Howdy Bookworms!

How are you doing? I’m struggle bussing right now with grad school and trying to keep my cool, so I took Thursday and Friday off to re-center myself. Fingers crossed things stay relatively calm!

Anywho, it’s book review time yet again! This time I read The Negotiator (O’Malley #1) by Dee Henderson.

This book is way outside my usual comfort zone. I needed more Christian Fiction on my tally, and having a troubled past with religion I didn’t want anything traditional or preachy. I found this book on NoveList and decided to give it a go.

On to the book review!

Blurb

FBI agent Dave Richman from Danger in the Shadows is back. He’s about to meet Kate O’Malley, and his life will never be the same. She’s a hostage negotiator. He protects people. He’s about to find out that falling in love with a hostage negotiator is one thing, but keeping her safe is another!

Introducing the O’Malleys, an inspirational group of seven, all abandoned or orphaned as teens, who have made the choice to become a loyal and committed family. They have chosen their own surname, O’Malley, and have stood by each other through moments of joy and heartache. Their stories are told in CBA best-selling, inspirational romantic suspense novels that rock your heart and restore strength and hope to your spirit.

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

The Review

This is my first Christian fiction read in quite some time, and although this read wasn’t perfect, I did find it enjoyable.

The book centers on Kate O’Malley, a hostage negotiator. She sees the darkness in humans every day, but when a hostage situation at a bank goes awry she crosses paths with FBI agent Dave Richman. Their journeys become entangled as the crisis opens a can of worms, and soon the two find themselves having feelings for each other. There’s only one thing. Dave can only see a future relationship with a person of faith. Can Kate conquer her own demons to find the faith while they sort this increasingly complex crime out?

Some things really worked for me in this novel.

There was an interesting mix of genres here: Christian fiction, suspense, romance, and mystery. Each element contributed to the overall story and made it unique. I liked that the romance started out subtle and didn’t overpower the story. I was hesitant about the Christian element, but overall it worked well. It only became a bit much for me near the end, but I am especially sensitive to religion.

Kate was a great main character. I liked her viewpoint from the beginning, and she had a lot of progression throughout. Her journey was learning to let others in and to stop making assumptions about the world, especially given her career as a hostage negotiator.

Dave was alright, but I didn’t like how he tried to forcibly change Kate here and there. The author used this as a lesson for Christians not to force peoples’ beliefs to their own, but I think a different approach could have been more successful.

The plot was fun and I enjoyed the mystery of who was responsible for the terrible acts that occurred. There were plenty of twists and turns along the way that made it fun, though I would’ve preferred knocking out some of the suspects earlier on. About three-quarters through there were still so many suspects and it could get confusing with all the details about each one’s life.

Ultimately, not a bad read. Definitely something to try out if you like complex mysteries or Christian fiction.

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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