Cara Putman

I’ve never been super interested in art per se, but I do have quite the appreciation for it, even if I don’t understand that world too well. I have never given much thought to just how crazy the art world could be, or how dangerous in certain situations, like what we see in The Vanished. Who knew that the art world could be so dangerous?

There is something that drew me into this story instantly. Mystery after mystery wraps this novel in a cloak of darkness layer by layer, leaving you wondering which way is up. I love stories like this so much!! The multi-facets keep it interesting and keeps you guessing the entire time you’re reading.

This novel has some great characters, but Janae’s grandmother is wonderful and one of my favorites. I loved the wisdom and support that she bestows on Janae during one of the most difficult times of her life. How I wish we all could have someone there to support us during our dark times.

I would’ve liked to have seen the ending not be tied up so quickly. Maybe an epilogue would’ve suited better, but the author could be leaving that open-ended with this being the first novel in a new series, so I can’t fault her too much.

Overall, this is an endearing story with quite the web of mystery, characters to root for, and all for the love of art.

*I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I received from the author/publisher through JustRead Tours. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.… (lisätietoja)

Highly interesting and absorbing from page one. This is my kind of book.
Janae, a lawyer, and Carter, a museum director, tackle the problem when two paintings exhibited in the Elliot Museum could belong to a Jewish WWII survivor.
This was a fascinating story told from the perspective of a museum being on the defensive in a very complex situation. There was a lot of legalese, but it was efficiently and effectively explained, thanks to the expertise of the author, who is a lawyer. You could tell that a lot of research went into this book. I was looking up the paintings in question to see if they really existed.
There was an underlying faith thread that seemed to underscore the way the main characters behaved and how they made their decisions to do the correct thing. This contrasted with the convoluted thinking by the villain.
Along with the conundrum of the paintings, there is more mystery, some family issues and a budding romance. The premise kept me turning pages and and wanting to read more stories in subsequent books in this series.
A stunning offering from an accomplished author.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kregel on behalf of the author via NetGalley. I was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are mine alone.*… (lisätietoja)

THOUGHTS
The first half of Lethal Intent had me nearly going crazy with wanting to throw the book out my window. Why?

Because this dear book was dull, boring, and very tortuous for the first 118 pages, there was way too much information, the details often went over my head because I haven’t researched or know anything about the cancers they discussed or the things they were doing to help the patients. Which for a thriller is not a good sign.

I won’t even start on the fact that one single mention of the Covid-19 pandemic being in the past nearly earned this book a one way ticket to the burn pit, nope, not going into that …

Now, after all that you may wonder that I gave 4 stars and that I finished the book since I was so against it … the reasons are many, really …

1. Cara Putman is a spectacular author whose romantic suspense novels are some of my favorite.
2. I read another of her books and didn’t like the beginning but loved the ending.
3. I wasn’t ready for a highly looked forward to book to not be what I wanted.
4. I don’t like giving up.
5. I loved the cover …
6. Foster kids.

I am a sucker for foster kids in stories, and man, oh, man! I loved seeing Brandon with his kids! I just loved the glimpses into that side of the story, I had to hold out to see what happened with his kids.

Am I glad I did? Yes!
Do I recommend Lethal Intent? Yes!
Am I missing something … ? Yes …

Past the 118th (or some page about there) I fell in love with the story, I can’t say I connected with Caroline as I found her very naive but I understood her more and didn’t dislike her.

The ending?! Well, I found it nearly made up for the bad beginning but not quite, so, this is a good book. Had the first half been anywhere near as good as the ending it would have been a wonderful book, alas it was not quite so.

If you are a fan of suspense pick yourself up a copy and you’ll find the ending to be spectacular and you’re likely to like the first half more than I did.… (lisätietoja)