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Monday, September 27, 2010

Oh the Despicable Press

Reviewed by Phee Paradise

Judgment Day
By Wanda L. Dyson

Most of the people in Judgment Day are pretty despicable, including Suzanne Kidwell, one of the main characters. She is the host of an investigative television show and is willing to take shortcuts to get sensational stories. When two teenage girls disappear, a young police officer tells her the high school principal is a person of interest. After she erroneously announces that he’s been arrested, he loses his job. Even when she is framed as a murder suspect, she doesn’t stop being pushy, thoughtless and self-centered.

I didn’t see anyone I liked in the story until I met the two detectives that she hires to prove her innocence. They are Christians and, although they are tough, they have integrity. Suzanne knows more about her situation than she lets on, but Marcus and Alex are good. They not only solve the case, but take care of Suzanne, in spite of her self-absorbed attitude.

The plot of the book is complicated and there are a lot of hints that there’s more to the crime than it seems. But the author also lets the reader in on some of it by switching to the point of view of several of the bad guys. If you’ve been reading my reviews, you’ll know this is one of my pet peeves. If you don’t mind the point of view changes, this won’t bother you.

Judgment Day is a fast moving crime drama, with developing characters and a nasty and complex crime. If you’re a mystery fan, you’ll enjoy it.

Pros: Classic crime drama with enough twists to keep you guessing.

Cons: Few of the characters are likeable, and there are a lot of point of view shifts.

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Judgment Day
WaterBrook Press (September 21, 2010)


by
Wanda Dyson



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Wanda Dyson – "a shining example of what Christian fiction is becoming..." (Christian Fiction Review). She's been called a "natural" and a "master of pacing," but her fans know that whether it's police thrillers, suspense, or bringing a true story to life, Wanda knows how to take her readers on a journey they'll never forget.

Wanda is a multipublished suspense author, currently writing for Random House/Waterbrook. Her one attempt at a nonfiction book was picked for an exclusive release on Oprah. In addition to writing full time, she is also the appointment coordinator for the CCWC, Great Philadelphia Christian Writers, and ACFW conferences.

Wanda lives in Western Maryland on a 125 acre farm with a menagerie of animals and when she's not writing critically acclaimed suspense, or away at conferences, you can find her zipping across the fields on a 4-wheeler with Maya, her German Shepherd, or plodding along at a more leisurely pace on her horse, Nanza.

With the release of her newest hit, Judgment Day, Wanda is heading back to the keyboard to start on her next high-octane thriller, The Vigilante.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Sensational journalism has never been so deadly.

The weekly cable news show Judgment Day with Suzanne Kidwell promises to expose businessmen, religious leaders, and politicians for the lies they tell. Suzanne positions herself as a champion of ethics and morality with a backbone of steel—until a revelation of her shoddy investigation tactics and creative fact embellishing put her in hot water with her employers, putting her credibility in question and threatening her professional ambitions.

Bitter and angry, Suzanne returns home one day to find an entrepreneur she is investigating, John Edward Sterling, unconscious on her living room floor. Before the night is over, Sterling is dead, she has his blood on her hands, and the police are arresting her for murder. She needs help to prove her innocence, but her only hope, private investigator Marcus Crisp, is also her ex-fiancĂ©–the man she betrayed in college.

Marcus and his partner Alexandria Fisher-Hawthorne reluctantly agree to take the case, but they won’t cut Suzanne any slack. Exposing her lack of ethics and the lives she’s destroyed in her fight for ratings does little to make them think Suzanne is innocent. But as Marcus digs into the mire of secrets surrounding her enemies, he unveils an alliance well-worth killing for. Now all he has to do is keep Suzanne and Alex alive long enough to prove it.


Watch the book trailer:






To read the Prologue and first chapter of Judgment Day, click HERE.
You can purchase the book directly from Random House.




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