- ISBN13: 9781434767868
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Brill Jessup would rather work than deal with the bitterness she feels about her husband Kurt’s infidelity. They’ve made a fresh start with Brill taking a job as the new police chief in a small East Tennessee town. Kurt is genuinely contrite and making every effort to show his commitment to Brill. Meanwhile Emily, their nine-year-old, is being the perfect little girl, as if she can make everything okay again. So why can’t Brill get over this anger? Work presents the… More >>
Related posts:
This is a nicely written suspense/mystery book. Written in third-person narrative, this Christian thriller keeps the reader on the edge. The plot is a bit of a brain teaser. I really enjoyed it!
Brill Jessup, the protagonist, comes across as a very believable chief of police. She works endlessly with the Sheriff and the FBI on a case that seems impossible to crack. Meanwhile, she does her best to ignore her husband who cheated on her. All while trying to stay strong for her daughter and keep her family together.
One of the Christian themes covered in this book is bitterness, along with the inability to forgive (illustrated by Brill & her husband). It’s a topic that most people will relate to.
At times, I could really relate to Brill. On the other hand, Emily, Brill’s very intelligent nine-year-old daughter is written too unbelievable. Several times I had trouble believing that she would speak and act as maturely as she did. Also, at the end the 180 turn in Brill and her husband’s relationship out of no where was hard to believe. Though, Brill herself admitted it was a miracle reunion.
Even though, there were minor things I didn’t like it was a great read. Overall, a fast, easy and thought provoking read. I’d highly recommend to any Christian book clubs or ladies group. I would most definitely read another of the series.
Rating: 4 / 5
“The Real Enemy” is the first of a new series. The main character, Colleen “Brill” Jessup is the first female police chief in a small town in Tennessee. She faces many obstacles as she starts her new job: trying to prove herself since she’s new and a woman, dealing with marital problems, and then trying to solve a series of tough missing person cases.
I really liked this book and found that it moved along quickly and kept me interested in finding out what would happen next with the cases and in Brill’s personal life.
The book is classified as Christian suspense. The characters do talk about their faith and passages and messages from the bible are referenced. However, the book is not “preachy” and should appeal to a wide range of mystery/suspense fans.
Rating: 4 / 5
It was a good book and I didn’t have any problems finishing it as it does keep you engaged. However, like other reviewers have stated, the characterization is rather weak and you never fully connect with the characters. That normally wouldn’t be a problem if the main element of the story was the mystery but even that come across as somewhat weak and isn’t the main emphasis.
The Authors message of forgiveness and the effects of bitterness especially in light of betrayal and adultery was very good but lost some of the effectiveness due to the flat characterization. The suspense was good especially at the end but I would have liked to have seen a stronger mystery. Seemed anticlimactic.
Overall I think that the book had a lot of potential and that this might be one of those series that starts out slow but quickly strengthens. It is definetely worth giving a chance.
Rating: 3 / 5
I don’t normally read reviews because I prefer to make up my own mind about stories. However, this one should have a large label – “Christian fiction” prominently featured on the home page. If you like this kind of fiction, this is one of the better ones of the type. However, as standard fiction, it just doesn’t measure up. The characters are all good or all bad. That is until faith intervenes and makes the bad into good. Too corny for words.
If I had realized what this series was, I would not have wasted the download time.
Rating: 1 / 5
I read another Kathy Herman series a few years ago, and was glad to see she’s started another one! I had a hard time putting this book down, and finished it in less than 24 hours! The main character, Bril (short for Brilliant – she’s a very sharp policewoman who has solved many crimes) has just started a new job in a small town in eastern Tennessee bordering the Great Smoky Mountains. She didn’t expect major crimes to solve like her previous job in Memphis, but soon after she comes to take charge of this small town police department, people start disappearing. But Bril has even bigger problems at home… The twists and turns of this plot are spellbinding, and the story at home heartbreaking. This book is very well-written and I can’t wait to read the sequel!
Rating: 5 / 5