Happy Friday! For today’s edition of First Line Friday, I’m featuring an upcoming release by Nancy Mehl. Night Fall, the first book in The Quanitco Files series, is coming out next week!

“His mother sat in the chair next to his bed, reading from The Book.”

Night Fall by Nancy Mehl

The Basics

Title: Night Fall

Author: Nancy Mehl

Series: The Quantico Files #1

Publication Date: March 30, 2021

Genre: Christian Suspense

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

From the Back Cover:

“For any little boy or girl who hears the Train Man speak,
Who feels his rancid breath caress their pretty cheek,
Must close their eyes, pretend to sleep, and very softly pray,
Or else the evil Train Man may carry them away.”

Finally free of her troubled upbringing, Alex Donovan is able to live out her childhood dream of working for the FBI. But soon after she becomes a member of the FBI’s elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, authorities in Missouri contact them about bodies found on freight trains–all killed in the same way.

Alex never expected to be forced to confront her past in this new job, but she immediately recognizes the graffiti messages the killer is leaving on the train cars. When the BAU sends her to gather information about the messages from her aunt in Wichita, Kansas, Alex is haunted by the struggles she thought she’d left behind forever.

In a race against time to solve the case and recover a deadly virus sample the killer intends to spread, Alex must face how far she’ll go–and what she’s willing to risk–to put a stop to the Train Man.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed Nancy Mehl’s Kaely Quinn series, but this Night Fall fell a little flat for me. The identity of the killer was revealed at the beginning, and that contributed to my feeling that the story could have been wrapped up sooner. The cult he was part of seemed a little unrealistic to me; it felt disjointed and contrived at times.

The story’s redeeming factor was the juxtaposition between Alex and the killer. They had some similarities in their upbringings, but they chose completely different paths. The spiritual elements emphasizing the choices we make that lead to either good or evil, light or darkness, were compelling – that is something Nancy Mehl does well. Although this wasn’t my favorite of her books, it was a good introduction to Alex and Logan. I will still read the next book in the series to see where their story goes!

Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below. Don’t forget to head to Hoarding Books to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!

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