Now and Always
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Very few things distract Katie Addison when she’s on a mission, whether it’s opening her home to abused women, rehabilitating injured horses, or helping tall, gorgeous Warren Tate mend his broken heart. But when financial difficulties pile up for her, Katie hesitantly admits she herself may need help.Since his fiancé left him, Warren is done with women—especially independent women, which he’d guess describes Katie Addison to a tee. Reluctantly he agrees to help Katie with her financial troubles. But when his budget doesn’t include Katie’s daily lattes, Warren realizes he may have a challenging client on his hands.Meanwhile, Sheriff Ben O'Keefe can’t seem to get Katie’s attention. Everyone in town knows he has had a longstanding crush on her. But to Katie, Ben is just Ben. When mysterious events turn Katie to him for help, is it the chance Ben has been waiting for?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bell, a former trial lawyer and Christy Award winner (Final Witness), offers a disappointing faith suspense story that illustrates this genre's recent preoccupation with sexual violence against women. Attorney Sam Trask has his hands full with his rebellious 17-year-old daughter, Heather, the lead singer of Screech Monk. Nicky Oberlin, a shadowy figure from Sam's college past, shows up unexpectedly, and for reasons that are inexplicable until the closing pages, stalks Sam and his family. More troubles pile up: a dog is poisoned, credit cards are mysteriously maxed out, Sam's law practice suffers, a rattlesnake attacks and a child from out of wedlock is revealed (a stock plot element in Christian fiction). One of the nastiest turns in the novel involves the sociopathic Nicky's kidnapping and sexual victimization of Sam's daughter ("I may have to spank little Heather") and the suggestion that Sam must have sex with a prostitute to get his daughter back. One scene has Sam beating Nicky with the skull of Nicky's dead father. Awkward prose is scattered throughout (e.g., "the lights of the city illuminating the night sky like forbidden candy"), and Bell relies upon heavy back-to-back dialogue to move the plot along. Readers will want to skip this one.
