BOOK REVIEW: One Little Lie by Colleen Coble @colleencoble @TLCbooktours @thomasnelson #onelittlelie

It started with one little lie. But Jane Hardy will do everything in her power to uncover the truth. 

In the kickoff to a new Pelican Harbor series set in Alabama’s Pelican Bay, Officer Jane Hardy finds herself in new territory serving as the interim sheriff after her father’s retirement. I liked the romance that blended into this suspenseful crime fiction novel. Expertly-plotted and well-paced!

About the Book

When Jane Hardy is appointed interim sheriff in Pelican Harbor, Alabama, after her father retires, there’s no time for an adjustment period. He is arrested for theft and then implicated in a recent murder, and Jane quickly realizes she’s facing someone out to destroy her father.

They escaped from a cult fifteen years ago, and Jane has searched relentlessly for her mother—who refused to leave—ever since. Could someone from that horrible past have found them?

Reid Bechtol is a well-known journalist who makes documentaries, and his sights are currently set on covering Jane’s career. Jane has little interest in the attention, but the committee who appointed her loves the idea of the publicity.

Jane finds herself depending on Reid’s calm manner as he follows her around taping his documentary, and they begin working together to clear her father. But Reid has his own secrets from the past, and the gulf between them may be impossible to cross.

It started with one little lie. But Jane Hardy will do everything in her power to uncover the truth.

Reflection

I was pretty obsessed with the description right away (documentaries, cults, and murder!) and snatched this book before I realized it is Christian fiction. While I don’t have a problem with the genre, sometimes I find that books labeled as Christian fiction lack a bit of edge that is needed if you are going to write romantic suspense. So I’m glad I didn’t realize when I got this book because that does not describe One Little Lie at all!

Colleen Coble knows how to construct a fantastic plot and engaging characters! Jane Hardy promises to be a compelling lead for the series (this is listed as book 1, so I’d imagine more or to follow). She has quite a backstory which is explored in this book. One thing I liked about Jane was how hard she worked to follow in the path her father took as the Sheriff of their town. She does this out of immense respect for her father, and when he retires, Jane steps in an interim Sheriff. Female Sheriffs are rare, and I’d imagine particularly in smaller towns in the south. I really enjoyed Jane as a character!

Not long after being thrown into the Sheriff role, Jane responds to a discovery of a body found in a cooler and later to another murder. When Jane is told by the mayor to cooperate with a documentary film looking into small town police departments being shot by a journalist named Reid Bechtol, she is not pleased. Jane may not have much interest in the attention brought on by the documentary, but she may eventually find herself interested in something else about it…

Not only does Jane have the documentary film, two murders, a new job, and the FBI to contend with, but then her father is arrested on suspicion of taking funds from the police department. It started with a lie, but that lie is unraveling faster and faster.

Despite the darkness of the storyline, this book also delivered on the “heart-warming” romance it promised. A great, clean romantic suspense novel with a compelling story and strong characters. I’m looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Thomas Nelson for my copy. Opinions are my own.

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About the Author

USAToday bestselling author Colleen Coble lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana. She is the author of dozens of novels including the Rock Harbor Series, the Aloha Reef Series, the Mercy Falls Series, the Hope Beach Series, the Lonestar Series and two Women of Faith fiction selections, Alaska Twilight and Midnight Sea. She has more than 2 million books in print.

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