Happy Friday, friends! It was so nice to have a short work week this week , and of course I loved having extra reading time during the long weekend! It’s starting to feel like fall here in Maine, which is perfect outdoor reading weather.
Today I’m linking up with Hoarding Books for First Line Friday and sharing from Colleen Coble’s newest book, Strands of Truth. It will be released in just a few days! In the meantime, here are the first two lines:
January 1990
St. Petersburg, Florida
“Lisa ran to her Datsun Bluebird and jerked open the yellow door. Her pulse strummed in her neck, and she glanced behind her to make sure she wasn’t being followed.”
Strands of Truth by Colleen Coble
The Basics
Title: Strands of Truth by Colleen Coble
Release Date: September 10, 2019
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
From the Back Cover: Harper Taylor is used to being alone—after all, she grew up in one foster home after another. Oliver Jackson finally took her under his wing when she was a runaway teenager, and now Harper pours her marine biology knowledge into Oliver’s pen shell research. But she’s never stopped wishing for a family of her own.
So when a DNA test reveals a half-sister living just two hours away, Harper is both hopeful and nervous. Over warm cinnamon rolls, Harper and Annabelle find striking similarities in their stories. Is it just a coincidence that both their mothers died tragically, without revealing Harper and Annabelle’s father’s name?
Oliver’s son Ridge still sees Harper as a troubled teen even all these years later. But when Oliver is attacked, Ridge and Harper find themselves working together to uncover dangerous secrets that threaten to destroy them all. They must unravel her past before they can have any hope for the future.
My Thoughts
Colleen Coble is a well-known name in Christian suspense, but I’ve never really connected with her books – until this one! Genealogy has always been fascinating to me, so I decided to give the book a try. I’m so glad I did, and I ended up really enjoying it! The story has a good blend of action, suspense, and character development. Ridge and Harper were believeable, relatable characters – they started off not liking each other, but their friendship grew in a natural way as difficult circumstances threw them together. The mystery of Harper and Annabelle’s father was fascinating, and I was really surprised by the way it was resolved!
There are several interesting elements that make the story unique, including Harper’s research and work with pen shells. I also loved how genealogy was incorporated both to solve crimes reaching from the past to the present, and to bring a family together. If you’re a fan of Christian suspense, this would be a great book to add to your fall TBR list!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Happy Friday! My first line is from “Ford” by Susan May Warren:
“If Ford didn’t get his head in the game, they were doomed. People were going to die. Probably him.”
Those first two lines quickly place you at the edge of your seat. On my blog this week, I am featuring The Sheriff’s Surrender by Susan Page Davis. Since it’s my current read, I’ll share the first line of Chapter 13 here: The women showed up for shooting practice on Monday, counting Gert and Libby. Gert could barely trust her eyes.
Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading.
Oh wow, this sounds like a book that would be right up my alley! Happy Friday!
My first line is from Diamond in the Rough by Jen Turano:
N.Y. City November 1885
Any smidgen of hope that her entrance into N.Y. high society would be deemed a rousing success died the moment Miss Poppy Garrison’s tiara became firmly attached to the sleeve of her dance partner.
I read this one too and really enjoyed it!
The Book I shared on my blog today is The Whistle Walk by Stephenia H McGee but it’s also my current read so I’ll share the first line from chapter 9 here: “Charles’s cousin slapped him on the shoulder, sending his mug of ale sloshing over the rim and into his dinner.” Happy Reading! 🙂