26 Below by Kimberley Woodhouse

26 Below
by Kimberley Woodhouse

ISBN-13: 9780825447723
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Released: April 4, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In her new role as Emergency Operations Center director for Fairbanks, Alaska, Darcie Phillips coordinates emergency services during disasters. But none of her training can prepare her for the terror that's coming. As a cybersecurity specialist, Jason Myers is determined to ferret out any threats to the town he now calls home--and that includes his reckless brother and his ecoterrorist friends. Then an old woman publicly predicts widespread destruction as soon as the Fairbanks temperature falls to 26 below. No one's sure if she should be taken seriously, but it's making people nervous.

Then the bodies start dropping. Darcie is relying on her skills to stop a killer; Jason is relying on God to guide the way. They'll have to work together to find the truth and prevent their Alaskan town from becoming a city of nightmares.


My Review:
26 Below is a Christian romantic suspense. The Emergency Operations Center has just been started, with a timeline of a year before it's expected to be fully up and running. Darcie had to field questions about what they do, hire staff, and get secure computer systems going (among other tasks). Then an old woman publicly warned of an attack on the power system when it reached 26 below zero. There's simply not enough time to get ready, but her team pushed hard to complete their part: coordinating things in an emergency.

The bad guys targeted Darcie through hostile meetings and press conferences, which shook her confidence, but she loves to organize things and is a good leader. Jason's weak point is his drug-addicted brother, who worked to undermine him. When the temperatures hit 26 below, the crisis hit, and they had to determine how the sabotage was done and get communications back online.

Darcie and Jason worked well together as a team, supported each other, and built each other up. They had to work through triggered emotional issues as well as deal with the public emergency. The main characters were likable and acted realistically. Darcie came to accept Christ through the example of Jason and her assistant, plus God working through events to reach her when she hit rock bottom tired, sad, and stressed. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting and suspenseful 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.