Book Review: "In Harm's Way" by Irene Hannon

FBI special agent Nick Bradley has seen his share of kooks during his fifteen years with the Bureau. But Rachel Sutton is an enigma. She seems normal when she shows up at the FBI office in St. Louis--until she produces a tattered Raggedy Ann doll she found and tells him she thinks something is wrong because of a strange feeling of terror it gives her when she touches it. Nick dismisses her, only to stumble across a link between the doll and an abducted child, setting in motion a chain of events that uncovers startling connections--and puts Rachel's life on the line.

I have really enjoyed the books in this series. Normally romantic suspense dealing with the military or law enforcement doesn't really appeal to me. It's mainly because there's always this jargon or insider information that I just don't get because I'm not associated with anyone involved in either field. This series however has brought both fields to a more accessible level and has allowed me to really get into the story and understand what these men and women go through every day. The stories are filled with top notch suspense with a touch of romance to make for an exciting read.

I was a bit wary at first about the whole psychic aspect in the story. Not that I don't think that Christians can't have visions about the future, but usually in Christian fiction this plot line can get very cliched. Thankfully, Hannon handles it quite well here. Rachel doesn't normally get these sort of visions and even she has trouble accepting why she's having the experiences. Also they don't seem to something that will plague her for the rest of her life.

This is another book which involves a character who has mental health problems. Debra wants a child so bad that it has affected her thinking to the point where she will kidnap a child. Even though she pretty much creeped me out and drove me nuts with her actions, I felt bad for her especially after finding out how her father treated her. It's sad that she didn't get the help she needed until it was too late. The reporter, Claudia, really got on my nerves because she just sort of showed up in the story and did nothing but cause annoyance for everyone. Plus the fact that she was writing for a tabloid newspaper got on my nerves because she didn't bother to get the facts before publishing her articles. If she really wanted to speak with Rachel or the others she could have handled it a lot better than acting like news craved paparazzi.

The story does get a bit soap opera-ish at a few places because of the dramatic twists and turns that happen. Nothing is over the top but I definitely got the feel of trying to cram a bunch of dramatic elements at one time. My only qualm is that I felt that things were a bit rushed between Nick and Rachel's relationship. It just seemed like they met and then started dating within a few weeks and then things get really serious by the end of the book. I just would have liked more growth between the two. Still though, I really enjoyed the book as I have the others in the series. I felt everything has been tied up in the three books as all the lead men now have found a special someone. I wish there were more but I can settle with waiting for Hannon's new series that comes out next year.

In Harm's Way by Irene Hannon is published by Revell (2010)

This review copy was provided by the publisher