Riptide

by Lorena McCourtney

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This is the second Julesburg Mysteries novel I've read by Lorena McCourtney. Riptide was a true mystery / thriller. I found my heart beating wildly on more than one occassion as the main character found herself in danger.

The plot was full of twists and turns until the very end. The romance is sweet and addicting (kind of like chocolate, I guess.) The tender care and solicitousness of the hero was very romantic although I was a little sceptical of the main characters having such strong feelings for each other after such a short amount of time knowing each other. I guess I'm not the "true love at first sight" type of romantic.

I was surprised at how gloomy and sad the novel was with the graphic depictions of the aftermath of evil acts such as murder. The depictions of the body when it is found were startling and it reminded me of contemporary t.v. police dramas. I find myself somewhat immune to the depictions of dead bodies on tv, but was quite shocked and slightly horrified to have it depicted so graphically in a Christian novel. I'm not too sure if I support such graphic content in Christian novels or if it was necessary in this particular novel. The jury's still out on that issue.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting and compelling thriller. Even if the graphic and sinister content was surprising, it certainly didn't conform to sappy romance standards in the traditional inspirational fiction genre. I'll be keeping my eye open for book #3 in The Julesburg Mysteries.