Minutes to Die by Susan Sleeman

I liked this novel of suspense incorporating operatives from a number of government agencies. It was interesting to see how the agencies work together. I was a little surprised at the heavy use of surveillance videos in finding the bad guys before they managed to kill millions of people. I had no idea so many businesses and municipalities had so many cameras on street locations. I was also surprised at the advances made with DNA. It can be used to provide physical characteristics which can be compiled into a composite sketch. It is not an exact science and cannot be used in court but what an amazing advance in police procedure.

The characters were developed well in this novel. The main ones, Kiley and Evan, get off to a rough start as they work together on this investigation. That is because this is the second in a series and both characters still have strong feelings from events in the first novel. While this one can be read alone, the full impact of the development of their relationship will not be appreciated without reading the previous novel.

One pet peeve from this reader. Kiley “marched” several times to her next location. I should have counted them but I noticed at least twice in two chapters, 13 and 16. And I cannot tell you how many times Kiley had acid in her stomach during a tense time. A little editing of those repetitive aspects would had helped my enjoyment of the author's writing style.

All in all, this is a good romantic suspense. While there are a couple of desperate prayers to God during the last heightened suspense, there is nothing else really Christian about the novel.

You can read my review of the first novel in the series, Seconds to Live, here.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Susan Sleeman is the best selling author of more than 35 romantic suspense novels with sales over one million copies. She has won several awards, including the ACFW Carol Award for Suspense and the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award. She hosts the popular Suspense Zone website at www.thesuspensezone.com. She lives in Portland, Oregon. You can find out more at www.susansleeman.com.

Bethany House Publishers, 368 pages.

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

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)