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Fourteen years ago, the secret relationship between a preacher's daughter and the son of the town drunk was discovered, setting off a conflict that ended with one father killing the other.  Although Roy Beckett insisted he was innocent, he was sent to prison for the murder of "Brother" Strickland.  A decade and a half later, Roy is pardoned and set free, to the horror of the victim's family.  

Brenna Strickland Hertzog is having a hard enough time dealing with a nasty custody battle between her and her powerful ex-husband.  The last thing she needs right now is to deal with the shocking release of her father's killer.  Brenna's drinking too much as it is—how is she going to cope with this new development in her already stressful life?  Then Roy's son, Nate Beckett, shows up on her doorstep for the first time in 14 years, rekindling all the feelings she had for him when they were kids.  Their innocent, but clandestine teenage romance led to her father's death; renewing it now could be even more dangerous ...

Forced to take a break from his job as a smokejumper after he sustains second degree burns over 20% of his body, Nate returns home to recover and see his father.  Nate has always believed in Roy's guilt, but when his father begs him to find Brother Strickland's true killer, he feels obligated to dig into the murder.  A major complication comes in the form of beautiful, broken Brenna who needs him now more than ever.  What will Nate's sleuthing uncover?  Can Brenna ever forgive, let alone love, the son of her father's alleged murderer?

I have to say upfront that romantic suspense is really not my genre.  Add in Christian elements and it often leads to a perfect storm of cheesy, far-fetched, overwritten drama.  No, thanks.  Still, something about the premise of Smoke Screen by Terri Blackstock made me agree to read and review it.  Did it change my mind about this genre?  Um, no.  While I appreciate that the novel's clean and faith-affirming, its flat characters, dull prose, and melodramatic plotline made me a little crazy.  While Brenna's a sympathetic character, she's not a super likable one.  I couldn't understand Nate's interest.  Their resulting romance, therefore, seems forced and sparkless.  As far as the suspense portion, there's not a lot as the plot focuses mainly on Brenna's personal problems.  The lackluster mystery at the heart of the story is thin and implausible, especially since the "twists" are obvious from miles away.  Overall Smoke Screen is definitely not the worst Christian romantic suspense novel I've ever read, but for me, it was a so-so read at best.  To be fair, this is how I feel about most books in this genre.  Still, I would have liked for Smoke Screen to change my mind; unfortunately, that just didn't happen.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other Christian romantic suspense novels, but no specific titles are coming to mind.  You?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Smoke Screen from the generous folks at Thomas Nelson via those at Celebrate Lit in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

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