This book is part of The Defenders series which involves protecting children from dangerous people. Set in the bucolic town of Serenity, Arkansas, the book begins with an explosion that takes the fire department hours to control as well as the lives of a local married couple, Rob and Ellen Pearson, who ran an export company.
Their children, Timmy (age 7), Paul (age 5), and Megan (age 18 months), are placed into the custody of Jill Kirkpatrick, a recently widowed woman whos acted as a foster mother over the past few years. Her connection to the Serenity Fire Department is her good friend Mitch Andrews, who attends Serenity Chapel on Sundays and who befriended her following her late husbands accident.
Jill and Mitch continually claim theyre good friends, but they behave like a married couple throughout the book. Jills custodianship is challenged by the childrens unhinged aunt Natalie. Guessing the villain of this very short novel isnt hard; everyone will have it by the second chapter, tops. Theres little suspense to be found here.
Whats interesting about the book is that a local nurse, Samantha Rochard, is part of a national organization known as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) that is based in Canton, Georgia. Volunteers like Samantha are appointed by judges to watch over abused and/or neglected children to make sure they dont get lost in the vast machinery that is the American legal system or languish in foster homes. Theres some detail about how the organization works in the book, and I appreciated the author doing her homework.
However, I did notice that at one point, Natalie (the unhinged aunt) bullies the nurses at the hospital where the children were taken for observation into letting her take them home. There is simply no way this would happen in real life. Security would have been called and Natalie would have been escorted off the premises. Hospitals have codes to alert others to unruly behavior whether from a patient or a visitor.
Then, Jill and Mitch storm Natalies house to find the children. Breaking and entering is still considered a crime, even in Serenity, so I doubt the realism of this scene as well. This isnt the first stupid thing that Jill and Mitch do in the book, either. Megan is kidnapped from Jills care, and instead of waiting for the police, they both take off into the woods near Jills farmhouse with the other two kids (Timmy and Paul) in tow, along with Jills ranch dogs. Why? You know the kids are in mortal danger now; why risk being killed by whomever took Megan? This is so unbelievably stupid, especially for Mitch, as he clearly knows what a dangerous situation Jill and the kids are in.
The book is nicely paced and filled with action. Because we know the identity of the villain so early on, though, theres not much suspense. It bored me after a while because I was tired of Mitch and Jill pretending they dont like each other when they obviously do, and seeing them do all sorts of idiotic things in the name of protecting the children.
Their children, Timmy (age 7), Paul (age 5), and Megan (age 18 months), are placed into the custody of Jill Kirkpatrick, a recently widowed woman whos acted as a foster mother over the past few years. Her connection to the Serenity Fire Department is her good friend Mitch Andrews, who attends Serenity Chapel on Sundays and who befriended her following her late husbands accident.
Jill and Mitch continually claim theyre good friends, but they behave like a married couple throughout the book. Jills custodianship is challenged by the childrens unhinged aunt Natalie. Guessing the villain of this very short novel isnt hard; everyone will have it by the second chapter, tops. Theres little suspense to be found here.
Whats interesting about the book is that a local nurse, Samantha Rochard, is part of a national organization known as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) that is based in Canton, Georgia. Volunteers like Samantha are appointed by judges to watch over abused and/or neglected children to make sure they dont get lost in the vast machinery that is the American legal system or languish in foster homes. Theres some detail about how the organization works in the book, and I appreciated the author doing her homework.
However, I did notice that at one point, Natalie (the unhinged aunt) bullies the nurses at the hospital where the children were taken for observation into letting her take them home. There is simply no way this would happen in real life. Security would have been called and Natalie would have been escorted off the premises. Hospitals have codes to alert others to unruly behavior whether from a patient or a visitor.
Then, Jill and Mitch storm Natalies house to find the children. Breaking and entering is still considered a crime, even in Serenity, so I doubt the realism of this scene as well. This isnt the first stupid thing that Jill and Mitch do in the book, either. Megan is kidnapped from Jills care, and instead of waiting for the police, they both take off into the woods near Jills farmhouse with the other two kids (Timmy and Paul) in tow, along with Jills ranch dogs. Why? You know the kids are in mortal danger now; why risk being killed by whomever took Megan? This is so unbelievably stupid, especially for Mitch, as he clearly knows what a dangerous situation Jill and the kids are in.
The book is nicely paced and filled with action. Because we know the identity of the villain so early on, though, theres not much suspense. It bored me after a while because I was tired of Mitch and Jill pretending they dont like each other when they obviously do, and seeing them do all sorts of idiotic things in the name of protecting the children.
