REVIEW: One Award Finalist!

I believe this book was reviewed on this blog when it first released, but upon learning that it was a finalist for the esteemed Selah Award, I had to look into it for myself! I'm so glad I did. 

COLD PURSUIT is a story that left me with little tingles crawling up my back. Seriously, Nancy Mehl has a deviously clever mind! I was hooked from the first moment, when the main character was shot! Yes, shot! And then the other main character was locked in a box and thrown into the river. 

You know, I always go into books expecting that the main characters will at least live through the first chapter. I wasn't sure this time! 

Hard to believe, but the suspense actually gets even more intense. I was intrigued by the explanation of synesthesia and then the experience of it manifested through the mind and point of view of the antagonist. Mrs. Mehl drew him as a tragic character that sparked my empathy, along with disgust and a big dose of dread/fear. I consider her an absolute master at drawing creative characters that are way too real - especially when they are killing people!  

Along with the empathetic character of the antagonist, the series has a great chemistry between the hero, Tony St. Clair, and the heroine, River Ryland. They are attempting to stick to the best friends monikers, but I don't expect their relationship to remain there for long. 

I was drawn to River's character in particular. Her frustration with her mother's condition gave me flashbacks of my own encounter with Alzheimer's. It is a cruel disease for those watching its affects. But in my experience with my mom, it became truly merciful, allowing her to dwell into situations that brought her joy and made her feel needed even if they'd happened decades before. And I loved how she could remember every word of a dozen or more hymns - all the verses - up until the end. I could see similar effects in River's mom - her unwarranted anger and the hurtful words that were quickly forgotten. River has her hands and her heart full with this situation and that makes her all the more real... and vulnerable. 

The ending was satisfying, spooky even. But though this situation was resolved, a bigger-picture issue
was revealed to bleed into the next book. COLD THREAT, book 2 of the Ryland & St. Clair series, released in January (Get it HERE!), and book 3, COLD VENGEANCE will launch in July. Can't wait! 

I can certainly see why this book was targeted as a finalist for the distinguished Selah Award. You're going to want to read it! Here's the LINK and here's a bit more about the book: 

Ex-FBI profiler River Ryland still suffers from PTSD after a case went horribly wrong. Needing a fresh start, she moves to St. Louis to be near her ailing mother and opens a private investigation firm with her friend and former FBI partner, Tony St. Clair. They're soon approached by a grieving mother who wants them to find out what happened to her teenaged son, who disappeared four years ago. River knows there's almost no hope the boy is still alive, but his mother needs closure, and River and Tony need a case, no matter how cold it might be.

But as they follow the boy's trail, which gets more complicated at every turn, they find themselves in the path of a murderer determined to punish anyone who gets in his way. As River and Tony race to stop him before he kills again, an even more dangerous threat emerges, stirring up the past that haunts River and plotting an end to her future.

And don't miss what other best-selling and award-winning suspense authors are saying about this book!

 "Guaranteed to captivate with plot twists you won't see coming."--Tosca Lee, New York Times bestselling author

"This story is sure to leave you breathless from the thrill of the ride. Hold on tight, it's about to get exhilarating!"--Lynette Eason, bestselling and award-winning author of the Extreme Measures series

"Cold Pursuit sucked me in from the first riveting page and pulled me deeper into an intricate, danger-filled plot."--Elizabeth Goddard, bestselling author of Cold Light of Day