Shadow of The Dagger

A Secret Map to Priceless Treasure, A CIA Analyst Turned Detective

Three people are murdered and one kidnapped to find the solution to the map. As Nicole Phillips seeks to find her kidnapped brother, she doesn’t know whom to trust. No one is who they appear to be. All is deception.

To bring his brother’s murderer to justice, CIA Intel Analyst Josh Baruch puts his life on the line. Can he walk the tightrope between obeying the killers’ instructions and bringing them to justice?

Because Nicole Phillips’s husband died in a mysterious plane crash, she fears falling in love again with a reckless, danger-loving type like her late husband. Josh Baruch, the CIA analyst using her as bait to track her brother’s kidnapper, is just such a risk-taking man. Besides living on the edge, Josh is bitter about women and questions God.

Shadow of The Dagger (Christian/Romance/Thriller)

By Anne Greene

Elk Lake Publishing

ISBN  978-1951080204

400 Pages

Price $12.99 (Paperback)

Price $2.99 (Kindle)

Rating 5-Stars

We meet Nicole Phillips when she travels to the crash site of the plane piloted by her husband. There was no body, but investigators believe coyotes may have dragged the body away. A year later her brother is invited to an archeological dig in Turkey, and he talks Nicole into joining him. Unfortunately, when she arrives in Turkey she discovers Ian has been kidnapped. In the meantime, CIA analyst, Josh Baruch believes the man who killed his brother is responsible for the kidnapping, and is waiting in Turkey for Nicole Phillips when she arrives, as he plans on using her for bait to catch Helmut Meier, better known as The Viper, and the murderer of Josh’s brother.

The author sent me a copy of the book for an honest review. This is a complicated plot, with interesting characters, set in a location known for international spies and intrigue. Josh Baruch is a Jewish American, and well familiar with Turkey, as he was stationed at Incirlik AFB in Adana, Turkey, a place I am also very familiar with. I was stationed there with the Army in 1964, at TUSLOG, as a squad leader with the rank of corporal. 

This was a great read, though a few things did bother me. The villain is supposedly the third richest man in the world, but seems to be after small profit in current crime, and a man so rich should have enough lawyers to keep him out of jail (in this case, an American federal prison). Plus, we find that there is someone pulling his strings also, a minor criminal that is behind the whole mess, and he is after Nicole Phillips, as well as the treasure. Now for detective Pavlik, a Russian with the Turkey police, and master of disguise who plays many parts that just don’t seem to fit. In the end an American Air Force rescue team saves the day on Turkey soil, which also was a worrisome finale to a great plot – personally, it would have appeared more legit if the team was led by a Turkey command. Over all, the Christian background is a delight in this international thriller set in Muslim controlled Turkey, and well worth the read. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

A Williamsburg Christmas

Christmas 1955 - Trent jilted Holly. Should she give him a second chance? Has too much time elapsed and is too much fire quenched for this romance to rekindle? Holly falls in love with the sights, sounds, and scents of Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg during her first months living there. She’s a widowed mother raising 8-year-old twin boys by working as a waitress in a famous Colonial Williamsburg Inn. Trent disappeared from Holly’s life ten years ago. Now he’s back and wants to marry her. Santa’s matchmakers complicate Holly’s decisions by bringing new men into her life. Will the competition prove too much for Trent?

A Williamsburg Christmas (Historical Christian Romance)

By Anne Greene

Winged Publications

ISBN #978-1720099833

114 Pages

Price $5.97 (Paperback)

Price $2.99 (Kindle)

Rating 5-Stars

Holly is raising her twin boys after her husband dies in a plane crash. She works at Ye Old Queen’s Inn in Williamsburg as a waitress to make ends meet. During Christmas of 1955, the workers dress up in Colonial costume. Her co-worker has set Holly up with a date, and there are men interested in Holly, but she isn’t really interested in dating. Then, to her surprise, an old boyfriend shows up in the band playing at the Inn. Trent was her high school sweetheart, and she thought they were meant for each other, but they lost touch when he left for college, and Holly doesn’t know if he will disappear again. Will Holly find love again?

This is a wonderful romantic story by a Christian author, and her characters look to God for answers to their prayers. Her books are short, quick reads, and always end in a fulfilling commitment to God and marriage. This holiday season read A Williamsburg Christmas and it will touch your heart. Highly recommended.

Ginger Johnson

Author of COWBOY FROM TEXAS

Recipe For A Husband

Maine 1940 - Nessie McDonald, daughter of a recently deceased lighthouse keeper seeks a husband by Thanksgiving to share the work and responsibility of warning sailors off the rugged Maine coast. She advertises in the Bar Harbor News for a husband and cooks gourmet dinners for each would-be husband’s interview. 

Kyle Cameron, the injured seaman she rescues from the sea, doesn’t qualify because he must return to his home in Australia to run his enormous sheep station. Yet Kyle, lying on a cot in the kitchen with a broken leg, points out each of Nessie’s aspiring husband’s unsuitability by reading spiritual advice aloud from Lady Jane’s New England Cookbook, Nessie’s mysteriously discovered heirloom. Kyle pokes fun at each applicant suitor with hilarious Aussie advice.

When Kyle must return home, he cooks up a recipe of his own.

Recipe For A Husband (Historical Christian Romance)

By Anne Greene

Winged Publications

ISBN #978-1724131164

Price $6.47 (Paperback)

Price $2.99 (Kindle)

91 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Tender Love Story Packed With Humor”

The story is set in Bar Harbor, Maine in 1940. Nessie McDonald wants a husband by Thanksgiving, and when she rescues Kyle Cameron who washes up from the sea, she thinks maybe God heard her prayer. Nessie helps her blind mother operate the lighthouse after her father dies. In the meantime Nessie advertises in the paper for a husband, and cooks special meals for each perspective male that answers the ad. Kyle may not count, as he plans on returning to his sheep farm in Australia.

I love this author’s writing. Her tender love stories are packed with humor at times, and never vulgar. The characters always give credit to God for His Blessings, and the stories pack a sweet romance that entertains and not shock. They are clean and full of love. Highly recommended.

Ginger Johnson

Author of COWBOY FROM TEXAS

Mystery At Dead Broke Ranch

Can a woman with permanence and family stamped on her forehead find the courage to love a footloose, but irresistible, murder suspect?

THE DREAM: After Ashley Sinclair’s grandfather is murdered, she dreams about converting the old Victorian ranch house she inherited into a haven for her younger siblings; twin sisters, and a brother recently paralyzed in a football accident. Because they were raised in different foster homes, Ashley fears they will reject her love. Other fears haunt her. Because her charming, handsome father abandoned her, she distrusts men. And she’s guilt-driven for not having kept her family together.

THE SUSPECT: Stone Hunter Price goes undercover to work for Ashley as he tries to clear himself of evidence that he killed her grandfather. A vengeful lawman vows to convict Stone. His own family believes Stone is a murderer. Alone and without funds, he’s estranged from his family. 

THE TIMING: The lawman is minutes from convicting Stone. The murderer is seconds behind Ashley. When the clock strikes, who will win? 

Mystery At Dead Broke Ranch (Cozy Mystery/Christian)

By Anne Greene

Winged Publication

ISBN #978-1946939425

208 Pages

Price $8.37 (Paperback)

Price $2.99 (Kindle)

Rating 5-Stars

Ashley Sinclair inherits the Dead Broke Ranch in McKinney, Texas, after her grandfather is murdered. Ashley and her siblings had been raised in Foster Homes after their parents left them, and now Ashley, a physical therapist, has found her brother and twin sisters, and wants to take care of them on the ranch. However, her brother, Zach, is in a wheelchair and the ranch is in bad need of repair. If she can’t get the house fixed for her handicapped brother, he will be forced back into a Foster Home. Advertising for a handyman, she doesn’t know that Stone Price is the suspect in her grandfather’s murder when she hires him. But Stone is innocent, and wants the job to find the real killer. The police are about to arrest Stone, and the real killer is aiming for Ashley. Has God thrown these two people together just to break them apart again, or will Ashley discover the real killer in time?

This was another fine yarn from Christian author, Anne Greene, with a nice murder mystery to add to the romantic plot. Highly recommended.

Ginger Johnson

Author of COWBOY FROM TEXAS

Her Reluctant Hero

A dream shattered – a love jilted – a heart broken. People change. Is there a second chance for love above the clouds? It’s the swinging sixties. An ex-fiancé flies back into a stewardess’s life. He dumped her once. But this war veteran knows what he wants now. Torn between attraction and fear, will she head for the runway or the hangar? She’s left behind her past, with its small-town values and jilted love to see the world and become independent. He’s returned from war and death with a single goal—to redeem the worst mistake of his life. She wants nothing to do with him. He wants her as his wife. Will their flight end with an emergency landing—a total crash—or a perfect glide into the right airport, the right gate, and the right destination?

Her Reluctant Hero (Historical Romance)

By Anne Greene

Winged Publications

ISBN #978-1980368526

Price $5.94 (Paperback)

Price $2l99 (Kindle)

94 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

Laura Richards is awakened with her home in fames. The young fireman is a volunteer named Josh Langford. He carries her to safety, but all she learns is his name. Then their lives cross again at Texas Tech where they become an item. But Josh is an ROTC cadet, and this is 1968. He knows he’ll be heading for Vietnam, and doesn’t want to leave a widow, so breaks up with her. While he is in Vietnam, Laura becomes an airline stewardess. Their paths cross again when he flies home, and now Josh wants to pursue Laura, but she wants nothing to do with him.

The author always does her homework in researching the period her stories are set in. This interesting romance is set during the war in South East Asia. The helicopter school at Fort Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas is almost forgotten now, but I was there is 1966/67, and remember it fondly, as I remember coming home from Vietnam, and the airline stewardess that served me on the plane from California to DFW in Texas. A flight I will never forget. Reading this novella reminded me of my own past, and it helped me connect to the characters. It was fun reading about Laura and Josh, and their falling in love again after so many mistakes. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THESE ALIEN SKIES