Blacklisted in the photography business over a controversial shot, Avery Tate answered an ad for a crime scene photographer. She expected to be laughed at, but crime scene analyst Parker Mitchell hired her outright–and changed her life. But six months ago, when her feelings for Parker became too strong, she left his employ to sort out her heart.
Now, for the first time, Avery is facing the world that rejected her to attend the gallery opening of a photography exhibit and support her best friend, who modeled for the show. But the only image of her friend is a chilling photo of her posing as if dead–and the photographer insists he didn’t take the shot. Worse, her friend can’t be found. She immediately calls Parker for help. As Avery, Parker, and his friends in law enforcement dig into the mystery, they find themselves face-to-face with a relentless and deadly threat.
Dani Pettrey is a wife, homeschooling mom and author. She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves–the thrill of adventure, nail-biting suspense, the deepening of one’s faith and plenty of romance. She’s a huge fan of dark chocolate, is always in search of the best iced mocha and her dream is to one day own a little cottage on a remote stretch of beach. She and her husband reside in Maryland with their two teenage daughters. Visit her web site at http://www.DaniPettrey.com.
My Impressions:
Still Life by Dani Pettrey was my book club’s March selection. We all liked it, perhaps not as much as book 1 in the Chesapeake Valor series, Cold Shot, but all of us liked the fast-paced suspense and the developing romance between main characters, Avery and Parker. There was one thing we did have trouble with: the number of characters that were involved — lots of characters in the ensemble cast and lots of characters that were involved with the investigations the book undertook. I actually had trouble with the names given to the main characters. Most are gender non-specific and are usually last names. I know, I know, this is hardly a real problem and I am a bit old-fashioned (my 3 kids all have very traditional names), but it still took me out of the story as I tried to remember just who was who. As I looked at the lower starred Amazon ratings, I found some had trouble with the darker turn to Pettrey’s novel. My group members are big fans of Criminal Minds, CSI, and other shows of the same genre, so the creep-factor was a bonus for us! Still Life also made us want to explore Baltimore and environs. When a book’s setting inspires, that is a really good thing. The spiritual theme of forgiveness and its impact on past guilt is a relevant issue and we found it well-handled. For readers that may not be able to road trip to Maryland, Pettrey has a Book Club Kit for Still Life that includes recipes, pictures of Fells Point in Baltimore, discussion questions and more. What a great resource!.
Still Life is book 2 in the series and many story threads are still to be untangled. We are looking forward to more thrilling rides with Dani Pettrey.
Recommended.
Audience: adults.
To purchase, click HERE.
(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
I read this in a couple of days! Yes I liked the suspense etc. I , too, had trouble with the names but I overlook it because it’s Dani!!! Can’t wait to read the next one!
The names are a minor issue, I know. We were wondering where she finds her names. I’m looking forward to book 3 too. Thanks for stopping by!