Book Description
Samantha Williams’s carefully crafted life is about to be demolished as thoroughly as her art classroom when a careening SUV smashes into the school.
After a difficult childhood, Samantha Williams craves simplicity: jigsaw puzzles, lectures at the library, and the students she adores in her role as an elementary school art teacher in the dusty farming community of LaCrosse, Washington.
But when an SUV crashes into the building where she teaches, her entire world is upended. Samantha manages to keep the children safe, but her car isn’t so lucky. Oddly, her purse—with her driver’s license, credit cards, and other identification—is missing from the wreckage forcing her to rely on the kindness of strangers. Never one to trust easily, Samantha is thrust into a world far different from her simple life of jigsaw puzzles, children’s books, and lectures at the library.
One of the strangers who befriends her is a reporter from Spokane who is in town investigating two sets of skeletal remains that were recently discovered. When authorities discover that the driver in the school accident was shot before the crash, Samantha quickly becomes enmeshed in strange events, which turn ominous with the discovery of blackmail, murder, an abandoned town, and a secret government project.
Those involved are determined to keep these secrets buried, and they’ll use any means necessary to stop Samantha’s search for truth.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59660453-fallout
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
FALLOUT by Carrie Stuart Parks is an intriguing Christian suspense/mystery book featuring a small-town art instructor who must face the past she is running from to be able to stop a murderer. This is a standalone inspirational suspense/mystery with just a touch of romance.
Samantha “Sam” Williams is a protagonist who has survived a terrible past, does not trust easily, but has endearing quirks. I loved her habit of quoting from famous children’s authors and books, especially Dr. Suess’ “The Sneeches”. Dr. Dustin “Dutch” Van Seters is recovered from PTSD, works with Sam to solve the mystery of the skeletal remains, uncover her past and is the tie into Clan Firinn, which is a Christian faith compound that offers hope to law enforcement and other first responders suffering from PTSD and related disorders. Both worked well together and were fully fleshed protagonists.
The suspense plot starts off with a bang, but then bogs down for a while with all the many threads of past and present that are used. It does pick up once motives begin to be sorted and ends with an exciting climax. The forensic art inclusions and the historical element of the Hanford site were both interesting. The inclusion of biblical quotes and Sam and Dutch’s religious beliefs were paced realistically throughout the plot and never felt heavy-handed.
Overall, this Christian suspense/mystery is an enjoyable twisted intricate mystery with an uneven sense of suspense in places.
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About the Author
Carrie Stuart Parks is an award winning artist, writer, speaker, and law enforcement instructor. A Certified Forensic Artist, she met her husband, Rick, in the romantic hallways of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Together they formed a dynamic and successful team in their fine and forensic art, working on major national and international cases and creating exquisite watercolors and stone carvings. They travel internationally, teaching forensic art to a variety of participants: from the Secret Service to the FBI, from large law enforcement agencies to the smallest two-man departments in their one-week classes. They are the largest instructors of forensic art in the world. Carrie has won numerous awards for her innovative teaching methods and general career excellence and is a signature member of the Idaho Watercolor Society.
Carrie’s Gwen Marcey series chronicles a forensic artist from Montana and is loosely based on Carrie’s forensic cases. She began her fiction writing career while battling breast cancer. Mentored by NY Times bestselling author, Frank Peretti, Carrie’s debut novel, along with her subsequent novels, have been met with critical acclaim.
Social Media Links
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Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carrie-stuart-parks
