A Secret to Die For by Lisa Harris

I have mixed feelings about this novel of romantic suspense. Harris is a capable author and the novel has good scenes of suspense and romantic tension. I did have some issues with the way the plot developed.

One thing I can't tolerate is suspense due to poor police procedure. It happened twice in this novel. An attempt had been made on Gracie and she is obviously a target of the bad guys. Shortly afterward, police detective Nate takes her to a location all by himself. Of course they are attacked by bad guys and suspense ensues. Later in the novel Nate is transporting Gracie and another person when they are again attacked. Paige, Nate's partner had been with them but now the other car was twenty minutes ahead. What? Nate is with two people the bad guys probably want to attack and his partner is in a car twenty minutes away? That is just poor police procedure and poor thinking on Nate's part. And even though the police are dealing with expert hackers, the idea that their own system might be hacked is not considered until another suspenseful event happens. I really got tired of Nate repeatedly thinking he “should” have done this or that.

I had trouble liking Nate. He falls for Gracie and it seems to make him more dumb in his attempts at keeping her safe. I know he had a devastating experience previously but I just found him to not be the kind of competent policeman I like to see as a hero. I liked Gracie. She is competent and brave. Give her a badge.

I do like to learn something when I read fiction and in this case it was about hacking and how vulnerable the nation's infrastructure might be to attack. There was also information about healing from a traumatic event.

There are a couple of good plot twists at the end even though the plot was wrapped up very quickly by a minor character.

My rating: 3/5 stars.

Lisa Harris is the winner of a Christy Award and two Best Inspirational Suspense Novel awards from Romantic Times. She has over thirty novels and novellas in print. She and her family have spent over thirteen years working as missionaries in Africa. You can find out more about her books and her life in Africa at www.lisaharriswrites.com.

Revell, 336 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.