Bethany House Publishers has released a new addition to the Christian Suspense genre, and from the chilling title alone, mystery enthusiasts will no doubt be drawn to this dynamic novel. Cold Shot is a masterfully written story by acclaimed author Dani Pettrey, who has woven together numerous elements of emotion, faith, and struggles into a unique and unpredictable storyline. Cold Shot is a seamlessly crafted story with such a deep feeling of realness, that it is almost difficult to believe that Griffin, Finley, Parker, Declan, and the rest of the team are actually fictional characters.

To be honest, though, Cold Shot is a difficult book to review. Aside from a few foolish actions, and some thoughts and comments between couples that are highly uncalled for, the leading characters are generally faith-driven men and women who are willing to fight to the death for justice, and for each other. However, it cannot be ignored that the crimes they are fighting are absolutely appalling. Ms. Pettrey clearly has no qualms over bringing the world’s darkest, most evil crimes to light, in what can sometimes feel like a bit too much detail. Not only are the crimes horrific, but the paralyzing trauma that each character is, or has been through is so very, very dark, that readers are left staring silently at the page, wondering how they find the bravery to get up in the morning, or the peace to close their eyes at night. I understand that this is a crime novel, but is it perhaps possible for even a crime novel to incorporate a bit too much crime? That will be for each individual reader to decide, but for me, the past and present atrocities were all of such an unimaginably horrible nature, that more than once it felt overwhelming. This, combined, with the author’s talent to make her writing feel so very real, made for a difficult read, and one that I will likely, for better or for worse, never forget. That being said, while Ms. Pettrey deserves credit for creating characters who will fight such twisted, psychotic, obsessive demons as are found in Cold Shot, this book is not for sensitive readers, and I recommend approaching it with caution.

“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.”