Alaskan Showdown by Sarah Varland

Alaskan Showdown by Sarah Varland ISBN-13: 9781335402981 Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense Released: August 4th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
After finding the body of a missing hiker in her small Alaska town, search-and-rescue dog handler Adriana Steele becomes the target of a serial killer thought to have been inactive for decades. Now Adriana’s determined to help Officer Levi Wicks catch the murderer. But with the cold case heating up…the jaded officer is all that stands between her and death.


My Review:
Alaskan Showdown is a Christian romantic suspense. Adriana is a logical, no nonsense type of gal, and I loved her dialogue. Adriana has a search and rescue dog that can also find dead bodies. She volunteered to help Levi with a serial killer cold case. If they could find more of the serial killer's burials, then Levi would have a better chance at finding evidence or solid leads. Both Adriana and Levi were complex characters that reacted realistically to events. Levi treated Adriana as a full partner and listened when she made suggestions. Since he could be impulsive, sometimes Adriana got him back on track. Both were good at asking good questions and thinking through the implications of the evidence. Of course, the serial killer didn't want to be found, so they became targets and the danger to their lives added suspense. Some aspects of the murders were left unexplained (though they were probably explainable) since whodunit didn't explain how, just why.

I liked that the dog played an ongoing, active role (with search and rescue and cadaver work, not just as a friendly dog). Adriana and Levi knew each other before the events in the story and got to know each other during the story. I liked how well they worked together and did think that they could have a good marriage together. However, they went from "I'm bad at relationships" and "I don't want to risk hurting that much again" to suddenly saying "let's get married as soon as possible" at the end. Since both seemed to hold married in high regard, it just seemed rushed.

Both main characters struggled with trusting God after He allowed bad things to happen to them. Levi thinks at one point, "Why was he willing to trust a dog, but not the God who had created him and the universe?" There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this fun suspense because I enjoyed characters so much.


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.