Still Life by Dani Pettrey

Y'all, I totally failed on my reading challenge last year. Don't get me wrong, I read. I just didn't read based on the challenge, which means I mostly read random things I could find for free. I'm hoping to do better this year. Here is the 2017 challenge for anyone who is interested. My goal is a bit more simple. I plan on reading at least one good fiction and one good non-fiction book each month. I'll probably also listen to at least one audio book each month. I still have a few from when I had an Audible subscription. I also plan on using my local library as well as finding books available with free narration from the Kindle Unlimited stock. Hopefully I'll be able to read/listen to a wide variety of books this year.

The fiction book I read in January was Still Life by Dani Pettrey. This is part of the Chesapeake Valor series. (I reviewed the first book in the series last year.) We first met the main characters Avery Tate and Parker Mitchell in the previous book. Avery is a photographer who was blacklisted from the art community because of a photograph she took of a prominent political figure in a compromising situation. Parker is a crime scene analyst and Avery worked as his photographer in the last book. This book finds them no longer working together due to Avery's feelings for Parker and his inability to move past the death of his girlfriend years before. A missing friend of Avery's and a disturbing photograph taken of her bring the two together again to solve another possible crime. Add in a human trafficking case and the continued search for Luke (an old friend of the group) and the mysteries begin to pile up.

Once again, Pettrey's characters struggle with very difficult, very real pasts. I enjoy seeing them overcome obstacles and find their new identities in Christ. There is a lot going on, and it is sometimes difficult to follow because of that, but the story is fast paced and enjoyable. I liked how even though you thought you knew what was going on, things kept popping up to make you second guess or change your mind. Even though there is a satisfying ending for Avery and Parker, there are still quite a few things that need to be tied up in the next book. Yet another good Christian suspense novel from Dani Pettrey.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a copy of this book to review. All opinions, however, are my own.