Kiss

Kiss, by Ted Dekker and Erin Healey, is more of a psychological mystery instead of the on-the-edge-of-your-seat spiritual warfare thriller this Dekker fan enjoys. However, the book did have some suspense elements and a mystery to solve so it was still a good story.

The main character, Shauna, wakes up from a comma and struggles to regain her memories from the previous six months, including the terrible accident that has left her brother barely alive. As she struggles to sort the good guys from the bad guys, she realizes that recalling those memories may get her killed.

When she discovers through a kiss (thus the title of the book) that the medically-induced comma and subsequently prescribed drugs has brought about an unusual ability, she uses it to search for the truth about her past and the accident before an unknown assassin takes her out.

Beguiled

Beguiled is a romantic suspense novel written by former critique group partners Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand. This easy-to-read novel is along the lines of those written by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark with Christian characters included in the story.

Rylee Monroe is a dog walker for Charleston's wealthy when a series of thefts from her clients makes her the prime suspect. Logan Woods, a newspaper reporter working on his own crime novel, is afraid of dogs but attracted to both the dog walker and the story. Their lives intertwine and a relationship develops as they unravel the secrets behind the thefts.

The Penny

Although The Penny by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford is a work of fiction, Joyce has shared glimpses into the abusive relationship with her father during her childhood through her conferences and television shows. In this book, the main character, Jenny Blake, and her sister Jean endure a similar childhood.

Jenny is convinced her life changed the day she found a penny stuck in hot asphalt and is offered a job at the local jewelry store. She soon discovers the owner, Miss Shaw, harbors secrets of her own and an unspoken bond forms between them. At the same time, Jenny befriends Aurelia and her family where she finds the love of family, hears the voice of Jesus for the first time at the Antioch Baptist Church and witnesses the ugliness of racism firsthand.