Happy Friday! If you need a nail-biting suspense novel to read this weekend, look no further! Today for First Line Friday, I’m featuring Terri Blackstock’s newest release, Aftermath.

“Taylor Reid’s phone flashed as she snapped the selfie with her two friends, their heads touching and their backs to the stage.”

Aftermath by Terri Blackstock

The Basics

Title: Aftermath

Author: Terri Blackstock

Publication Date: May 11, 2021

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

From the Back Cover:

A devastating explosion.

Three best friends attend a concert. Only one makes it out alive.

A trunk full of evidence.

When police stop Dustin Webb with a warrant to search his trunk, he knows there’s been a mistake. He’s former military and owns a security firm. But he’s horrified when the officers find explosives, and he can’t fathom how they got there.

An attorney who will risk it all for an old friend.

Criminal attorney Jamie Powell was Dustin’s best friend growing up. They haven’t spoken since he left for basic training, but she’s the first person he thinks of when he’s arrested. Jamie knows she’s putting her career on the line by defending an accused terrorist, but she’d never abandon him. Someone is framing Dustin to take the fall for shocking acts of violence . . . but why?

My Thoughts

This is an intense story from beginning to end! It gets off to an explosive start when a bomb goes off at a concert – but who was the target and why? When Dustin becomes the number one suspect, he knows he is being framed and turns to his childhood friend Jamie for help. Terri Blackstock once again proves why she is one of the biggest names in Christian romantic suspense with this masterful novel!

Aftermath is part suspense and part legal thriller, as Dylan and Jamie race to find the truth before more people get hurt. It also shows the far-reaching effects tragedy can have on everyone involved – in Dustin’s life, after his turbulent childhood; in the lives of the survivors of the bombing; and in the lives of the perpetrators. In the aftermath of tragedy, we have the choice to grow and become better, or to become bitter and compound the impact by making bad decisions with ripple effects. We can choose either healing or destruction, and the contrast is stark in this book.

This is a story of friendship, second chances, and redemption as Jamie and Dustin rekindle their childhood friendship and reestablish their trust in each other. It is definitely heavier on the suspense than romance, though, with a gripping plot that keeps you guessing. The added perspective of one of the survivors of the bombing, whose story we follow throughout, also provides plenty of twists, turns, and tense moments! If you are a suspense fan looking for a book that will keep you turning pages long into the night, don’t miss Aftermath!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.