A peculiar doctor, a suspicious psychic, a missing wife and an unfaithful husband muddy the waters in Terri Blackstock's suspense thriller River's Edge. It's hard to talk about this one without putting it in the context of its four-book series, so how about four for the price of one?
This is the third title in Blackstock's “Cape Refuge” series from Zondervan. And it's a page turner guaranteed to keep you up too late. It's also among three finalists for the 2005 Christy Award for excellence in Christian suspense fiction.
“The Christy Awards recognize excellence in the growing body of contemporary Christian fiction,” said Donna Kehoe, executive director of the Awards. “If readers select a Christy nominee, they're in for some great reading.”
Blackstock created Cape Refuge based on a small island just east of Savannah, Georgia. In first in the series, a brutal double-murder strikes fear in the hearts of residents in the once-peaceful island town. The victims are a couple who ran a halfway house, and their son-in-law is a suspect.
The same major characters enter another gripping story in Southern Storm, act two if you will. This time, it's an unidentified body and a missing police chief who himself becomes a murder suspect.
Now, to the award-nominee — River's Edge. The psychic, the doctor, and the missing wife are major players. Morgan Cleary and her husband Jonathan (cleared of the murders in book one) operate the halfway house Morgan's parents founded. Jonathan also runs for mayor in this one. The murder victim this time is Lisa, Morgan's friend and confidant. Complicating the plot is the fact that Lisa's husband is Jonathan's opponent in the mayoral race.
Blackstock has been a favorite novelist of mine for nearly a decade now. The account of how she came to write Christian thrillers is an engaging story in itself. In 1994, she left a booming business — 32 titles, 3.5 million books sold — in the secular romance genre to enter the arena of Christian fiction.
“Initially, I thought I would write clean romances, not get into the sex and not compromise my principles in any way,” she says. But it didn't work out that way, so she changed course entirely.
“I see my books now as a ministry,” she says. Her personable characters and intricate plots provide a satisfying read, a great escape that still engages the brain and challenges the imagination. The action and intrigue appeal to any reader who likes a good suspense thriller. River's Edge is vintage Blackstock — good stuff.
Blackstock also does a couple of other things that are definite pluses for me. One is the map of Cape Refuge in the front of each book. I love maps anyway and find myself frequently returning to the map to locate island landmarks — the library, police station, Hanover House or the Owens boathouse. It lends an authentic visual context for the story.
Second, in her series novels, Blackstock makes sure each novel can stand alone, with complete story and resolution. No cliff-hangers or television-style gimmicks to give you anxiety until next year's title appears.
Breaker's Reef, fourth in the series, was recently released. I predict another Christy nomination next time around.
(Randall Murphree, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. This article courtesy of Agape Press).
