Also by this author: Airborne, Fatal Strike, Deadly Encounter, High Treason, Deep Extraction, Where Tomorrow Leads, Long Walk Home, Trace of Doubt, Trace of Doubt, Concrete Evidence
Published by Tyndale on 1496485106
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Romance, Suspense
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“The bottom line is truth and love go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. Because Jesus is both truth and love.”
Lethal Standoff by DiAnn Mills follows the investigation of Carrington Reed and Levi Ehrlich as they try to discover the truth behind a past murder. Two brothers demand answers to their father’s death, and they’re holding undocumented immigrants hostage until they receive said answers. When they begin digging, Levi and Carrington soon discover that the case is far more complicated than it first appears. With lives on the line—at times including their own—the two will not stop until they can provide justice. Until the novel’s every lethal standoff reaches a conclusion.
I can always count on DiAnn Mills to provide an exciting crime with twists and turns that would probably perplex even Sherlock Holmes. Each page leads to more questions, more dangers, and more attraction flaring between Carrington and Levi. Their relationship blossoms slowly. They focus on solving the case while simultaneously learning more about each other on a personal level. Prior to the case with the Kendrix brothers, Carrington and Levi had a professional relationship and nothing more. DiAnn Mills beautifully explores how to cross that line. How to become vulnerable with some of the hardest elements in the characters’ pasts. How God can work every situation for His purposes.
In Lethal Standoff, DiAnn Mills explores how stress, mistrust, fear, greed, and anger can taint people’s views. Each character wears his or her own rose-colored glasses, shaded by individual experiences. Fianceés, husbands, wives, reporters, hostage negotiators. Mills exemplifies how we, as humans, have our prejudices, whether we realize it or not. And these, in turn, influence our actions, interactions, and our relationships. Carrington and Levi both struggle to open up because of past hurts, but Lethal Standoff exemplifies how important it is to lean on others. God never designed us to be hermits, to carry our burdens alone. There is a certain strength in being vulnerable, in trusting in someone else’s strength.
My biggest complaint about Lethal Standoff by DiAnn Mills was the “big reveal.” I struggled with it. Maybe it was just me. I can’t go deep into my qualms without spoilers. Because I saw no signs of the antagonist’s identity besides maybe one, even when I thought back on everything after I finished the novel. The person did a 180-degree turn from one chapter to the next, and I was very confused. Once the character explained their reasoning, it made sense. But…I wanted so much more. I needed more.
DiAnn Mills is one of my favorite romantic suspense authors, and Lethal Standoff is another one I’m excited to add to my bookshelf. I cannot wait to see what Mills may write next.