Book Review: TAKE MY HAND by suspense sister Kristen Hogrefe Parnell

I had the best time earlier this week, listening to Kristen Hogrefe Parnell’s TAKE MY HAND on my Audible app. Squee! This is exactly the type of suspense book that I LOVE to read, the perfect recipe!

·       Drama at the beginning ignites some unknown situation.
·       Relational drama with plenty of humor and great chemistry between the two main characters is braided through the entire book.
·       An undercurrent of suspense, carried through hints, a mysterious point-of-view character, and spoken intentions grows from chapter 1.
·       The foreboding heightens in the middle, amidst everyday type of activity - as shadowy characters appear on the scene.
·       And then the roof falls in! The suspense just gets tenser from there until the end.
·       I won’t give anything away, but the ending offered just the right amount of satisfaction!

And the characters, Kaley and Reef, and also sweet Liam, have stayed with me for several days. Usually, the characters are my favorites from books, but this plot was so good – the timing was so perfect – it took me back to when my love of suspense began in the idyllic days of high school with my cache of Phyllis A. Whitney books.

Yes, Kristen Hogrefe Parnell is that good! There are only a handful of authors that I compare with Whitney!

Here’s the book’s official description and the cover is a buy link, but make sure you read all the way to the end!

Trauma therapist Kaley Colbert needs a vacation from her job, and a ski trip with her church singles’ group seems like the perfect way to unplug. But while in the mountains, she learns that her last client was murdered hours after their meeting, and she wonders if the notes she’s receiving from a possible stalker hold a more sinister warning.

On the trip, ex-boyfriend and entrepreneur Reef Mitchell wants to give their relationship another chance, but Kaley questions if his past and priorities could ever mesh with her life. When her client’s underworld connections catch up with her, she has no choice but trust Reef to help her stay alive, solve her client’s mystery, and bring the killers to justice.

(Available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook at Amazon.com.)

And the best part about this book, now that I’ve finished reading it… There are LOTS of characters in this crowd begging for stories of their own! I sure hope Kristen shares them! I can’t wait to read them. And I’m going to start with HOLD YOUR BREATH, book 2 in her Crossroads Suspense series. Stay tuned for my review of that one coming soon! 

So you now know that Phyllis A. Whitney introduced me to suspense back in the day. What author introduced you to suspense? Let me know your thoughts and you might just win an e-copy of this book. Share in the comments section and don't forget to leave your email address!