Shattered by Dani Pettrey

This is the second in the Alaska Courage series. If you have not read the first one (Submerged), you will still be able to follow the story but will miss out on some of the meaningful history of the McKenna family.

This novel centers around Piper McKenna. She is the feisty sibling of the family. She goes into action when her brother Reef is accused of murdering a snow boarder. Yes, he was seen holding the murdered woman, but he claims he is innocent.

Deputy Landon Grainger is like a sibling to the McKennas. He was taken in as a young person when his own family fell apart. But now he has the unpleasant task of arresting Reef and putting him in jail. The sheriff, soon up for re-election, wants this apparently cut and dried case to be tried quickly.

Piper will have none of it. Convinced her brother is innocent, she is determined to find the real killer. The family rallies around her. They also enlist the help of a young newspaper reporter who has come to Yancey to cover the murder story.

As the family begins to investigate the history of the murdered snow boarder, they run into all kinds of obstacles. Convinced Reef is innocent, Landon takes a leave of absence from his law enforcement duties to help.

This is a fun suspense/romance novel. Piper is a kick. She is out to find the murderer and will stop at nothing. Deputy Landon, on leave, is desperate to keep her out of harms way. The feelings are growing between the two as they try to unravel the identity of the mysterious murdered woman. Their investigations take them to British Columbia, California and Oregon as they follow the trail to the murderer.

I loved the interplay between Piper and Landon. I love the tenacity Piper has and the dedication to her that Landon exhibits.

The first third, or so, of the novel I thought was a bit slow. After that, however, there is nonstop action to the end. Well written suspense, great character development, and a strong showing of Christian character. There is one family member, Gage, who is mad at God and I suspect he may be the subject of the next in the series. He has eyes for the newspaper reporter, so who knows what the next novel will bring.

Dani Pettrey is a wife, home-schooling mom, and the author of Submerged. She and her husband life in the D. C. metro area with their two teenage daughters. Learn more at www.danipettrey.com.

Bethany House Publishers, 368 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.