I'm a bit torn on this one.

On the one hand, this book does contain actual suspense and actual romance, and these aspects of the book are quite good. The suspense is pretty much non-stop, the romance feels organic and builds steadily over the course of the story. The serial killer/bomber plot gets really ridiculous really quickly, and our main characters do some dumb things to advance this plot. The bomber part really doesn't make sense. Another officer planting bombs all over the police chief's property to scare away a houseguest? I mean, WTAF??

But I couldn't handle the "God stuff," as SuperWendy puts it. It is of the judgmental evangelical Christianity stripe, and it really grated on my nerves. The characters all but pronounce that anyone who wasn't a Christian is at best amoral, at worst absolutely terrible. For example, Laney's mother was a drug addict, and that was the reason why she treated her kid (that she had out of wedlock, as a teenager) so badly. Nevermind that she had a steady job and a home, look at how poorly she lived and it's obvious what the reasons are behind it. Sigh.

Ryan also had a HUGE Savior complex. Apparently he's been wanting to rescue Laney for most of their lives because he hated the way she lived as a kid. He's heartbroken when she leaves right after high school, wondering what he could've done to drive her away. Her reason for leaving was rather silly: she didn't take her usual bike ride with her BFF Jenna because she had morning sickness from the one time she and Ryan ~gave into their feelings~ six weeks before. Because Jenna was killed during this solo bike ride, Laney blamed herself for the death. Jenna just happened to be Ryan's twin sister and basically she couldn't take the guilt she felt. And of course she didn't have an abortion - no, she had a miscarriage, as if that's somehow more cosmically just?

The other thing that bothered me about this book was the absolute improbability of it ever happening in anything close to real life. Just as with my last read, I couldn't suspend my disbelief far enough to read this book without muttering, "That would never happen IRL" every couple of pages. Chief Mitchell (Ryan's father) requests that Laney be the forensic anthropologist on the case *because* of her ties to the town and to the potential victim: that of his daughter, and Ryan's twin, Jenna. They request no assistance from the state police or any other bureau even though its a cold case requiring intervention from the Smithsonian. Nope, this small town police force just carries on, investigating their family member's death alongside another person with a huge conflict of interest who was specifically requested to be there. I just - double sigh.

To the author's credit, however, it does appear that she has at least attempted to research how such an investigation would work. There were some leaps of logic, I'd imagine for the constraints of the book length, but if you're willing and able to overlook this gigantic structural problem, the suspense part works fine.

This is only the author's second book, so maybe these rough edges will smooth out as she continues to publish. I'd advise her to hew a bit closer to reality, and try a less judgmental stripe of Christian morality, because everything else is in place for a impulsively readable book. ( )

Laney Hamilton planned to never return to her hometown of Sandy Bluff, Indiana. There were too many memories there. She left ten years ago for good reasons. But the chief of police called and said he needed her help to identify recently discovered bones. Bones that could belong to Laney’s long-missing best friend. The police chief’s daughter. And twin sister to Ryan, Laney’s first love and the man she can’t get over.

Ryan Mitchell has never forgotten Laney, even though she broke his heart when she left Sandy Bluff after his sister, Jenna, disappeared. Now, Laney’s back to help with the investigation and excavation of newly discovered remains. That would be hard enough, but someone is determined to hurt Laney. She’s threatened at every turn. Ryan has to keep her safe, even if it means she’ll just leave him again.

This sweet inspirations romantic suspense is fast-paced. It kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. The characters have real chemistry. The secrets keeping them apart felt believable, not contrived. There’s a convincing twist at the end.

I enjoyed this book a lot and I wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of heart-pounding suspense with a dash of romance and happily-ever-after endings.
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I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher, but that did not induce me to write a review, favorable or not. ( )