colleen Coble will devour this book and add it to their keeper shelves.

I received a complimentary copy of Dangerous Illusions by Irene Hannon from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars