Last to Fall by Lynn H. Blackburn

Last to Fall
by Lynn H. Blackburn

ISBN-13: 9780800745387
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: March 3, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Bronwyn Pierce has poured everything into The Haven, her family's exclusive mountain resort in Gossamer Falls. But when financial discrepancies surface and the numbers suggest something far darker than simple mismanagement, she's forced to call on the one person with the skills to help Mo Quinn, a former Army Intelligence officer, her first love, and the last person she ever wanted to trust again.

Mo has spent years avoiding the woman he once loved and the secrets that tore them apart. But when Bronwyn calls, he can't walk away--especially when it's clear someone wants her gone for good. As they dig deeper into the treacherous motives behind a blackmail scheme, their proximity reignites long-buried feelings neither of them is ready to face.

With danger closing in and no one else to turn to, Bronwyn and Mo must break years of silence to uncover who's trying to destroy The Haven. They'll have to risk everything--including their hearts--to expose the truth before it's too late.


My Review:
Last to Fall is a romantic suspense. This is the third novel in the series, but it works as a standalone. Bronwyn and Mo were friends since they were very young despite the fact that their extended families disliked each other. We finally learned what happened to make Bronwyn decide to never speak to Mo again, and Mo promise not to talk to her until she did. I really wondered what events would make such behavior feel justified, but it did make sense. Now the problem is that Bronwyn needs Mo to figure out who's doing something hinky with the Haven's financials, and she thinks someone might be trying to kill her. Mo and Bronwyn communicated fine despite the no-direct-communication 'rule,' and they realized how much they still cared for each other (especially the more mature versions). Mo supported and protected Bronwyn, and she appreciated that he did this despite how she'd hurt him.

The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. The suspense came from the threat to Bronwyn and everything coming to a boiling point with her family's scheming at the Haven and their trying to manipulate her. Mo said he'd handed the conflict with Bronwyn over to God, but there wasn't much reference to God beyond that. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I would recommend this enjoyable suspense novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

A Kingdom of Shadows by Emily Bain Murphy

A Kingdom of Shadows
by Emily Bain Murphy

ISBN-13: 9780593601457
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook
Released: March 3, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Ever since the Great Betrayal, the light in Wildfel has been dying. The sunshine is dimmer, it takes more firewood to brighten a room, and the shadows grow stronger by the day. Twelve-year-old orphan Finn survives in this world by being a thief. When he, his best friend Adrion, and younger sister Lydia meet a mysterious stranger who claims to know of a Lake of Light, they set off on an adventure to places where the mist can steal a precious memory, starlight gathers in waterfalls, and spiders spin shimmering webs of glass as deadly as they are dazzling.

But there are secrets hiding in the shadows that could change Finn’s understanding of everything he knows—and finding the Lake of Light could alter not only the course of his life but the very kingdom itself.


My Review:
A Kingdom of Shadows is a middle grade, Christian fantasy. This adventure was exciting, with non-stop danger: running from a rival thief to avoiding soldiers and witches to fireflies that literally start fires and spiders that spin pure glass and whose bite can kill. The main characters were engaging. A Christ-like teenager invited several children to help him gather what's needed to make a key to open the way to the Lake of Light. He used the various trials they faced to build their trust in him, but not all of the children chose to remain as one of his followers. Finn had to decide if he'd continue living for his own gain (even if it hurt others) or join the fight for the Light. Both good and bad characters could do magic, with the witches using it to create the shadows that threaten life (less sun means less food, etc.) and the good people used magic to fight the darkness. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this exciting adventure.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Deadly Rodeo Threat by Sami A. Abrams

Deadly Rodeo Threat
by Sami A. Abrams

ISBN-13: 9781335957610
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Released: February 24, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
When his twin sister disappears, Navy SEAL Logan Russell returns home to help her best friend, Sheriff Isabelle Sinclair, track down leads. Isabelle is determined to solve Lisa’s mysterious disappearance the night of her last rodeo—and someone will do anything to keep her from digging too deep. When crucial evidence links Lisa’s case to a string of barrel racers who’ve also vanished, Logan and Izzie fight against the clock to track down a suspected serial killer. But when he sets his sights on Izzie, can they outsmart their enemy before both women end up dead?


My Review:
Deadly Rodeo Threat is a Christian romantic suspense. Isabelle's previous boyfriend broke down her confidence, so now she's determined not to show any weakness and prove her abilities. Logan never doubted her abilities, but he wasn't able to save a friend on his last, disastrous mission and suffers from PTSD and survivor's guilt. Both characters built each other up and supported each other. They worked well together to track down clues about what happened to Lisa. The suspense was high as other missing barrel racers turned up dead (and Lisa might be next) and the killer kept attacking Ivy to stop her investigation.

Both Isabelle and Logan prayed to God for help, and Logan trusted God with the future. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery/suspense.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Edge of Truth by Janice Cantore

Edge of Truth
by Janice Cantore

ISBN-13: 9781496487971
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Released: February 17, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
As a detective in the Long Beach Police Department’s violent crimes division, Lainie Jensen is no stranger to hard-to-crack cases and unusual disappearances, but then her sister Evie vanishes on a trip to Hawaii. Lainie quickly realizes her brother-in-law Stan is telling law enforcement a story that doesn’t appear to add up.

FBI special agent Ben Isaacs has spent six months collecting evidence to take down a money laundering operation. While his fellow agent Efren Gomez goes undercover to infiltrate the ring, Ben investigates those connected to it, including Stan Moffitt, who Ben believes could help lead to the criminal kingpin. Then Stan’s wife goes missing just days after Ben contacted her seeking information. Then Efren goes missing.

When Ben’s and Lainie’s investigations converge, Lainie’s willing to work alongside Ben if it means figuring out what Stan knows and locating Evie. Lainie can’t deny Ben’s dedication to finding the truth or her growing admiration for him. And the more the two examine the evidence, the more they suspect Evie’s disappearance is tied to a highly publicized criminal case from Lainie’s past.


My Review:
Edge of Truth is a Christian romantic suspense. As a rookie, Lainie pulled over a drunk only to discover a murdered woman in the back of the car. The driver convinced a jury that there was no proof that he actually murdered the woman. Now he's a crime boss. When Lainie's brother-in-law calls claiming her sister died in a shark attack, she investigates only to discover that things don't add up. But where's her sister? Ben's been watching the car wash were her brother-in-law works unknowingly for the crime boss, and Ben's partner has gone missing. Lainie and Ben work together to find her sister, his partner, and the truth.

The suspense remained high due to the danger and uncertainty around the disappearances of the sister and partner. The characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. Ben admired how Lainie took good advice and managed to save her career after a rocky start. Both were tenacious in discovering the truth and were good a spotting inconsistencies. Lainie and Ben supported each other and shared a passion for justice.

Lainie felt like God let her down and maybe didn't even listen to her prayers, but she started praying during this crisis and regained her trust that God's in control. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this engaging, suspenseful story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

A Study in Secrets by Jeffrey Siger

A Study in Secrets
by Jeffrey Siger

ISBN-13: 9781448317066
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Severn House
Released: February 3, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Michael A— lives a quiet, comfortable life since his retirement from the intelligence services. Practically a recluse, he spends his days imagining the lives of the anonymous people he watches in the park beneath the window of his elegant New York townhouse—number 221—his every need tended to by his housekeeper, Mrs. Baker.

For weeks, a girl has sat in the park every morning at dawn. Always alone. Always watchful. And when the sun rises, she vanishes, as if she was never there. But one day her routine changes—and Michael realizes that she faces terrible danger. He makes an uncharacteristic decision to abandon his solitude and help her. Soon, Michael finds himself plunged into the New York underworld, and he’ll have to use all the tricks of his former trade if he’s to keep not just himself, but his new friend, alive.


My Review:
A Study in Secrets is a mystery with some suspense. Michael managed to get himself into and out of some rather dangerous situations. He used his wealth and connections to uncover information and solved the murder of a bad guy with the help of his housekeeper and a local restaurant owner. But his sense of justice was more concerned with giving victims a second chance to change and make better choices. I usually don't like civilians acting as judge and jury, but this story was such a delight to read that it felt like true justice had been served. Michael's a master at manipulating people (by guessing motives, probable past actions, etc.) into giving him information, yet people rarely acted completely as he expected leading to some funny moments. So many moving pieces, and yet it all worked out in the end.

There was occasional bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this delightful mystery.1931


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Mists over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin

Mists over the Channel Islands
by Sarah Sundin

ISBN-13: 9780800741877
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: February 1, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
The German invasion of the British Channel Islands shatters Dr. Ivy Picot's peaceful world, forcing her to shoulder the weight of her father's medical practice and hold together a family unraveling under the strain of war. As conditions worsen in Jersey with the arrival of thousands of forced laborers, Ivy's quiet allegiance to the Allies compels her to risk everything--providing medical aid to escaped workers even as danger closes in.

Dutch engineer and resistance member Gerrit van der Zee volunteers to build fortifications for the Germans so he can secretly send maps and diagrams to the Allies. On his arrival in the Channel Islands, he crosses paths with Ivy, who shows him contempt for the uniform he wears. As tensions mount and their missions grow increasingly dangerous, Ivy and Gerrit must confront the cost of courage, the meaning of sacrifice, and whether love can survive in the shadow of war. Will their covert efforts turn the tide--or will they pay the ultimate price for defiance?


My Review:
Mists over the Channel Islands is a Christian romantic suspense set in the British Channel Islands mainly during 1942-44. Gerrit planned to send layouts and maps of the German fortifications to the British, but he needed someone to take the drawings--and Ivy's younger brother worked on a ship that regularly went to France. Ivy didn't initially know this, but she secretly treated forced workers that ran away. Their sister, however, undermined and belittled Ivy and then went to work for a German officer. The suspense came from the high danger to those involved in the resistance and tension in the family from the split loyalties.

The historical details were woven into the story and brought the story alive in my imagination, from food and medicine shortages to details of the harsh German occupation. The characters were well-developed, complex, and acted realistically to events. They felt like real people who really lived through these events. Gerrit and Ivy were engaging characters who shared values and built each other up. Gerrit and Ivy struggled to see God's goodness when things were going so wrong and people died. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical romance.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Whiteout by Lynette Eason & Dani Pettrey

Whiteout
by Lynette Eason
and Dani Pettrey

ISBN-13: 9780764245978
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: February 3, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In Buried in Shadows by Dani Pettrey, Cassandra Parker arrives at her best friend's destination wedding, praying her stalker hasn't tracked her to Colorado. Also part of the wedding party is Sheriff Joel Brunswick, the man she stunned by leaving at the altar to hide a dangerous truth. When an avalanche strands their ski group in an abandoned lodge, it becomes chillingly clear that Cassandra's stalker has followed her . . . and he's willing to kill to make her his.

In Snowbound Secrets by Lynette Eason, Dr. Maya Sullivan fully intends to escape her past and finish planning a retreat for military veterans at the ranch she's inherited. Unfortunately, her plans go sideways when an avalanche traps her in a Colorado ski resort. An unexpected reunion with her high school crush forces her to confront past wounds, but she soon realizes someone is targeting her, and their search for a shadowy enemy becomes a matter of life and death.


My Review:
Whiteout contains 2 Christian romantic suspense novellas. Buried in Shadows is almost a horror movie, with a ski group stuck in an abandoned lodge after surviving an avalanche and surrounded by a whiteout snowstorm. Cassandra's stalker is killing people one by one, and her love, Sheriff Joel, is the killer's ultimate target. The killer must be one of their party, made up of close friends and family, but who? Throw in some secret passages and some injuries, and the suspense never stops. The main characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. I am a little confused, though: the killer expected the party to end up at the out-of-the-way lodge, so I assumed he'd caused the avalanche, but no one (in either novella) suspects anything but a natural cause.

Snowbound Secrets unexpectedly reunites high school friends, all with some level of PTSD. After the avalanche cut the main ski lodge off from help, Maya uses her medical skills to help those injured. Only, someone's trying to hurt HER and she doesn't know why. She's an understanding, caring woman, determined to help others heal from their wounds. Gideon vows to keep her safe, but he doesn't feel worthy of her due to his PTSD and some compromising choices he made that cost him his construction business. The two worked well together and shared a vision to help others with PTSD.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend these suspenseful novellas.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.