A young reporter, Moira, on her way home on a lonely country road at night in a thunderstorm goes careening off the road when a terrified young woman runs in front of her. Hearing a loud thump, Moira is certain she has hit the woman before colliding into a tree.

A seeming Good Samaritan comes to check on Moira and promises to call 911 and check on the victim. Then everything goes black.

When she wakes, there is no woman hit by Moira’s car. There is no Good Samaritan. There is no 911 first responders. Did she hit her head that hard that she imagined it all? But the terrified eyes of the woman in her headlights seemed so real. And that vision won’t leave her alone. The vanishing woman was in trouble.

But who is going to believe Moira’s story of the woman with the terrified eyes?

With the help of a private investigator, Moira is taken on an investigative road with so many twists and turns it will keep you turning the page over and over again.

I try not to add spoilers, but I do find this so very interesting about Irene Hannon’s writing style in this series, the Guardians of Justice series. She introduces the villain/foe very early on in her story line, writing from not only the main character’s point of view, but also the point of view from the villain. As you get to know the main character(s), you get to know the villain as well.

*Spoiler Alert*

Because I personally work in the medical field, I did find it very interesting to read into the mind of an “angel of death”, which is a person of some medical training (usually a nurse or doctor), who kills patients out of a kindness to end their perceived suffering.

I rate this book 4.5 stars based on the following:
1. I could NOT put this book down!
2. Irene Hannon’s unique story line and perspective.

Here’s the short of it:
Genre: Christian fiction, romantic suspense, for adults only.
One-line review: This book will have you hooked by page one and keep you turning the pages to see what’s next.

You can visit Irene Hannon’s website here and she is also on Instagram so give her a follow!

*Note that this review was written based on a personal book purchase.

In Lynette Eason’s romantic suspense novel When The Smoke Clears, Alexia heads to her estranged mother’s home to recuperate after a near-death experience on the job. But she can’t seem to escape trouble and danger. Within hours of arriving at her mother’s home, Alexia stumbles upon a murder victim and the mysterious villain. When help arrives, she gets confronted with her past.

Alexia is thrown into helping solve the crimes happening so very close to her to help clear her name of any involvement, while simultaneously confronting the ghosts from her past while trying to stay alive.

“What would these people think of her? Would they just remember the girl accused of setting fire to her family home, or would they be willing to know who she was today?”

Lynette Eason does a good job connecting her readers with the internal struggle of each human: to the core of who we are, we want to be seen. We want to be known. We want to be accepted and loved for our imperfect selves. 

Alexia is accepted by several people from her past high school days despite rumors of her family history. She is baffled by this show of acceptance and love.

Does God really love her then too? Is He there? Is she worthy? Her questions of this God her newfound friends so desperately want her to know are challenged by the ongoing peril caused by this mysterious villain out to destroy Alexia.

Will she clear her name and reputation? Will she mend the broken, estranged relationship with her mom? Will she survive as the attempts on her life increase in intensity?

Trigger warning: Alexia does work through lost memories of physical, nonsexual abuse from her father. Also, if you are sensitive towards house fires or fire trauma I would not recommend this read.

Here’s the short of it:

Genre: inspirational Christian fiction, romantic suspense for adults

One-line review: a beautiful redemption story

Initial gut-reaction: I’m definitely curious to read the next books in this series. The story is not over.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars as I personally didn’t care for the timeline of this story which was one week. I find it hard to believe that all the intense crimes could happen in that short period of time. But I also guess that’s part of the freedom of fiction. 

I kept it at a high rating though for the twists and turns throughout the plot. I was constantly second guessing myself as to who I thought the villain could be. Needless to say I was very surprised when the villain was revealed! I definitely did not see that one coming.

This is definitely a great read for those who love a good mix of mystery and romance!

You can find Lynette Eason and her books here. Or if you’re an Amazon buyer, you can find this book here.