Minutes to Die by Susan Sleeman

Minutes to Die by Susan Sleeman ISBN-13: 9780764233968 Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Bethany House Released: August 4th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
ICE Agent Evan Bowers uncovers the intel every agent fears--terrorists have been smuggled into the country, intent on unleashing the most deadly attack since 9/11. With the threat imminent, FBI Agent Kiley Dawson is charged with leading a team to take down this terrorist cell. The only problem is Kiley blames Evan for the death of her former partner, but with millions of lives on the line, she has no choice but to work with him.

Evan has to live with that guilt, and the agent's death seems an impossible obstacle to Evan's attraction to Kiley, but he's determined to try. As the terrorist plot targets Kiley's family, the two are pushed to the breaking point in a race to save countless lives.


My Review:
Minutes to Die is a Christian romantic suspense. The team only had seven days to stop a terrorist threat that could kill millions of people. This did create high suspense, but I was confused by why the main team focused so much on who was going to carry out the attack rather than on trying to determine the target of the attack. I was also baffled by things like why someone would get a tattoo providing the key to a code since usually one tries to hide a code's key. But mostly I was distracted from the suspense because Kiley deserved someone more supportive than Evan. He was a self-centered, manipulative jerk.

Evan promised to be of great help to the team, but he spent most of his free time fantasizing about kissing Kiley rather than looking for ways to help. He was told to make sure that Kiley got enough to eat, drink, and rest, but he didn't even do this simple task. She was professional and very focused on the task of saving millions of lives, but he kept forcing the issue of talking about their relationship even though this could have waited the seven days until the job was done. He demanded that they talk about it even when he knew it would upset her and disrupt the much-needed nap she was about to take or pull her focus from tailing the bad guy.

He also undermined her authority by questioning her plans and refusing to follow her orders several times. Twice, he tackled her to the ground when someone shot at them, preventing her from doing her job. Yet Evan was very, very dismissive of Kiley's concern when he did something dangerous. He justified all of his behavior as acceptable because he "loved" her so much, and a member of Kiley's team said the same. This caused Kiley to start doubting everything she did. It wasn't until Kiley finally agreed to consider a relationship with Evan that he suddenly became supportive, telling her what a good job she's doing and saying they needed to stay focused on the job. I would have been more impressed if he'd been that way from the start rather than waiting until 24 hours before the terrorist attack.

At one point, Evan suddenly grabbed and kissed Kiley. It was such an Amazing Kiss that they're convinced they need to get married. Kiley convinced herself that this feeling must be love. Pretty sure that Amazing Kisses and a disrespectful, controlling attitude aren't mentioned anywhere in the Bible when defining love, though. Kiley struggled with forgiving Evan and trusting God with her loved ones. Evan didn't even realize that he needed to do the same. There was no sex or bad language.


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.