CANYON OF DECEIT
by DiAnn Mills
September 8 – October 3, 2025 Virtual Book Tour
Hi, everyone!
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for CANYON OF DECEIT by DiAnn Mills on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my mini book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Promoamp giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
When wilderness survival expert Therese Palmer receives a frantic phone call from former colleague Professor Rurik Ivanov, she is shocked by the news that his young daughter, Alina, is missing—and that Rurik wants Therese’s help finding her. She’s sure Rurik hasn’t given her the whole story . . . especially since he refuses to report the kidnapping to the police. Yet with a child’s life hanging in the balance, Therese can’t turn down this mission. She knows the clock is ticking and she can’t do this alone.
Therese reaches out to Texas Ranger Blane Gardner, whom she met seven months ago during one of her training courses in wilderness survival skills. Blane’s specialized training and background with the Crisis Negotiation Unit make him uniquely prepared for this search-and-rescue mission. He agrees to help Therese and to accept Rurik’s terms to keep Alina’s disappearance quiet, and as the two begin working together, Therese is determined the spark growing between them won’t distract from their mission to save Alina.
Traversing deep into the desert of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Alina’s last known location, Therese and Blane struggle to separate truth from lies within the mix of intel they’re receiving. As they close in on answers that suggest the involvement of Russian organized crime and a high-profile international assassination attempt, they must fight to rescue Alina before she becomes an innocent casualty of a much bigger plot—no matter the risk to their own lives.
Canyon of Deceit
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Published by: Tyndale House Publishers
Publication Date: September 9, 2025
Number of Pages: 352 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781496485151 (ISBN10: 1496485157) pbk
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My Mini Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
CANYON OF DECEIT by Diann Mills is a suspenseful and intricately plotted Christian romantic suspense/mystery/thriller set in the beautiful and rugged Guadalupe Mountain National Park of New Mexico. The protagonists are Therese Palmer, a wilderness survival expert and Blane Gardner, a Texas Ranger on the hunt for a kidnapped child. This is a standalone story that is tension filled with many surprising twists that kept me on the edge of my seat and turning the pages.
This romantic suspense plot is well paced with physical struggles and obstacles as well as struggles with their faith. What starts as a kidnapping soon turns into a complex web of assassination, murders, and military espionage. Therese and Blane both have traumas in their pasts that lead to their beliefs, but heartfelt, honest conversations occur between the action as both come to care for each other. Therese lives her faith, and she is clear with Blane that she will not compromise her beliefs even for a relationship, but she is not preaching at him. Blane is the protagonist on a spiritual journey in this story. This is a Christian romantic suspense so there are no sex scenes.
I recommend this exciting, well written Christian romantic suspense.
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Excerpt
Chapter One
New Caney, Texas
October, Thursday, Current Day
Therese
The shrill ring of my mobile phone jolted me awake at 2:00 a.m., a haunting prompt that emergencies seldom emerged in daylight. Someone had ventured into the wilderness and needed me to lead a rescue mission. My skills of trekking over precarious terrain to find victims who suffered from physical injuries, dehydration, starvation, or all three, kept me on alert. At times I viewed my life like a Star Trek tagline, “Where no man has gone before.”
I grabbed the phone off my nightstand. Unidentified caller. “Hello?”
“Ms. Palmer, this is Professor Rurik Ivanov from Houston Leonard University. We met nearly a year ago. You taught a course in wilderness survival as an adjunct professor.”
I captured a mental image of the Russian man—gray-blue eyes, stone-gray hair, angular face. “Yes, sir. How can I help you?”
“I apologize for the hour, but I’m in a desperate situation.”
The angst in his voice zapped me into guarded mode, especially when I barely knew the man. I snapped on my bedside lamp. “Are you all right?”
“No, ma’am, which is why I’m calling you. Do you remember my wife and daughter?”
“I met them both at a faculty dinner last Christmas. A lovely family.”
“My wife was murdered today, and kidnappers have taken my daughter.”
I inhaled sharply, and alarm for the professor’s family fired hot from the soles of my feet. “Daria? Alina? What happened?”
“A man called me late this afternoon while I prepared to leave for home. He said he’d taken Alina. Then he sent a link to a video showing my wife’s execution—”
He stopped abruptly, his final words drumming into my senses. The seconds ticked by, and I waited.
“I watched Daria grab her chest and struggle . . . The blood rushed from her precious body—my dear Daria’s life gone forever.” He grappled again to control his tear-filled voice. “He said they would release Alina unharmed if I paid three million dollars. They’d call with instructions. When the man hung up, I hurried home thinking it had to be a terrible mistake or someone had used AI to generate the video. On the way, I phoned Daria and the call went to voice mail. I also redialed the man who’d contacted me. The phone rang repeatedly, but the number offered no way to leave a message. I contacted Alina’s school and learned Daria had picked her up before noon.
“At home, reality rooted. A lamp and a table in the living room lay in pieces. Daria would have fought hard, but there were no signs of blood. I didn’t recognize the place in the video where they killed her. I even checked for geotag information on the clip, but it had been stripped. I later clicked on the link . . . the video had disappeared.”
I ached for his loss. “What do the police say?”
Silence answered me, then Rurik finally said, “Contacting them is impossible. The man warned me against telling anyone who works in law enforcement, or I’d never see Alina again.” He sobbed into the phone. “Please, give me a moment.”
“Take all the time you need.”
The professor taught Russian language and literature at Leonard University and was highly respected and liked among faculty and students. I’d enjoyed our occasional chats, and he’d observed some of my classes. What had he done to upset the wrong people?
“Thank you. I can talk now,” he said. “I have no idea where the killers have taken Daria’s body or how to find Alina. Neither do I suspect anyone.”
I willed my pulse to slow. “Professor, the police are trained in handling confidential matters and how to find who is responsible. They have families and understand what you’re going through.”
“And endanger my daughter?” Panic throbbed in his ragged voice.
“I’m sorry.” My grief over losing Kate many years ago surfaced raw and bleeding. “Are you alone?”
“Yes. At home.”
“Are there family or friends who can stay with you?”
“My family is in Russia, and I do not trust anyone.”
“You could very well be in danger too.”
“My welfare is unimportant.”
“Who are these people, and why has your family been victimized?”
“I have no idea. The man refused to identify himself, but he did say ‘we.’ Maybe he thinks I have money or believes I have done something criminal to my country or to the US.”
What was he not telling me? I tossed off my blanket and stood in my bedroom, shivering, not from the cold but the horror of this unfolding story. “Professor Ivanov, I’m confused. Why call me? This is a job for the police or the FBI.”
“I cannot risk my daughter’s life. You are my only hope to find Alina. You have the skills to get her back.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I’m a wilderness-survival specialist, nothing more. I’m not equipped to carry out a hostage negotiation without backup, which is another reason you need to involve the authorities.” More questions bolted into my mental space like a landslide. “How would I find her?”
“That’s where I can help you. Alina has GPS trackers hidden in her shoes. Not even Daria knew about them.”
“Why would you track your young daughter?”
“Alina’s biological mother died when she was a baby, and I’ve been consumed with protecting my daughter ever since. I checked my phone app and learned at one thirty this afternoon, Alina was taken to a private landing strip west of Houston. I called there, and a woman who worked in the small office said no one had filed a flight plan. But she made a mistake. The tracker had stopped registering.” He coughed and asked me to wait while he got a glass of water.
A connection at Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management popped into my consciousness. They had the technology to confirm the date and time a plane took to the skies and where it landed.
“I’m better. I apologize for my lack of control,” the professor said. “My app showed tracking again near an abandoned airstrip in a remote area south of Hobbs, New Mexico. The tracking indicated ground-speed movement for two and a half hours to a section on the north side of Guadalupe Mountains National Park called Dog Canyon. That’s where the tracking ended, and I’ve detected nothing since. I assume the kidnappers parked the vehicle and proceeded on foot with Alina. Research shows the area is off-grid. Ms. Palmer, did they remove her shoes? How would they expect her to walk in bare feet?”
My thoughts trailed to the worst possible scenario. Why take Alina to a remote location unless they planned to dispose of her body there? Another argument lay with logic. Why go to the expense of transporting a kidnap victim there when they had the ability to dispose of her body in their backyard? A morbid idea, except true. Whatever the reason, they risked exposure from security cameras until they reached an off-grid area.
“I can’t stress enough how the authorities have technology and skills to find Alina. They can unravel valid threats and comprehend the danger of taking your story to the media.”
“The man who called me said they’d be watching my every move. I bought a burner phone tonight to call you.”
His anguish rippled through me, interfering with my ability to think clearly. “What about the ransom?”
“I can liquidate assets here and in Russia to meet their demands, but the statistics on kidnappers returning my Alina alive are not good. Perhaps they would accept what I can put together now. I’m sorry . . . I wish I had an answer. Why harm an eight-year-old little girl?”
“I have empathy for your grief.” Daria’s lovely face and the white-blonde-haired little girl refused to leave me alone. “Although I could lead you into Dog Canyon, I have no idea how to pull her out of the clutches of dangerous men. You’d need armed law enforcement and possibly a negotiator.”
“That would draw attention. I’ll pay you whatever you want.”
“Money is not the issue, Professor—”
“Alina means more to me than anything else in this world. What is love but to take ownership of a problem and do all I can to stop those men?”
“What if I fail?” The terror of not finding his daughter alive resurrected an echo from the past that had shaped my career.
“Can you live with yourself if you don’t try?”
Unaware, he’d pressed my weakest button. “I’ll hear you out. But I don’t believe you’ve given me the whole story, and I need the truth before I risk my life.”
“I’ve . . . I’ve given you all of it.”“You’ve stated what you want me to know. What have you done or not done in this tragedy that Daria is dead, Alina is missing, and you can’t go to the police?
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Author Bio
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who invites her readers to step into stories where suspense meets adventure and romance warms the heart. Known for crafting unforgettable characters tangled in unpredictable plots, DiAnn believes every breath we take unfolds a story waiting to be told—so why not make it thrilling?
Her novels have consistently landed on bestseller lists including CBA, ECPA, and Publishers Weekly, and have won prestigious awards such as the Christy, Selah, Golden Scroll, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol awards.
DiAnn is a founding board member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Conference Advisor for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers. She actively participates in Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and International Thriller Writers, DiAnn passionately invests in helping fellow authors succeed through mentoring, book coaching, and editing. She travels nationwide speaking and teaching engaging writing workshops.
A proud coffee snob who roasts her own beans, DiAnn also enjoys diving into good books, experimenting in the kitchen, and unabashedly spoiling her grandchildren—whom she insists are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband make their home under the sunny skies of Houston, Texas.
Connect with DiAnn online for behind-the-scenes glimpses, writing tips, and lively discussions:
diannmills.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @DiAnnMills
BookBub – @DiAnnMills
Instagram – @diannmillsauthor
Facebook – @DiAnnMills
YouTube – @DiAnnMills
Purchase Links
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- Tyndale – https://pictbooks.tours/YawvortH
- Walmart- https://pictbooks.tours/krJB00lS
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PROMOAMP GIVEAWAY
https://www.promoamp.com/c/canyon-of-deceit-by-diann-mills
