Obsessed

In Ted Dekker's Obsessed, the death of a Holocaust survivor provides a clue that seemingly makes Stephen Friedman the heir to an incredible treasure. The story flashes back and forth between the 1940s, where two pregnant concentration camp inmates are tormented, and the 1970s, where Stephen becomes obsessed with learning his mother's secrets.

As a fan of Ted Dekker's books, I agree with some reviewers that this wasn't his best book. The characters make weird decisions along the way and it doesn't have that "wow, I didn't see that coming" ending I've come to expect. But, it did give the reader a chilling reminder of the evil of the Holocaust.

And, I disagree with a reviewer that felt this book crossed the line exploring the darkness of evil by portraying characters involved in satanic rituals. Since the "sheer depravity of the deeds" made the reviewer uncomfortable, wasn't that the point? Ted Dekker is known for his confrontations between good and evil so readers that are uncomfortable with spiritual warfare should steer clear of them.

Cry in the Night

Colleen Coble's Cry in the Night takes the reader to Rock Harbor, Michigan (the setting for previous Rock Harbor mysteries) where search-and-rescue worker Bree Matthews and her dog Samson find an abandoned baby in the woods. Bree ignores the objections from Kade, her second husband, takes the baby girl in and continues to search for the baby's mother. But, when her search reveals a strange connection to her first husband's mysterious death, it unravels her faith.

This was another easy-to-read "who done it" story. The characters draw the reader into the setting while keeping the reader intrigued with solving the mystery.

Deceit

Brandilyn Collins' Deceit opens with Joanne Weeks' quest to prove Baxter Jackson killed her best friend and his former wife six years prior. It then follows two story lines with the first one taking place in 2010 and the other in 2004.

In the 2010 story line, Joanne uses her professional skip tracing skills to locate the missing Jackson foster child, Melissa, to help her prove Baxter killed her best friend. The second story line begins in 2004 when Melissa moves in with the Jacksons and discovers that the rich, Christian couple are not as they appear to be on the surface.

It was an easy-to-read mystery; however, some of the scenes moved too slow for the speed reader in me. I also figured out "who done it" so there was no surprise at the end. It was not the suspense thriller I expected, but Collins fans will still enjoy it.