Book Review: "Too Close to Home" by Lynette Eason

Samantha Cash is the FBI's secret weapon. Her methods are invisible, and she never stops until the case is closed. When missing teens begin turning up dead in a small Southern town, Samantha is assigned to help local chief Connor Wolfe find the killer. And he has two problems with that. There's her faith--in God and herself. And then there's the fact that she looks exactly like his late wife.

As they get close to an answer, the case becomes personal. The killer seems to be taking an interest in Connor's 16-year-old daughter, who thinks her dad is getting way too protective. Can't a girl just have some fun?

I've enjoyed reading Lynette's books in the Love Inspired Suspense series so I had been looking forward to this release. Those books are shorter so I was really looking forward to seeing how she would do with a longer story.

The story is suspenseful without being too cliched or soap operish. It read like a crime drama from TV but since it's in book form the story is more fleshed out and doesn't seem rush. I felt that the killer was creepy without being too cliched. The ending was one I didn't see coming and that made me really happy that I couldn't guess it beforehand. I really like the chemistry between Connor and Samantha. It's believable and realistic and they work very well together. As they work to solve the mystery, it's clear that they both need each other to work on the case. Samantha is a very strong woman and doesn't need a man to protect her.

The only problem I had was I wish that Connor had sat down and told Jenna everything that was happening so that way she could be aware of what was going on. Instead he just kept telling not to do this and not to do that, being vague. I understand he was trying to protect her but it would have helped out in the long run if he had been a bit more involved in her life. The book ends on a cliffhanger so be prepared to want to read the next book in the series. Overall I really enjoyed the story. It had the perfect blend of romantic suspense for me - thrilling suspense with just a touch of romance. I really like it when the ratio leans in favor of the suspense. A solid book from Eason and I'm looking forward to book 2!

To Close to Home by Lynette Eason is published by Revell (2010)

This review copy was provided by the publisher