Smoke Screen by Terri Blackstock
Publisher: Thomas Nelson / HarperCollins
Publication Date: November 5, 2019
Format: Hardcover - 352 pages
Paperback - 352 pages
Kindle - 352 pages / 3815 KB
Nook - 352 pages / 3 MB
Audio Book - 7 Hours 14 Minutes
ISBN (HC): 978-0310332602
ISBN (PB): 978-0310332596
ASIN (Audio Book): B07Q2345BS
ASIN ( Kindle eBook): B07Q79M56P
BNID (Nook eBook): 978-0310332640Genre: Christian Suspense
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Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.
Book Description:
One father was murdered, and another convicted of his death. All because their children fell in love.
Nate Beckett has spent his life fighting wildfires instead of the lies and rumors that drove him from his Colorado home town. His mother begs him to come to Carlisle now that his father has been released from prison, but it isn’t until he’s sidelined by an injury that he’s forced to return and face his past. But that means facing Brenna too.
Fourteen years ago, Nate was in love with the preacher’s daughter. When Pastor Strickland discovered Brenna had defied him to sneak out with Nate, the fight between Strickland and Nate’s drunken dad was loud—and very public. Strickland was found murdered later that night, and everyone accused Roy Beckett. When the church burned down, people assumed it was Nate getting even for his father’s conviction. He let the rumors fly and left Carlisle without looking back.
Now, Brenna is stunned to learn that the man convicted of murdering her father has been pardoned. The events of that night set her life on a bad course, and she’s dealing with a brutal custody battle with her ex and his new wife where he’s using lies and his family’s money to sway the judge. She’s barely hanging on, and she’s turned to alcohol to cope. Shame and fear consume her.
As they deal with the present—including new information about that fateful night and a wildfire that’s threatening their town—their past keeps igniting. Nate is the steady force Brenna has so desperately needed. But she’ll have to learn to trust him again first.
Book Excerpt:
I woke up in a blinding bright room, my clothes off and something clamped to my face. I tried to reach it, but I couldn’t bend my right arm, and my hand stung. An IV was taped to my other hand, but I moved carefully and touched the thing over my face.
An oxygen mask. I tried to sit up. “What happened?”
T-bird came to my bedside, a sheen of smoky sweat still soiling his face. “Nate, lie back, man.”
“The fire,” I said. “Need to get back. My men.”
“They’re still there. Making progress. But you’re not going anywhere near a fire for a month or so.”
I took the mask off and coughed a little, but managed to catch my breath. “A month?”
“Yep. Second degree burns on 20 percent of your body. Some of the burns are deep.”
It came back to me, the event that had gotten me here.
“The family. Were they injured?”
“Not a scratch or burn. Turns out it was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. He says you’re a hero.”
“You know I had no choice. They were in the path—”
“Take the praise where you can get it, man. We don’t get that much.”
I looked at my right side. My right arm was bandaged, and so was my side and down my right leg to the point where my boots had stopped the flames. Second degree wasn’t so bad, I told myself. Third degree would have been brutal. I’d be able to leave the hospital soon. I’d heal.
“I won’t need a month,” I said.
“Yes, you will. They can’t let you go back. Doctor’s orders. You’re grounded until he releases you.”
I managed to sit up, but it was a bad idea. The burns pulling on my skin reminded me why I shouldn’t. “I can’t be grounded during fire season. Are you crazy? I need to be there. You don’t have enough men as it is.”
“Sorry, Nate. It is what it is. Why don’t you go home to Carlisle for a while? Take it easy.”
Go home? Pop had just been pardoned, and he and my mom were trying to navigate the reunion. Though she would love to have me home, I didn’t know if I was up to it. My father could be challenging, and fourteen years of prison hadn’t done him any favors.
Required text: Taken from “Smoke Screen” by Terri Blackstock. Copyright © 2019 by Terri Blackstock. Used by permission of http://www.thomasnelson.com/.
An oxygen mask. I tried to sit up. “What happened?”
T-bird came to my bedside, a sheen of smoky sweat still soiling his face. “Nate, lie back, man.”
“The fire,” I said. “Need to get back. My men.”
“They’re still there. Making progress. But you’re not going anywhere near a fire for a month or so.”
I took the mask off and coughed a little, but managed to catch my breath. “A month?”
“Yep. Second degree burns on 20 percent of your body. Some of the burns are deep.”
It came back to me, the event that had gotten me here.
“The family. Were they injured?”
“Not a scratch or burn. Turns out it was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. He says you’re a hero.”
“You know I had no choice. They were in the path—”
“Take the praise where you can get it, man. We don’t get that much.”
I looked at my right side. My right arm was bandaged, and so was my side and down my right leg to the point where my boots had stopped the flames. Second degree wasn’t so bad, I told myself. Third degree would have been brutal. I’d be able to leave the hospital soon. I’d heal.
“I won’t need a month,” I said.
“Yes, you will. They can’t let you go back. Doctor’s orders. You’re grounded until he releases you.”
I managed to sit up, but it was a bad idea. The burns pulling on my skin reminded me why I shouldn’t. “I can’t be grounded during fire season. Are you crazy? I need to be there. You don’t have enough men as it is.”
“Sorry, Nate. It is what it is. Why don’t you go home to Carlisle for a while? Take it easy.”
Go home? Pop had just been pardoned, and he and my mom were trying to navigate the reunion. Though she would love to have me home, I didn’t know if I was up to it. My father could be challenging, and fourteen years of prison hadn’t done him any favors.
Required text: Taken from “Smoke Screen” by Terri Blackstock. Copyright © 2019 by Terri Blackstock. Used by permission of http://www.thomasnelson.com/.
My Book Review:
In Smoke Screen, author Terri Blackstock transports the reader to Carlisle, Colorado for an intriguing Christian Suspense story that follows two people who must face the traumas of the past, while trying to find a way to overcome present life struggles with hope, faith, and a second chance of finding love and redemption.
Nate Beckett is a member of the elite smokejumper team, the Rocky Mountain Hotshots. While battling a wildfire in Steamboat Springs, Nate rescues a U.S. Senator and his family, and is subsequently sidelined from duty with second degree burns on his body. Nate returns to his hometown of Carlisle to recover from his injuries and deal with the false misconceptions of his past.
Brenna Strickland-Hertzog's world has fallen apart after a recent divorce, and she struggles with the possiblity of losing her children to her ex-husband in a brutal child custody case. Brenna's struggles has led her down a self-destructive path of depression and alcoholism that could seriously damage her case, and cause her to lose her children.
Fourteen years ago, Nate and Brenna were high school sweethearts, but a tragic event between their fathers changed their lives forever. Nate's father was convicted of murdering Brenna's pastor father spurred on by the unapproved romance between the teenagers. And if that wasn't bad enough, Nate was wrongfully suspected of arson, when the pastor's church burned down after his father's sentencing. The lies and rumors ran rampant and drove Nate to leave his hometown. Recently, Nate's father has been pardoned for the murder and is released from prison, which causes old wounds to reopen between their families. Can Nate and Brenna face the trauma of their past that had torn them apart, get redemption by finding the real murderer and arsonist, overcome their present life struggles, and get a second chance of love?
Author Terri Blackstock weaves a multi-layered and suspenseful tale written in the first person alternating narrative that follows Nate and Brenna as they reunite and use their reconnection to lean on each other as they try to overcome the trauma of their past, while struggling to overcome the obstacles of current life issues, hoping for redemption, love, and a new beginning.
I loved reading this complexed multi-layered story. From the first page, I was intrigued as Nate and Brenna's traumatic past unfolded, and how their reconnection drew together two flawed people who were dealing with current life struggles, in addition to the questions surrounding the mystery of the murder and arson. The reader will be easily drawn into this well written story with its richly descriptive plot that will keep them guessing as secrets, deceit, greed, and dysfunctional family drama are uncovered. I loved the intertwining of Nate and Brenna's life struggles with the undeniable attraction between them, as they searched for forgiveness, redemption, and a second chance at love and a new beginning.
Smoke Screen has enough drama, tension, action, danger, secrets, romance, and unexpected twists and turns that will take the reader on one heck of a thrilling roller coaster ride.
RATING: 5 STARS
Terri Blackstock has sold over seven million books worldwide and is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall, as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, the SunCoast Chronicles, and the Restoration Series.
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