Wednesday, July 1, 2026
ANNOUNCING THE SUSPENSE SISTERS SUMMER OF SUSPENSE CONTEST!
Later today we'll begin our annual Summer of Suspense Contest! You won't see our usual posts since this contest runs throughout July. Be sure to enter. You could win some great prizes!
The winner of our June contest is Jon Heil! Congratulations, Jon!
Monday, June 29, 2026
WHAT'S HOT in Christian Mystery and Suspense
Marji Laine here.
Newly Republished, this looks like a fun series!
Explosive
Alliance
by Susan Sleeman
puts a killer on her trail.
Finding a time bomb in a packed stadium makes Krista Curry an accidental hero—and marked her for death. Now, the attention could expose her real name and the infamous past she fought to escape. But explosives expert Cash Dixon promises Krista protection from the bomber’s retaliation. Yet she hesitates to trust him as she sees his suspicion about her grow with every question she dodges. As danger escalates, Cash must decide if she’s an innocent woman or guilty accomplice. But the clock is ticking down—and the real bomber is still on the loose…
Don’t miss the other titles in the First Responders series.
- Silent Night Standoff
- High-Caliber Holiday
- Emergency Response
- Silent Sabotage
- Christmas Conspiracy
Friday, June 26, 2026
Moving Day Mysteries: Romantic Suspense Heroes and Heroines Starting Over
Book characters move for a variety of reasons. The same is true in Christian Romantic Suspense. I recently moved from Wyoming to South Dakota, so I thought it would be fun to share a list of "Moving Day Mysteries", Christian romantic suspense novels where the hero or heroine has recently moved to a new location whether that be to buy or inherit a new house, start a new job, or hide from the bad guys ...
One of the quickest ways to make a romantic suspense protagonist vulnerable is to put them somewhere unfamiliar. Whether they're inheriting a long-forgotten house, buying a fixer-upper, relocating for work, or seeking refuge from the past, they begin the story without the safety net of trusted neighbors and established routines. That's exactly when danger likes to strike.
#1- The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright
#2- Gazing into Darkness by Heidi Glick
#3 - The Girl Upstairs by Jessica R. Patch
#4- Beneath the Surface by Lynn H. Blackburn
#5- Beneath Copper Falls by Colleen Coble
#6- Secrets at Cedar Cabin by Colleen Coble
#7- Targeted in the Swamp by Kerry Johnson
#8- A Caffeine Conundrum by Angela Ruth Strong (Not romantic suspense, but I loved this series.)
#9- The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House by Joanna Davidson Politano
#10- Cold Light of Day by Elizabeth Goddard
What others would you add?
Giveaway: An eBook copy of my newest release, The Escape Game.
To Enter: Answer this question: Have you ever started over in a new place?
Gina Holder is a Christian award-winning author of romantic
suspense and cozy mysteries filled with faith, intrigue, danger, romance, and
epic twists you'll never see coming.
She’s had an infatuation with books for as long as she can remember. She loves
sharing uplifting messages from God’s Word and introducing readers to new and
new-to-them authors on her blog. When she’s not writing, Gina enjoys playing
the piano, cooking, reading, watching Hallmark mysteries, and solving “escape
room” puzzles. She loves growing in her craft as an author. She published her
debut novel in 2017. Gina lives in Wyoming with her husband and daughter.
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Secrets Behind the White Picket Fences – Writing Small Town Suspense Stories
When readers think of suspense, they often imagine dark city streets, crowded airports, or remote locations far from civilization.
But some of the most suspenseful
stories happen in the last place anyone expects: a small town.
As a suspense author, I’ve always
been drawn to small-town settings. There’s something uniquely unsettling about
danger arriving in a place that feels safe.
Small towns are built on
familiarity.
People know one another. They attend
the same churches, shop at the same stores, and share generations of history.
Neighbors wave from their front porches. Children grow up together. Families
become woven into the fabric of the community.
On the surface, that sense of
connection creates comfort.
For a suspense writer, however, it
creates opportunity.
Because when everyone knows
everyone, secrets become much harder to hide—and much more dangerous when they
come to light.
In a small town, a crime doesn't
affect strangers. It affects friends. Family members. Neighbors.
The local sheriff may be
investigating someone he grew up with. The witness might be a lifelong friend.
The victim may be someone the entire town loved.
Suddenly, every clue carries
emotional weight.
That's what makes small-town
suspense so compelling.
The setting raises the stakes beyond
solving a crime. The investigation threatens relationships, reputations, and
sometimes the very identity of the community itself.
Another advantage of a small-town
setting is history.
Every town has stories.
Some are passed down through
generations. Some are whispered about behind closed doors. Some are buried so
deeply that people hope they never resurface.
As writers, we can use that history
to create layers of mystery.
Perhaps a decades-old disappearance
still haunts the community. Maybe an unsolved murder continues to cast a shadow
over the town square. Or perhaps a family has spent years protecting a secret
that could destroy everything if revealed.
The past becomes a character of its
own.
And in suspense, the past rarely
stays buried.
Small towns also provide natural
settings that heighten tension.
A lonely mountain road during a
snowstorm.
A forgotten church at the edge of
town.
An abandoned farmhouse hidden among
rolling fields.
A forest trail where no one will
hear a cry for help.
These locations create atmosphere
while reminding readers that danger can exist even in the most beautiful
places.
Perhaps most importantly, small
towns allow readers to become emotionally invested in the community itself.
Readers don't just care about the
hero and heroine. They care about the people around them. The diner owner. The
pastor. The elderly neighbor who knows more than she's saying. The deputy
trying to protect his hometown.
When danger threatens the town,
readers feel that threat personally because they've come to know the community.
That's one reason I continue
returning to small-town settings in my own books.
Whether the story takes place in
Amish country, a mountain community, a coastal village, or a remote town tucked
away from the rest of the world, the setting offers more than scenery.
It creates relationships. History.
Secrets.
And for a suspense writer, secrets
are where the story begins.
One example is my novel Tangled
Past, set on Hope Island, a small coastal community where a decades-old
murder still casts a shadow over the town. Twenty-five years after Police Chief
Raymond Dutton was murdered, his son, Asa, returns home searching for answers.
His only lead is Maya Callahan, the young witness found at the scene as a child,
who has no memory of what happened that night. As long-buried secrets begin to
surface, Asa and Maya discover that someone is willing to kill to keep the
truth hidden. Hope Island may be picturesque, but like many small communities,
its greatest danger lies not in what everyone knows, but in what someone has
spent decades trying to conceal.
For a chance to win an e-book copy
of Tangled Past, tell me, what makes a small-town setting memorable to
you as a reader? Please be sure to include your email in your comment.
Mary Alford is a New York Times and USA TODAY
bestselling author who loves giving her readers the unexpected, combining
unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots that result in stories the
reader can’t put down. Her books have garnered several awards and nominations.
Mary lives deep in the heart of Texas with her husband, two cats, and a dog.
Mary is very active online and would love to connect with readers on Facebook,
Instagram, and X.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)