3.5 stars This novella collection contains three gripping stories by some top writers in the genre. As with most short stories, the romance develops a bit too quickly, but that’s the only shortcoming. These entertaining, fast-paced mysteries will keep readers guessing and engaged throughout. The chilling stories work well together and also easily stand alone.
In Henderson’s “Missing,” Wyoming sheriff John Graham returns to his Chicago hometown when his elderly mother goes missing. Joining forces with Sharon Noble, the local police detective, they race to determine where and why John’s mother disappeared. Pettrey’s “Shadowed” takes readers to Alaska in the 1970s, where the McKenna parents meet. Competitive swimmer Libby Jennings joins forces with local Ben McKenna when another swimmer is killed under mysterious circumstances. Eason’s “Blackout” follows Macey Adams, the victim of an accident years earlier that has left her with memory loss. Now someone is after her and everyone who tries to assist her, yet her neighbor, police officer Chad Latham, volunteers to help find out what happened.

I was expecting great things from this collection, and some of those were definitely met, but I didn't love all of the stories, unfortunately. I was disappointed by Dee Henderson's story - I thought it was supposed to be romantic suspense but there was hardly any romance in it, plus the story just fell flat for me.

I think I most enjoyed Dani Pettrey's story and the fact that it was set a bit in the past. I thought that was clever! I also enjoyed Lynette Easons story, her elements of romance and suspense working well together.

I would likely give this collection a mixed star rating if I could, 4 stars for Pettrey & Eason's stories and 3 stars for Henderson's but I"ll do an overall rating of 4 stars for the combination of stories.

All of these stories are fast-paced and full of suspense as the mysteries are worked out and solved. I liked the first story and the way it showed the methodical work of the police and detectives, leaving no stone unturned but having to prioritize certain leads before others. Sharon, the lead missing persons detective had a great rapport with John, the sheriff whose mother has gone missing, and I liked the friendship that developed there. The romance angle was kind of out of the blue because they are both so pragmatic and the focus was so much on the case, but friendship is always a good place to start ;)

I was so excited to read the second story since I'm a fan of the author's Alaskan Courage series. It was cool to get to know Ben and Libby and see how they met as young adults. It is set during the Cold War, and the politics with the Russians and espionage made for high tension as the murder is investigated. I would have liked more on the relationship and romance, but it was still a great story and had a full plot.

The last story Blackout had one of my favorite suspense tropes- amnesia of the victim. For me it automatically ramps up the anticipation and anxiety while the holes are being filled and not knowing where or when the danger will strike. A great conclusion to the collection.

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

5 Stars!
When I first heard that this novella collection was going to be happening only one thought went through my mind, my three all time favorite romantic suspense authors together in one book? Yes, please! Needless to say Sins of the Past was my most anticipated read of 2016!

Missing by Dee Henderson-4.5 Stars!-
This story got the collection off to a great start! As a huge fan of Dee's O'Malley family series, I am happy to say that I feel like this one was a lot closer to her earlier books than her more recent ones. While the suspense wasn't quite the same as in the O'Malley books, Missing was still very suspenseful, I had no clue whether John's mother would survive. And I totally didn't guess the reason for her disappearance until right before it was revealed! I also really enjoyed the romance between John and Sharon, it was very fun and I felt that it was very well developed for a story this short! Overall, while this novella wasn't my favorite of the collection, I still really loved it!

Shadowed by Dani Pettrey-5 Stars!-
If you know me at all then you probably know what a huge fan I am of Dani's books! I absolutely adored every page of her Alaskan Courage series and I was over the moon excited when I found out that Dani's contribution to this collection would feature the parents of our beloved McKenna clan! Words truly cannot express how happy it made me to finally be introduced to Ben and Libby, I was completely enthralled with every single word of their adventure! I don't know how Dani does it but every time I think one of her books has reached the absolute pinnacle of awesomeness, the next ups the awesome factor tenfold. Such was the case with Shadowed, forgive me but I just can't seem to stop gushing, it was just SO perfect! The suspense was off the charts crazy, I loved it! One of the things I thought was so cool about this story was all the references to pop culture and things of the time, I'm only twenty four years old but those details helped to paint such a vivid picture that while I was reading the story I felt like I was really living in 1979! I could go on for days about how much I loved this book but for the sake of everyone reading this review and for fear of spoiling something I'll draw this gush-fest to a close! Let me end by saying that the ending of this book caused me to feel giddy tingles of pure happiness and I had the biggest grin on my face when I read the last few sentences! This was my favorite of the three novellas and as soon as I finished it I found myself wanting to read it all over again, and I plan to make sure I leave room in my schedule to re-read it many times in the future!

Blackout by Lynette Eason-5 Stars!-
Lynette Eason is another one of my favorite authors, I always love her stories and Blackout was no exception! Macey and Chad were both such great characters and I loved their story. This was such a unique take on a suspense storyline and I loved it! I really had no clue who the villain was and I was totally surprised when their identity was revealed! I was absolutely blown away by the intensity as well as the sheer number of suspenseful scenes that Lynette was able to squeeze into a story this short, I never had a chance to catch my breath and I loved it! This story also contains one of the most crazy suspenseful climax's that I have ever read, I was literally on the edge of my seat wanting to know what would happen next! I loved every minute of Blackout and I anticipate re-reading it many times in the future!

Sins of the Past is a novella collection that not only has a permanent spot on my keeper shelf but that all fans of romantic suspense NEED to read, you will not be sorry! This book will totally make my favorite books of 2016 list!



I was honored to receive a complimentary copy of this amazing book from Author Dani Pettrey and Bethany House publishers in exchange for helping to promote it! Thank you!
All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Surprisingly enough, this was my first time reading any material from any of these authors! I must say reading a novella is surely becoming a favorite way to read for myself. I love that there is just enough of the story for you to get to know the characters and fall in love with them but not so much that it takes you days and days to finish the book. Although I like full novels as well.

Dee Henderson’s “Missing” was my least favorite actually. I’ve read the covers of other novels of hers and I feel like she should have written something that would have kept the reader more interested. Seriously, I almost stopped reading the whole book. It’s not that her story wasn’t good and didn’t flow, because it absolutely did. It just wasn’t exciting at all. The characters portrayed seemed older like 50′s or 60′s which is another possible turn off for me, considering I’m only 30. The romance was there and that's a must for me, so ultimately it was still a good read.

Dani Pettrey’s “Shadowed” definitely made it worth while, to not stop reading the whole book. Full of adventure and romance, with so no shame of throwing her faith in there, Shadowed almost made me want to stop reading but for a whole different reason. I wasn’t sure if Lynette Eason’s was going to be able to top that and I wanted to end it on a good note! I loved Dani’s writing so much that I immediately chose her as a new favorite christian fiction author of mine.

Lynette Eason’s “Blackout” was pretty amazing too, if I may say, and since this is my own blog, well I guess I can say! She kept her story right up there with Dani’s and drug me in and kept me reading. Again the romance was there and the mystery. I loved how Eason portrayed her main character as tough and resilient even after the tragedy she had been through. I find characters that have to work out memories in order to discover truths, very fascinating and definitely keeps me wanting to read more to find out exactly how the story will end.

All in all, the three authors definitely have talent, with Dani Pettrey and Lynette Eason’s writing in spotlight, and any christian fiction readers out there will not be disappointed if they give this read a try. I highly encourage everyone to pick up this amazing novella today.

I received a copy of Sins of the Past in exchange for my honest review.