I really wanted to like Cross Shadow, the second book in A Shepherd Suspense series. I like CIA/Special Ops/Black Ops books and hoped the John Cross books would meet that desire.
John still pastors the little church in Virginia. Christine concentrates on making a name for herself in New York. Their romance suffers. Then Christine’s brother, accused of committing murder, languishes in jail. Christine vies for a promotion, and Cross gets involved in the murder investigation. She tells him she can handle things; he shows up anyway. And Christine trusts John very little. And we’re off … rather slowly to be enmeshed in bullets and gun battles, car chases and conspiracies. I found most of the book unbelievable, and I wanted to variously shake or slap John Cross.
Andrew Huff writes well and his characters were believable and sympathetic in his first book, A Cross to Kill. But somehow the charm they had previously disappears, and they have degenerated into stereotypical characters in an action/adventure book. There are twists and turns and suspects and deadbeats and traitors and heroes to the rescue—everything you want in a suspense book but somehow lack-luster and dull. I give Cross Shadow a generous 3.5 Stars.
The bio for Andrew reads, “Andrew Huff serves as the product director at Igniter Media, one of the largest church media companies in the nation. He spent ten years in church ministry as both a youth pastor and creative arts pastor. Andrew currently lives in Plano, Texas, and can be reached at andrewhuffbooks.com.”
I received the book from Audra Jennings PR, but not obligated to write a review. As an Amazon Associate, I may receive a small commission from any products sold on from his page.