BOOK REVIEW: DANGEROUS PAST by Suspense Sister Roxanne Rustand

Marji Laine here. 

Last week, our Suspense Sister, Roxanne Rustand, released book nine of her Northern Pines Suspense Series. I realized that I’ve never gotten to read one of her books, so I quickly rectified that situation. I didn’t want to start at book nine, so I picked up book one. I’m so glad I did.

Roxanne reminds me of one of my all-time favorite authors, Phyllis A. Whitney. Whitney had a habit of setting a heroine in the midst of unknown hostility where unexplained events covered intentional attacks. Her writing, if memory serves, was either from an omniscient (narrator-type) viewpoint or only from a single point of view, bu
t as the stories progressed, attacks grew more pronounced and more dangerous.

Roxanne, thankfully, uses a dual point of view between the hero and the heroine and even throws in a few other characters from time to time to give a more colorful background. But in the same way as Whitney's heroines, Lauren, faces seemingly inescapable problems.

This is an emotionally-charged story with a good amount of tension and rich characters. It adds multi-layered characters, Lauren and Michael, with strong back-stories, reasonable reactions, and even defining quirks. Amidst past problems and their current hopes and goals, both Michael and Lauren find joy, laughter, and make embarrassing and even heart-breaking mistakes.

A troubled young daughter and an entourage of various pets add to this heart-warming story. Even the goat has a personality!

Dangerous Past has a mild level of suspense, particularly at the beginning as the backdrop of the story is laid with the initial interactions of the characters. Michael and Lauren, though, with their various secrets, hidden needs, and quiet desperation, intrigued me. The story itself amped up its flavor of suspense throughout, and the final scenes satisfied completely, leaving me eager to read more of this series.

Here’s a little more about this story.

She needs to hide from her past. He only wants to be left alone. What could possibly go wrong?

A DISILLUSIONED ATTORNEY
Michael is searching for a quiet life in a small town. Alone. When his elderly, vagabond Aunt Bertie announces her plans for yet another summer in Europe, he agrees to stay at her home on the shore of Briar Lake. It’s perfect timing, while he hunts for a house to buy and a location for his law practice. 

Perfect---until he meets a flamboyant stranger at Bertie’s front door, who refuses to let him inside. A very nervous one, at that.

A WOMAN WITH A TROUBLED PAST
A housemate? No way. Bertie’s menagerie is of epic proportions—thanks to the homeless animals she constantly adopts. Lauren promised to move in and care for them this summer. It’s a promise she cannot break to the woman she has loved as an "extra grandmother" since childhood—even if she fears this forced proximity to a man who could uncover her darkest secrets.

But there’s another problem… one that could end her life.

Roxanne Rustand is the USA Today Bestselling author of forty romance and romantic suspense novels—in both Clean & Wholesome and Christian genres. Her books have sold over 2.9 million copies.

Get your own copy HERE!

But don't miss out on all the books of Northern Pines Suspense - particularly the brand new release, book nine! Learn about them all HERE! 

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I so enjoyed this book with my snowy backyard as a backdrop, wrapped in my sweater and crocheted throw and stretched out in my recliner. What did you do during this year's snowy/icy/frigid days? Share your answer below and you just might win a copy of Roxanne's book. (Don't forget to leave your email address!)

WHAT'S HOT IN INSPIRATIONAL SUSPENSE?

 Wondering what's HOT in Inspirational Suspense this week? PROWL by USA Today Bestselling Author Colleen Coble!!

When a worker at the Sanctuary is discovered dead in the tiger enclosure, authorities assume the big cat killed her. But when the autopsy shows she was killed by a lethal dose of anesthetic delivered by a tranquilizer gun, suspicion falls on Blake Lawson, co-owner of the Sanctuary. Blake has his hands full trying to clear his name as well as get the Sanctuary finances back in the black. When a soil test turns up traces of rare earth, he's even more puzzled. Is someone trying to run them out of business to get to whatever is under the ground?

Meanwhile, wildlife veterinarian Paradise Alden is determined to find the brother she only recently learned even existed. When the results of the DNA test she ran mysteriously disappear from her portal before she can read them, she realizes someone must not want her to know the truth. A break-in at her new apartment is alarming, but she tries to pass it off as someone trying to scare her away. She refuses to turn tail and run when she is desperate for answers.

For Blake, the only solid ground is his relationship with Paradise, and he longs to propose--but how can they even think about starting a life together with so many forces working against them?

Colleen Coble's Prowl combines gripping suspense with closed-door romance and includes intriguing mysteries from both the past and present, sabotage and danger, second-chance romance, found family, and themes of overcoming pain and how the past doesn't have to define you.

Also in this series: Ambush (book 1, available now) and Conspiracy (book 3, available July 2026).

PROWL is Book #2 in the Sanctuary series. You can pick up your e-copy of this second-chance romantic suspense  at THIS LINK! 

I hope you LOVE it! ~ Marji Laine

A Chat With Author Janet McHenry-By Linda Kozar

Annie's Attic Antique Shop Mysteries

Author Janet McHenry

                           See below for today's giveaway!

All About Janet...After Janet graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in journalism, she married her high school sweetheart Craig and worked as a newspaper reporter and editor.  They eventually settled down in the Sierra Valley in northern California, where Craig is a rancher and where there is not a single stoplight in the entire county. In their town of 700+ folks, she says they have raised four pretty good children – all done with college and married – and are now enjoying the grandkids, all of whom are perfect. Visit the Family Gallery. As a busy writer, speaker, prayer coordinator at her church, and board member of The Sierra Schools Foundation, Janet says the only pastime she has time for is friends!  And she looks forward to knowing you better! Find her on Facebook or her Looking Up! blog.

1.    I read about the story behind what inspired you to write Prayer Walk. What is prayer walking? Prayer walking is praying for whatever God puts within your eyesight. I live right on Main Street in my little town in the Sierra Valley. So, as I walk past businesses, I pray that God will favor the owners and workers in their business and families and that they will know that blessing is coming from God and serve them with their lives. 

2.     What are your favorite elements of mystery and suspense? I love quirky characters with secretive pasts. It's fun bringing them into a story, each with means, motive, and opportunity--and then let the sleuth do the digging to better understand that person. I believe characters should always drive a story--even with the mystery form.

3.     Who is your favorite or most memorable character in one of your books? If you could, would you want to meet that character in real life? I really like Maggie Watson, the sleuth in the Antique Shop Mysteries, published by Annie's. She's a 40-some widow who inherits her Aunt Evelyn's estate on the Maine coast, complete with an antiques shop on the property. I love hunting for antiques, and I love the stories behind them. I can picture myself doing what she does in her stories.

4.    Do you incorporate settings in your books from your real-life travels? I did travel to the Maine coast before writing Bride and Seek, the mystery I wrote for the Antique Shop Mysteries series. I wanted to take in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the area. I particularly loved the small towns, the lighthouses, the beaches, and the fresh ocean air. 

5.    Tell us your favorite book signing or book launch story. For one of my books on prayer, the local newspaper in my small town hosted a signing for me. A friend bought a couple books and then said, "Oh, pray for 'John.'" This was a person I HAD been praying for for several years, so I said, "Wow! I have been. What's going on?" She said, "Well, he's been coming to church and reading the Bible all the way through." This good news truly touched my heart, because I knew he had had a troubled past. That he was now seeking a personal relationship with God was good news indeed. 

6.    What advice would you give to a beginning author? Go to a writers' conference--a good one of many days. It's the best investment I made in my writing career. In fact, I went to THREE of them the first year I sensed the call to write. At those conferences I began to understand the various forms of writing--both articles and books. I kept going to the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference for at least 15 years. At those conferences you not only get professional instruction; you also get to rub shoulders with agents and editors and to get professional critique and help so you can get better as a writer. 

7.    Name one of your favorite classic books or authors.  This is a great question for a former high school English teacher! The quintessential American classic, I believe, is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In fact, we should all read it again and again. It encourages us to put ourselves in other people's shoes before we judge them or think ourselves superior. The novel not only deals with racial prejudice, but also delves into social class discrimination, religious intolerance and hypocrisy, and sexual discrimination. A contemporary Christian novelist I'm especially enjoying right now, though, is Cynthia Ruchti. She weaves strong thematic ideas through her beautiful prose. I want to be like her when I grow up.  

8.    Tell us about the book you're giving away to one lucky reader on Suspense Sisters today. I will be delighted to mail a copy of The Secret of the Locked Trunk, the second in the Annie Shepard Mysteries that I wrote for Cook Publishing years ago. It's a fun little series for juvenile girls--sort of a Christian Nancy Drew read. 

TODAY'S GIVEAWAY!

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