Redemption

by: Laurel Dewey

Published by: The Story Plant

Reviewed by Stephanie Boyd

Jane Perry, a former Denver police detective, is now working independent of the police department as a private investigator.

When Kit Clark approaches Jane to travel from Colorado to Northern California to find the man who murdered Kit’s granddaughter before he kills again, Jane wants nothing to do with the case. But when a pre-teen turns up missing in the area the man was last known to be in, and Jane sees Kit is determined to go after the man she believes has the teen, Jane can’t send her off alone–besides she can use the money Kit is paying.

Can two completely different kinds of women find this master criminal and stop him before he harms the girl? What if Kit is wrong and this is not the man who has the girl, what then? Can this case blow up in Jane’s face and leave her the laughing stock of her former police buddies?

Jane is back in a second mystery and is still all too human with plenty of her own faults and weaknesses and her driving need to help people and stop criminals. Kit is New Age and seems to be the complete antithesis of Jane, but it is these extreme differences that help bring the characters in this story together and made it fascinating to me.

A major portion of the story is the juxtaposition of the beliefs of an extremely narrow fundamentalist church, Buddhist philosophies, and moral fortitude. I wouldn’t call this a religious book, as Jane is struggling and doesn’t follow any of the belief systems. It is the characters around her who have the various beliefs, and the beliefs are discussed but not with the purpose of converting someone to that belief system.

Anyone of any belief could read and enjoy Jane’s all-too-human struggle for meaning and purpose in life without the book pushing a particular belief on the reader. Plus this is primarily a thriller with a hunt for an evil criminal targeting young women and the race to save the latest victim from death.

I loved it and can’t wait for book three.

Armchair Interviews says: A 5-star thriller/suspense—a very good read!

Author’s Web site: http://www.LaurelDewey.com