Sky's Shadow by Ted Galdi

Tommy had been a firefighter, until his need to find the truth no matter the method or cost landed him in Jail for a crime he did not commit. After serving his time and having a felony on his record, he is no longer allowed to work as a fireman, so he takes any job he can. When his sister is killed, he sets off on  a personal mission to get justice for her and to enact vengeance on her murderers.

I read a review copy of this book, and while I did enjoy the overall story, I had a few issues with it as well. To be fair, I do not read many thrillers, and I am only as familiar with FBI procedures as what can be learned by watching movies on television. But I cannot help but feel that Tommy should not have been able to get away with many of the things that he did, especially as I can only assume he had limited funds due to his current employment status.

It seems to me that multiple times Tommy could, and likely should have been arrested for interfering in or obstructing an FBI investigation. The fact that he wasn’t felt a little too convenient to me. Though, at the same time, I also acknowledge that might be a standard of this genre. (As I said, I do not often read thrillers, so I am not as familiar with this genre’s usual patterns as I am some of the others that I’ve read.)

Outside of my objections to some of what I consider a little too convenient or too easy for the main character, I did enjoy reading the story. The action is fast paced, and the twists taken kept me wanting to find out what would happen next. The ending of this book sets things up for the author to continue on with this character in a way that would make sense for him to be able to continue to get away with using the methods that I found a bit problematic in this story. So would I consider reading the next book in this series? Yes, I think I would.

I feel that those who enjoy thrillers, FBI and other military action stories, tales about finding justice for those who have been wronged, or solving a murder to find justice for the victims would likely enjoy this book.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

The Amish Meddler by Samantha Price

Caroline has been staying with the Baker/Bruner family for quite some time. Most of the family has been happy enough to have her there, but Cherish has grown tired of her presence and wrote a letter to Caroline’s family. It was quite a surprise when Caroline’s parents arrived at the farm to ask about the girl who was staying with the family, the reason for this visit, and the surprising truth behind Caroline’s visit with the family.

This was the sixteenth book in the bonnet sisters series. And while I felt that it could have used one more pass by a proofreader to clean up a few more typos than I expected to see, it was still an interesting story and one that I enjoyed reading.

The Bonnet Sisters’ books are sweet Amish Romances, though there is almost always some sort of drama happening on the farm. In this book, the drama part of the story involves Caroline and why she has actually been staying with the family for so long. But that wasn’t the only plotline in this book. The other part of this story was about the changes being made on the farm, and what the entire family, including Florence, are trying to do in order to make the farm once again profitable after the poor harvest the previous year. It will mean a lot of work for everyone, and only time will tell if they can manage to make it work.

I always enjoy the vivid descriptions of the various characters and how their differing personalities affect each of the others within their family. The flaws of each of them are understandable and clearly reflective of who they are and how their family dynamics have affected them through the years. These flaws are a part of what brings both family drama to the story as well as what spurs the interest of the reader. And while in some ways it can push them further apart, it still often manages to bring them closer together.

Anyone who has enjoyed this series so far, or who enjoys Amish romances with a little bit of family drama added in, should enjoy reading this book as well. The Bonnet Sisters books are nice light reading and are stories that I have enjoyed reading when I just want something short to read that doesn’t require too much deep thought.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.