Another Day, Another Dali (Sandra Orchard) – Review

Posted 19 January 2017 by Katie in Christian Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery, Review, Suspense / 0 Comments

Publisher’s Description:
When a valuable Salvador Dali painting belonging to her grandmother’s friend is mysteriously replaced by a forgery, FBI Special Agent Serena Jones is called in to investigate. Serena hopes finding the thief will also mean finally measuring up to Nana’s expectations. But when the evidence points to members of the owner’s own household, it becomes increasingly clear that Serena won’t be winning any popularity contests.

The Dali isn’t the only painting that’s fallen prey to the forgery-replacing thief, raising the specter of a sophisticated theft ring–one with links to dirty cops, an aspiring young artist, and the unsolved murder of Serena’s grandfather.

With plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments, Another Day, Another Dali gives the plucky Serena Jones–and readers–a new high-stakes case to crack.

~ Excerpt ~

My cousin squeezed my arm and herded me into the Boathouse’s restroom. “You’ve been holding out on us!” She backed up, clasping my hands and spreading my arms as she admired my dress. “Look at you. Who’s the guy? Your mother was just over yesterday lamenting that the closest thing you’ve had to a date is watching movies with your super. Who is Bradley Cooper-hot, by the way.”
Pretty sure half the restaurant could hear, I shushed her with, “He’s a colleague. It’s not a date.”
“Ha! You tell yourself whatever you need to, girl, but I saw the way he looked at you.”
I mentally rolled my eyes. Yes, Tanner could be really good at role-laying when he needed to be.
This was so not good. April was a motormouth, and if I admitted I was on an undercover op, she’d go out and blab it to her date and who knew who might overhear. But if I let her think this was really a date, she’d tell my aunt, who’d tell my mom, who’d have wedding invitations ordered by Friday. If she didn’t have a stroke first over the fact that he was in law enforcement. “Okay, yes, it’s a date, but please don’t tell your mother. Or mine. I’d like . . . time.”
“Yee,” she squealed. “Of course, of course. I understand.” She squeezed my arm again. “I’m so happy for you.” She twirled out of the bathroom like the giddy teen she was, and I was pretty sure the phone lines to my parents’ house would be humming tonight.
I flushed a toilet without using it and emerged from the restroom to find Tanner grinning at me over April’s head as she hugged his middle.
He extricated himself from her arms, said something I couldn’t hear, then strode my way and splayed his hand across the middle of my back as if he was my boyfriend.
“Sorry about April,” I whispered as warmth spread through me. Tanner was a little too good at role-playing sometimes.
“It’s all good.” His hand moved up to give my neck a squeeze. “Honeybunch.”
I smacked him.
His chuckle resonated through me as we turned onto the walkway.

~ My Review ~

I love this series! First of all, I have a thing about specialist law enforcement. I have no idea why, but I do. So the fact that Serena Jones is an FBI agent who investigates art fraud is an immediate draw card for me. But what has really taken me by surprise with this series is the character of Serena Jones herself —not to mention her supporting cast: Aunt Martha, the wannabe detective; Harvey, the duly self-entitled cat; and of course we can’t leave out fellow FBI officer Tanner, and Nate, the superintendent of Serena’s apartment complex. Never have I been so torn over which guy a character should end up with!

The suspense in these novels has been great. It’s fast-paced (in that there is always something happening), and the plot is an intricate tangle of clues, suspicions, and action that really keeps you hopping. When it comes to the romance, I am normally wary of a series that follows the same character— and therefore stretches the romance across the series—but the tension has been simmering away nicely, just below the surface, and everyone except Serena can see the water is slowly reaching boiling point! I think part of the reason it is working so well is that the novel is written entirely from Serena’s point of view (in the first person), which means that much of the romantic tension is in the subtext. I’m a big fan of romantic subtext!

Last, but not least, I love Serena’s dry ‘voice’ and sense of humour. She might be a trained FBI agent, but she has no delusions of grandeur. She’s refreshingly ordinary, down-to-earth, and unpretentious, and she and Tanner really do bounce off each other well when it comes to their banter. There is something very natural about their rapport, in spite of (or perhaps, because of!) the latent romantic tension. And although the characters definitely take their job seriously, there is a wry, ‘take-it-in-their-stride’ feel to the way they respond to whatever comes their way—the mishaps, the interfering family, AND the intense moments!

If you’re looking for a romantic suspense series that will keep you hooked and make you laugh along the way, I strong recommend you introduce yourself to Serena Jones!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review.

Release date: 18 October 2016
Pages: 352
Publisher: Revell

Amazon US // Amazon AU // iBooks // Goodreads // Koorong

~ Other Books in the Series ~

~ About the Author ~

Sandra Orchard is a multi-award-winning author of mysteries and romantic suspense. She is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America and The Word Guild (Canada). A mother of three grown children, she lives in Niagara, Canada with her real-life-hero husband and writes full time…when not doting on her young grandchildren.