Smoke Screen (Terri Blackstock) – Review

Posted 9 November 2019 by Katie in Christian Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense / 0 Comments

Title: Smoke Screen
Author: Terri Blackstock
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Family Drama
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release date: 5 November 2019
Pages: 352

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iTunes | Koorong | Thomas Nelson

About the Book

One father was murdered. Another was convicted of his death. All because their children fell in love.

Nate Beckett has spent his life fighting wildfires instead of the lies and rumors that drove him from his Colorado hometown. His mother begs him to come back now that his father has been released from prison, but it isn’t until he’s sidelined by an injury that he’s forced to return and face his past. But that means facing Brenna too.

Fourteen years ago, Nate was in love with the preacher’s daughter. When Pastor Strickland discovered Brenna defied him to sneak out with Nate, the fight between Strickland and Nate’s drunken dad was loud—and very public. Strickland was found murdered later that night, and everyone accused Roy Beckett. When the church burned down not long after, people assumed Nate set the fire to get even for his father’s conviction. He let the rumors fly and left town without looking back.

Brenna is stunned to learn that the man convicted of murdering her father has been pardoned. The events of that night set her life on a bad course, and now she’s fighting a brutal custody battle with her ex and his new wife where he’s using lies and his family’s money to sway the judge. Brenna is barely hanging on, and she’s turned to alcohol to cope. Shame and fear consume her.

As Nate and Brenna deal with the present—including new information about that fateful night and a wildfire that’s threatening their town—the past keeps igniting. Nate is the steady force Brenna has so desperately needed. But she’ll have to learn to trust him again first.

Excerpt

I woke up in a blinding bright room, my clothes off and something clamped to my face. I tried to reach it, but I couldn’t bend my right arm, and my hand stung. An IV was taped to my other hand, but I moved carefully and touched the thing over my face.
An oxygen mask. I tried to sit up. “What happened?”
T-bird came to my bedside, a sheen of smoky sweat still soiling his face. “Nate, lie back, man.”
“The fire,” I said. “Need to get back. My men.”
“They’re still there. Making progress. But you’re not going anywhere near a fire for a month or so.”
I took the mask off and coughed a little, but managed to catch my breath. “A month?”
“Yep. Second degree burns on 20 percent of your body. Some of the burns are deep.”
It came back to me, the event that had gotten me here.
“The family. Were they injured?”
“Not a scratch or burn. Turns out it was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. He says you’re a hero.”
“You know I had no choice. They were in the path—”
“Take the praise where you can get it, man. We don’t get that much.”
I looked at my right side. My right arm was bandaged, and so was my side and down my right leg to the point where my boots had stopped the flames. Second degree wasn’t so bad, I told myself. Third degree would have been brutal. I’d be able to leave the hospital soon. I’d heal.
“I won’t need a month,” I said.
“Yes, you will. They can’t let you go back. Doctor’s orders. You’re grounded until he releases you.”
I managed to sit up, but it was a bad idea. The burns pulling on my skin reminded me why I shouldn’t. “I can’t be grounded during fire season. Are you crazy? I need to be there. You don’t have enough men as it is.”
“Sorry, Nate. It is what it is. Why don’t you go home to Carlisle for a while? Take it easy.”
Go home? Pop had just been pardoned, and he and my mom were trying to navigate the reunion. Though she would love to have me home, I didn’t know if I was up to it. My father could be challenging, and fourteen years of prison hadn’t done him any favors.
Taken from “Smoke Screen” by Terri Blackstock
Copyright © 2019 by Terri Blackstock
Used by permission of http://www.thomasnelson.com/

Review

I hate to say it, because I really enjoyed Blackstock’s If I Run trilogy, but this was a disappointing read for me. And that’s a real shame, because I loved the premise of the story. I mean, what about that tag line? One father murdered, another convicted of his death, and all because their children fell in love. Talk about potential! There were some great spiritual themes running through the novel too, like forgiveness and clinging to God when the going gets rough, but for me, they were overshadowed by other weaknesses.

First of all, this story was much more family drama than it was suspense, so if you’re looking for something that will have you on the edge of your seat, this isn’t it. There is an element of mystery, as both the hero and his father claim to have been wrongly accused in the past and are determined to clear their names, but the conflict driving this novel was the situation between the heroine and her ex-husband. The mystery simply lingered in the background until everything else fell into place.

Secondly, these characters felt more like caricatures than real people. For example, the ex-husband was your typical selfish, arrogant, and ambitious father who doesn’t have time for his children unless they’re making him look good for his mayoral campaign, while the smoke-jumper hero was heroic in every possible sense of the word, but ever so humble about it. To be fair, both the hero and the heroine had their issues—they definitely weren’t perfect—but there was no subtlety or nuance to the way these different aspects were portrayed.

Which brings me to my final point: there was nothing subtle about this story whatsoever. I could see pretty much every plot point coming a mile off, either because it had been so thoroughly and blatantly foreshadowed or because it was simply the obvious direction for the story to go. And the kicker? When I finally learned why the heroine’s father had been murdered all those years ago, it really stretched credibility for me.

So no, I can’t really say I enjoyed this one, unfortunately, but it may be better suited to readers looking for some angsty family drama.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.

About the Author

Terri Blackstock has sold over seven million books worldwide and is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall, as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, the SunCoast Chronicles, and the Restoration Series.

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