A really enjoyable read. A mix of mystery and romance with enough suspense to keep it a page turner and attention to character detail to make it believable. All in all one I would recommend to a variety of genre readers. .

Jayne Murphy gave up her dreams of becoming a police officer after her cop brother was killed in the line of duty and to help her ailing mother run her dance studio. After the studio’s best teacher dies in a car accident, Jayne thinks there is more to the situation than meets the eye and begins investigating. Danny Nolan, her deceased brother’s lifelong best friend and partner on the job, reluctantly agrees to help her. Spending lots of time together investigating stirs up some romantic feelings between the two, but it also stirs up the killer who may be targeting Jayne next.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a good mystery with good pacing and some good twists. Even though the murderer was on my list of suspects for most of the book, I kept going back and forth and second guessing until pretty close to the end because it wasn’t super obvious who did it. I also enjoy mysteries that give you the killer’s point of view without giving away who they are, and there were a few of those chapters sprinkled in.

This book was very clean, and I also appreciated the religious aspect. Jayne is constantly praying and drawing on her faith to get her through difficult times, and I loved her conversation with Danny about exercising faith in the easy times and the hard times. I liked getting to know Jayne as a character, too, and her family as well.

The one thing that did get kind of repetitive was some of the budding romance. Jayne was constantly convincing herself that Danny would never see her as anything but Patrick’s kid sister, and Danny was constantly telling himself she was off-limits because she was Patrick’s sister. But overall, I liked seeing their relationship rekindle.

I’d give this 3 1/2 stars, but I liked it enough to round up to 4. I’m definitely interested to read the sequel when it comes out, and I have added other books by this author to my to-read list. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

3.5 stars!

When young dance teacher Melinda dies because of the car accident, there is no indication of a foul game. But the dance studio's director and Melinda's friend Jayne is not so sure - after all, Melinda has texted her about the sudden change of location of a meetup with her friends - but the friend claim she haven't sent the text! So Jayne, armed with her love for Melinda, her intelligence and dogged determination - and a hunky best friend of her late brother - starts to dig down.

This is totally lovable! The novel runs on the cozy side, but the authoress' sharp intuition, sensitivity and the skill to both perceive and to write down very realistic issues and feelings makes me think that this talent could go far. Ms Stone is a fresh, welcome surprise!

Jayne is a girl I would like to have as a friend. She might became a doormat in the less intelligent hand, but here her winsome personality shines out and her inner goodness and efforts are respected. And her family is pleasant, too! I like that they behave normally while being sweet (I have brothers, so I can attest to this reality :)). Ms Natalie and her beginning Alzheimer's disease was written respectfully and with the dignity of the beloved matriarch intact. This is a hard toll on any family, so I like the way the illness and its hardships are addressed here.

The romance is simply sweet with its everydayness and believability.

Also, I can get the killer! Nowadays the authors do not care for the psychological motivations for the killings (all the killers seem to be psychopaths), but here the motives are quite believable.

So what could go wrong? The last scenes could be stronger, with more cliffhangers. The cozy aspects here a bit hurt the previously strong storytelling. Also, Jayne's new career dreams are relatable, but also unrealistic, given the burden the family is going to face. Also, all this new career angle could be cut out without any change to the story, it feels like one subplot too much.

Having said all that - I have a great trust in this authoress. She has all the skills and intuition needed for a great (mystery) novel. I will follow her works from now on.

Jayne Murphy is helping her mother, who appears to be in the early stages of dementia, run the dance studio she has owned for many years. She has put her own career aspirations of being a police officer aside.
When one of her most talented instructors dies in a car crash, it strikes Jayne that maybe this wasn’t an accident. All of a sudden, another local dance studio is trying to convince Jayne’s students that they should change studios since the teacher is gone.
Some strange things begin happening at the studio that are escalating into real danger, especially for Jayne, as she does her own investigation, along with a little assistance from Officer Danny Nolan, her late brother Patrick’s former best friend and partner. Danny, who is haunted by the death of his friend, is considering whether he wants to remain on the force, while Jayne’s investigative work is making her realize that police work is definitely her calling.
The book is well-plotted, although I will admit I had an idea of who the guilty party was fairly early on.

When I requested this book I thought it would be a suspenseful book, and it was, I just didn't like all the dance mom drama.

The dance world is a dangerous place...

I've read, and enjoyed, a few of Alison Stone's Love Inspired Suspense books so I jumped at the chance to read Pointe And Shoot. It is a slightly grittier romantic suspense story while still retaining the faith element.

I truly enjoyed reading this story, it was so hard to put down, and trying to guess who the villain was. I will admit that I had a few wild guesses at first but then went with my instinct. One of my favorite things about the book was the addition of the villain's perspective written in the first person. I could not tell at all what gender the baddy was, though I had suspicions on their identity.

Pointe And Shoot is also an interesting look into the dance world, both the fun and the darker sides. Those of us who only watch The Nutcracker ballet and Riverdance have no clue what really goes on behind the curtain.

Whether you love Alison Stone's books or just love suspense Pointe And Shoot is one book you won't want to miss!

(I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are entirely my own.)

I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was a wonderful story. It kept me guessing until the end who the murderer was. It was a story of loss, love and faith. I hope there is more to come for these characters.

[3.5 / 5 stars]

This book completely surprised me! I went into it with medium expectations at best, but it was solid!

First of all, I have to say this was really well-written. The ratio of dialogue to descriptions was good. And the character development, especially for our MC Jayne, was on point. Jayne’s personality was fully fleshed out and you really get to understand her compassionate and determined self very well. It was easy to read and written very cleanly and professionally.

The thing that really made me nervous about this book was that when I looked it up on Goodreads, one of the top 2 genres listed for it is Christian Fiction. I do not read christian fiction, as I am agnostic. But the christian themes were so very subtle. They were a part of Jayne’s upbringing and character, but the book was not preachy in any way. And Jayne did not actively practice her faith so often in this book that I found it repetitive. Instead, she was church-goer her prayed constantly, had unshakable faith, trusted in God, and wasn’t afraid to let those around her know of her christianity. The Christian Fiction element of this book simply lies in the fact that it is clean - no swearing or sex - and Jayne is a believer. And it was more than bearable; it was well done.

I did have a couple of issues with this book though. Firstly, I will say that the mystery was a bit predictable… I had figured out “whodunnit” fairly early on, honestly.

And in regards to the ballet element of the story: yeah, there was not much actual ballet. This was disappointing to me because I honestly was mainly intrigued by this book because I saw that it involved the owner of a ballet studio. Also how could Jayne run the studio if she wasn’t a dancer at all? What on earth did she even do there if she didn’t dance or teach herself? I mean, I guess she could do hiring and paperwork and administrative stuff. But I don’t think that would be enough to have her earn the right to run it, even if the studio is her mother’s originally.

I actually wish it was a bit longer! I feel like this could have been improved upon by having Danny’s character development expanded more, and by not having the actual mystery progress so rapidly. But we did get a lot of backstory about Jayne & her family, and their relationship with Danny and of the Green family too.

Overall this was a good and easy mystery, with a little bit of everything!

Alison always delivers and she did this time as well. The high drama of dance mixed with suspense. A great read!!!

Pointe and Shoot
By: Alison Stone
I enjoyed the story and the characters, both were well written. I have only read a few books by this author, but hopefully I will read more. The author grabs your attention and hold onto it throughout the story. This was fast moving suspense filled story. Jayne is devoted to her mother . She gives up her careen to help her mother with her dance studio. How many would do this. If you are looking for action and mystery you will love Pointe and Shoot . There is a message about faith in this story that I liked.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley , but was not told that I had to give a positive review . All opinions are my own.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. It is great writing and development of Characters. Loved the mixture of dance moms, policeman, and mystery. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

"Jayne always did what she was supposed to do."

Following the untimely death of an employee, Jayne Murphy is once again responsible to make sure that everyone is properly notified and that loosed ends are tightly secured. Once interested in law enforcement, Jayne has stepped back from her own dream in order to maintain her mother's reputable dance studio, but there's just something about their young instructor's death that doesn't add up. Unfortunately, the police are certain that Melinda was the victim of a horrible accident while traveling, and possibly texting, on a curvy road during heavy rainfall.

"I'm sorry that I took Patrick away."

Officer Danny Nolan still carries the weight of guilt after his partner died; his partner being Patrick Murphy, his childhood friend and the brother of the young woman who has just lost an aspiring friend. His awkward relationship with the Murphy family is challenged when he becomes highly involved with Jayne's suspicions over Melinda Green's death. Finding a suspect, if there is one, and fighting unwanted attraction towards Jayne, Danny's life plan is redirected as the case slowly moves forward.

A nicely written suspense, "Pointe and Shoot" includes an interesting story line with several red herrings and sufficient anticipation. It was my pleasure to receive an advance copy of this story from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

When a dance instructor at Jayne's mother's ballet academy is killed in an accident, Jayne is convinced the girl was murdered, and is intent on finding out who killed the woman, her clingy ex-boyfriend, jealous fellow dancer or someone else. As Jayne investigates, her put aside passion for police work re-emerges and her own life and the life of her mother, who is suffering from dementia are put in harms way.

A fun thriller that is easy to read and has a good resolution.

I enjoyed the premise of this book. And I liked how the identity of the murderer was kept secret for so long. But I was a little disappointed with the interpersonal relationships among the characters and even more so with the romance. I was hoping for a little more passion! But I did like the dance background. And I could easily see a book two where the story continues and I would look forward to reading iit.

I enjoyed this mystery. Since I am a dance mom, I am familiar with the ins and outs of a dance studio. I think the author portrayed that part of the story very realistically. I also appreciated that Jayne's struggle with her mom's dementia was a difficult one to portray. I liked both Jayne and Danny, and their relationship was good and strong. I liked this novel.