Deadly Aim by Patricia H. Rushford

Deadly Aim by Patricia H. Rushford ISBN-13: 9781441239433 ebook: 317 pages Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company Released: February 1, 2004

Source: A free ebook from Christianbook.com.

Book Description from Goodreads:
When a police shootout results in the death of a 12-year-old boy, Officer Angel Delaney is blamed, convicted, and condemned by the media and the Sunset Cove community before the case even goes to trial. Angel will have her day in court, but before she has the chance to defend herself, the situation spirals out of control.

Key evidence is missing, evidence that could have verified her claim of firing only one shot in self-defense. In short order, the body count rises, and suddenly Angel is a suspect in more than one murder investigation. Heartsick about the young boy's death, and questioning her judgment as a police officer, Angel joins forces with Detective Callen Riley to fight the mounting charges against her.


My Review:
Deadly Aim is a romantic suspense/mystery. It is the first in a series, but it reads like a stand-alone. The story was very suspenseful as things just kept getting worse and worse--emotional trauma, physical danger, and a series of murders of which people were quick to suspect her guilty. I didn't see how the author was going to turn things around. The characters were interesting, complex, and acted realistically. However, some evidence was used even after circumstances where it could potentially have been tampered with, and I'm not sure that was realistic.

While "whodunit" was on my list of likely suspects, I was left feeling somewhat unconvinced that this whodunit would have gotten away with all the evidence tampering, drug trafficking, and such without anyone noticing or could do that much killing without any change in behavior.

I liked that the romance didn't move too quickly. Angel had to work through letting go of a "safety net" boyfriend that she didn't intend to marry so that both of them could move on. I had admired how Angel and Callen didn't act on their desire to hug and kiss when it would have been inappropriate for them to do so...and then, within a page, they did do so. Ah, well. Also, I found it ironic that Angel hated how her father wouldn't trust her to do her job well despite all the evidence that she could, yet Angel wouldn't trust Callen to do his job well. But this was handled realistically.

Angel had been a Christian before a friend of hers was killed. Then Angel rejected God because He didn't answer her prayers the way she wanted Him to. After briefly ranting at her Christian family members about this on a few occasions, her mother pointed out that God had granted the prayer of the friend who died, and Angel reconsidered her view of God. This was worked in naturally and didn't come across as a sermon at any point.

There was no sex or explicit bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this suspenseful romantic mystery.


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.


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