ACCUSED

Pacific Coast Justice Series #1
by Janice Cantore

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
416 pages
978-1414358475

After an officer-involved shooting, Detective Carly Edwards is taken off her street beat and given a desk job in juvenile. It's a normally boring position, but she is drawn into a murder investigation of the city's mayor, an investigation that isn't as routine as she's initially led to believe.

As she investigates, she peels back layers of corruption in her city that might just bleed into the police department, and she doesn't know who to trust. Complicating things more is  her ex-husband, also a police officer, who says he's a changed man. He's betrayed her before. Can she trust him now, or is he part of the corruption?

My Take:

Years ago, Dee Henderson's O'Malley series set the standard for romantic suspense within Christian fiction. She always offered very likable characters and intriguing suspense. The mysteries may not have been terribly complex, but the characters made up for that, making her books an enjoyable read. As someone who loves a good suspense novel, I'm continuously looking for authors I'll appreciate as much as Henderson, but I'm most often let down.  I know my tastes have changed, I've become very picky. I can't read formulaic suspense--it's far too predictable--and I don't care for romantic suspense that's too gushy. (If the hero and heroine merely brush arms in the opening chapters and their cheeks flush or goosebumps cover their arms, that's an instant turn-off for me. My personal preference.)

Amy Wallace, DiAnn Mills, and Sibella Giorello are three rare writers who have exceeded my expectations. After reading Accused, I'm adding Janice Cantore, a retired Long Beach, California police officer, to that list.

Accused is a lightening-fast read. I read it within a day--my husband only took two (fast for him). Cantore kept the action moving, adding more elements to the mystery, while taking us deep inside Carly Edward's character. Like Carly, I didn't know who to trust until near the very end--my husband felt the same way.

It's one of the most enjoyable books I've read all year and I look forward to reading Cantore's next book in the Pacific Coast Justice Series, Abducted, which comes out in July.

Janice Cantore is a retired Long Beach police officer who now writes suspense novels to keep readers engrossed and leave them inspired. Her years of experience on the force lend authenticity to her stories. Accused is the first in the three-book Pacific Coast Justice series.