Final Approach by Lynette Eason

Final Approach
by Lynette Eason

ISBN-13: 9780800741228
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: August 5, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Air Marshal Kristine Duncan is not on duty when a hijacker attempts to seize control of the plane she and her friends are on as they head out on a much-needed vacation. Jumping into action and aided by FBI Special Agent Andrew Ross, Kristine thwarts the attack and the plane lands safely. But as the investigation into the incident gets underway, Kristine and Andrew are confused at every step. Nothing about the investigation goes as it should, and each layer they peel back just reveals another layer of perplexity.

As the two work together to navigate a web of deception, blame, and personal reckoning, they find there's more to this story than meets the eye--and more to love and admire about each other. They'll have to put their skills to the test--and their hearts on the line--to unravel the truth and ensure that justice prevails.


My Review:
Final Approach is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the 4th book in a series, but it works as a standalone. So someone hijacks a plane full of law enforcement officers on their way to a vacation in a certain city. He merely intended to divert the flight to another random town. Why did they never ask if a major crime was going to go down in the place they were headed to? Anyway, someone's pulling people's strings to manipulate them, and it was pretty obvious to me who was doing it. Whodunit became more obvious as events piled up and clues were found. I understand why Kristine didn't make the connection until the very end, but whodunit practically waved a flag with some of their statements which should have made someone look a little harder at whodunit for at least one event.

The main characters were likable, capable people who reacted realistically to events. Kristine and Andrew worked well together and supported each other. The suspense came from danger to several characters. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this exciting 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.

Death in the Countryside by Maria Malone

Death in the Countryside
by Maria Malone

ISBN-13: 9798892422697
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Released: August 12, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.


Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Sergeant Ali Wren has recently returned to her charming Yorkshire hometown of Heft, accompanied by her trusty canine companion Officer PD Wilson, a Springer Spaniel with a nose for trouble. Together they are the police force quietly serving the town.

When Brian, an older resident, reports his wife, Melody, missing, Ali at first suspects a routine case. Melody, tired of playing dutiful wife to an inattentive husband, may simply have left. But suspicion soon begins to mount when it emerges that Brian’s first wife died under tragic circumstances and Ali uncovers evidence of Melody’s recent puzzling behavior.


My Review:
Death in the Countryside came across as a cozy mystery even though the heroine is a police officer. Ali's the only police officer in a small town, and her main job seemed to be to help people get along. Ali's dog partner was trained by her and mainly acted as an emotional support dog. People liked to pet the attentive dog and would say things to him that they weren't comfortable saying directly to Ali. She occasionally let the dog off his leash to sniff around with the vague assurance that he'd let her know if he found something important. He found several critical clues with no obvious guidance from Ali on what he should look for (a dead body, drugs, evidence, etc.).

The mystery was clue-based and was paced more like a detective mystery. Ali gathered information, followed up on clues, and used police resources to dig into background information and such. She tended to assume the best about people and helped them out even when they didn't ask for help. I was willing to accuse whodunit long before Ali had the proof she needed to do the same. I liked that she did get her proof for the missing woman, the murder, and the bakery shops rivalry.

There were no sex scenes. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable 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.

The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron

The French Kitchen
by Kristy Cambron

ISBN-13: 9781400345267
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Released: August 5, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Paris, 1952 -- An ex-pat wife living in Paris signs up for a cookery class taught by an American chef with an indomitable wit and decidedly French airs--an instructor by name of Julia Child. Amongst pots and pans and prim Paris wives learning to sauté in the French way, Kat Fontaine searches for answers about what happened to her brother. Still haunted by the years she spent serving in the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII, Kat soon finds a simple cookery class unearths the tangle of gut-wrenching memories of war and questions about the high-ranking society husband whose past is as murky as her own.

Rue, 1943 -- Deep in the heart of Nazi-controlled northern France, Manon Altier works as a French chef at the famous Château du Broutel, where names like Himmler, Rommel, and Goebbels frequent the guest list. She passes on information to rebel networks working against the Vichy regime. Manon digs deep into the glitz and glamour of a Nazi stronghold that has her teetering on the edge of being discovered at any turn. Manon must lean on her instincts to judge whether to run and hide or stand firm.


My Review:
The French Kitchen is a historical suspense and romance. While there were 2 main perspectives (Kat and Manon), we also eventually got point-of-view scenes from their love interests. The author initially switched between three timelines: Boston, USA in 1943, where Kat's brother disappears after stating he's going to join the war efforts. Kat's recruited into the OSS as a field agent lured by promises of helping her find her missing brother. Rue, France in 1943 where Manon works for the French Resistance as a chef in a kitchen feeding high ranking German officers. Kat ends up working with her. Paris, France in 1952, where Kat returns to find her missing brother and marries a Frenchman who worked under the Germans during the war. Kat's not sure if he was also helping the Resistance. It was a little confusing to keep track of everything until the 1943 timelines merged.

As people working for the OSS were caught, it's clear they needed to uncover who's leaking OSS information to the Germans. The unexpected third traitor at the end didn't really make sense, partly because the motive was rushed over, but the story otherwise held together once all of the pieces were revealed. Incidentally, Julia Child and the cooking classes were only a very minor part of this story.

Manon's a very determined woman willing to risk her life to get revenge for her family's deaths. Kat's courageous, observant, smart, able to read lips, and prepared for dangerous situations. Two men come to admire and love these two women, but secrets from the wartime cause rifts until the secrets were uncovered by Kat. The main characters acted realistically and were complex. It felt like they could have been real people. Vivid historical and setting details were woven into the story, creating a distinct sense of the time and place. The suspense was created by the constant danger of being found out by those quite willing to kill anyone working against the Nazis.

There were no sex scenes or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this suspenseful, interesting 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.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe theater production

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

My Review:
I thought I'd do a review of a theater production by The Logos Theatre, as it is based off of a book. I've now seen "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" twice, first with extended family in the standard seats and again with two friends in the premium seats. The ages ranged from 6-years-old to 79-years-old, and we all loved this amazing show. There were children even younger than this present at the shows, and they appeared to handle it fine. Both seating areas were good, though the actors do walk down the aisles so I personally liked being near the aisle.

The show closely followed the book, only making a few changes that helped it work better on stage. They brought out the heart of the story: Aslan's sacrificial, redeeming love. The acting was excellent from everyone and drew you into the story. The beavers added just the right touch of humor to keep the story from getting too grim or scary. The costumes and set were well done, and even the music was well chosen to support the needed mood. It's a high quality production, and I'd highly recommend it to everyone, especially fans of the books.

The production is on tour--currently in Branson, MO, next in Washington DC, and then in Williamstown, KY. Check show times and places at: https://thelogostheatre.com/the-logos-theatre-on-tour/

(All opinions are my own, and I got nothing in return for this review. I just want to support an amazing production and make sure people who otherwise might not have known about it will have a chance to enjoy it.)

The Undercover Heiress of Brockton by Kelly J. Goshorn

The Undercover Heiress of Brockton
by Kelly J. Goshorn

ISBN-13: 9798891511774
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Barbour Fiction
Released: August 1, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Henrietta “Etta” Maxwell is a hard-hitting investigative reporter for The Enterprise Daily. The catch? Etta must pen her columns under the nom de plume, Henry Mason—a fact that routinely puts a knot in her knickerbockers.

Leo Eriksson is a second-generation firefighter with a passion for rendering aid to those in need. When Leo discovers that Henry Mason is really Henrietta Maxwell, the fire department’s wealthy benefactress, he agrees to keep her identity secret. After a sudden blast rocks the Grover Shoe Factory, Leo and Etta team up to determine if the explosion is related to a series of suspicious fires in the area.

When an unnamed source reveals Etta’s secret identity to a rival reporter, she falsely accuses Leo of being the informant. As the truth comes to light, Etta must persuade Leo to give her a second chance or lose the only man she’s ever loved.


My Review:
The Undercover Heiress of Brockton is a romance set in 1905 in Brockton, Massachusetts. Henrietta wants to be an investigative journalist but is only allowed to do so under the name Henry Mason. When she's investigating, she wears men's clothing and acts like a man...and worries she'll make some slip that gives away her cross-dressing. (Like the fact she wears the very same, thick glasses in both disguises? No one notices that, though!) While investigating a potential serial arson case, Leo discovers her true identity. They decide to work together, but then a boiler explosion at the Grover shoe factory causes it to catch fire. Leo and his firefighting family help the rescue efforts, but the fire spreads too fast to save everyone. Leo and Etta work the disaster and then help those affected by the disaster.

The somewhat bumbling romance was enjoyable enough until both Etta and Leo refused to listen to or forgive each other. Someone figured out who Etta was and revealed her, and she decided it had to be Leo. She just accused him and refused to talk with him. He wondered if he ever knew the real Etta and held tight to his hurt at her lack of trust. His family told him that he needed to forgive her, but it seemed too big a rift to heal. But both decided they couldn't live without the (imagined person) they loved and jumped into marriage rather than actually getting to know each other. Sigh.

The characters were generally likable, and the descriptions of the fire and aftermath were interesting. Etta as a male reporter was very fun to watch as she did a wonderful job. So it made no sense that, one time, she arrived at the news office more than an hour ahead of deadline but neglected to tell her boss that she had a story until after the deadline (therefore setting up a conflict with another reporter). Also, I found Leo a little annoying with his double standards. Like he didn't want a brother to get caught in the fire during the rescue but seemed to want to die heroically saving people. He felt that Etta, as a woman, ought to put more emotion into her very factual and accurate news stories. At least he was supportive of her work as a journalist. 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.