Beneath the Surface

Well, it's not what I expected, but it was definitely interesting! I thought the diving part would play a larger role in the story, but it only is featured at the beginning. Leigh is drawn into the story when the dive team needs to use her lake access to remove a murder victim from the lake. But pretty soon the action ramps up when someone makes an attempt on Leigh's life, very nearly succeeding and landing her in the hospital.

So that was twist number one. This tale takes the cake for twists, which kept me guessing all day long while reading it! Though I was quite busy, I was able to finish reading it in two sittings simply because I had to know what happened next.

I have to say, I loved having an Asian lady as a main character! Leigh was adopted from China as a child and raised in North Carolina, and her brother was adopted from Brazil. I liked this a great deal! All too often, Christian fiction tends to feature characters that look like they came from Maine, the least racially diverse state! I'm not one of those that wants every book to force diversity where it doesn't fit, but this was a nice treat. However, I found myself wishing that Blackburn had described Leigh to us more carefully, because I kept catching myself thinking of her as Vietnamese in feature.

Predictability: Well, very little, other than in the romantic interest! The killer is a slippery one and hard to think ahead of.

Content: Okay, so this one got really near the edge for me. If you don't care for really creepy and determined serial killers, make sure to read this one in the daylight! It's quite intense and the killer does mutilate victims' bodies.

Christian content: a storyline of coming back to God after one's faith has been shaken.

Overall, a solid four star read and a series I will be continuing. Thanks to the publisher for a free review copy.