Review: Shadow in Serenity by Terri Blackstock

From the Publisher:

Carny Sullivan grew up in the zany world of a traveling carnival. Quaint and peaceful Serenity, Texas, has given her a home, a life, and a child. Logan Brisco is the smoothest, slickest, handsomest man Serenity, Texas has ever seen. But Carny Sullivan knows a con artist when she sees one—and she’s seen plenty, starting with her father. As far as Carny Sullivan can tell, she’s the only one in town who has his number. Because from his Italian shoes to his movie-actor smile, Logan has the rest of the town snowed. Carny is determined to reveal Brisco’s selfish intentions before his promise to the townspeople for a cut in a giant amusement park sucks Serenity dry. Yet, as much as she hates his winning ways, there is a man behind that suave smile, a man who may win her heart against her will. Shadow in Serenity is a modern-day Music Man, penned by a Christy Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author.



My Thoughts:
When I was contacted about doing a review of 'Shadow in Serenity' by Terri Blackstock, I wasn't 100% sure how I would really like this story. While I do enjoy the occasional crime type story, it is not my preferred genre and I tend to be a bit more picky about them. But I'm always interested to see how Christian fiction writers are able to write a crime/mystery story while keeping with the Christian themes, so I was excited to give it a shot, and thankfully so.
Just out of prison where he'd served time for previous cons, Logan Brisco heads to the small town of Serenity, TX, a town hit by hard times that he believed would be the perfect place to pull of his grandest con yet- filling the town with hopes of a new amusement park to be built which would bring profit for them all. But when he meets Carny Sullivan, a woman who herself grew up in a traveling carnival with her parents, conning carnival guests out of their money, she threatens to destroy Logan's plans. I can't say much more than this without giving the story away, but it was certainly a wonderful story. Had I had the time, I'm sure this would have been one of those books that I wouldn't have been able to put down. Beyond the cons, it is also a great story about forgiveness and the ability to change, with help from God. And also a great love story thrown in as well. I will say that towards the end, parts of it seemed a bit unrealistic and perhaps a bit rushed, but overall it was a great book and I look forward to seeing more from Terri Blackstock. Based on the writing in this story alone, it is no surprise that she is a New York Times Bestseller.

You can purchase this book here.

*I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.