If I Run by Terri Blackstock Series: If I Run #1
Published by Zondervan on February 16, 2016
Pages: 318
Source: the publisher
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Casey knows the truth.
But it won’t set her free.
Casey Cox’s DNA is all over the crime scene. There’s no use talking to police; they have failed her abysmally before. She has to flee before she’s arrested . . . or worse. The truth doesn’t matter anymore.
But what is the truth? That’s the question haunting Dylan Roberts, the war-weary veteran hired to find Casey. PTSD has marked him damaged goods, but bringing Casey back can redeem him. Though the crime scene seems to tell the whole story, details of the murder aren’t adding up. Casey Cox doesn’t fit the profile of a killer. But are Dylan’s skewed perceptions keeping him from being objective? If she isn’t guilty, why did she run?
Unraveling her past and the evidence that condemns her will take more time than he has, but as Dylan’s damaged soul intersects with hers, he is faced with two choices. The girl who occupies his every thought is a psychopathic killer . . . or a selfless hero. And the truth could be the most deadly weapon yet.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Review:
If I Run by Terri Blackstock is the first book in a Christian suspense-thriller trilogy published by Zondervan. This is a true series, meaning these books should be read in order.
When Casey Cox found her best friend Brent murdered, she left her footprints, fingerprints, and shoe prints all over the crime scene – so she is the obvious prime suspect. Rather than stick around for questioning and to clear her name, Casey is on the run. Casey has a past with the police that isn’t immediately understood at the beginning of the story, but her reasons for running become clear as the story progresses.
Dylan has recently left the military due to PTSD. He has decided to pursue a new career with the police department as an investigator. When the police department approaches him to assist with tracking down their primary suspect in a local murder investigation, Dylan agrees to the job. This is the perfect opportunity for Dylan to prove that he can manage his PTSD, which will help him land a new job as investigator within the department.
On the hunt, Casey is pretty good at evading Dylan. However, the closer he gets to her, the more Dylan begins to question whether or not she is actually the one responsible for Brent’s death.
The opening of this story is pretty suspenseful; I was invested in what Casey was up to while on the run and why she felt she had to run in the first place. I was also curious about the circumstances surrounding poor Brent’s death. I wanted to know more.
Casey’s story slowed a little bit in the middle of the book and a secondary plotline was introduced as the author sort of began to shift the focus on some other characters instead of solely on Casey’s run from the scene of the crime. During this time, Casey’s character was still interesting, but I was definitely less interested in this secondary plotline. I have a few feelings about it that I don’t really want to discuss here because I feel like they would be spoilery. Also, some of Casey’s actions – as well as some of Dylan’s actions in trying to find Casey – required suspension of my disbelief. Suspending my disbelief was not a huge deal for me because the story continued to progress.
Toward the end, I was glad to see that the story was beginning to turn around and pick up again. But then, BOOM, cliffhanger. So you should plan to have the second book on hand and ready to go if you are a cliffhanger-hater.
For the book to have such an open ending: I do like the direction the story seems to be moving. I was holding my breath for a little while because I had no idea what was going to happen as Dylan began closing in on Casey. I’m curious about where these characters seem to be headed as their story picks up with the second installment in the series.
About Terri Blackstock
Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over six million copies sold worldwide. She is the winner of two Carol Awards, a Christian Retailers Choice Award, and a Romantic Times Book Reviews Career Achievement Award, among others. She has had over twenty-five years of success as a novelist.
Terri spent the first twelve years of her life traveling in a U.S. Air Force family. She lived in nine states and attended the first four years of school in The Netherlands. Because she was a perpetual “new kid,” her imagination became her closest friend. That, she believes, was the biggest factor in her becoming a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five, and has had a successful career ever since.
Recent books include Truth Stained Lies (Book 1 of her Moonlighters Series), and her acclaimed Intervention Series (Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall). Other recent favorites include Predator, Double Minds, the Restoration Series, the Newpointe 911 Series, the Cape Refuge Series, and the SunCoast Chronicles series.
In 1994 Terri was writing romance novels under two pseudonyms for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, Dell and Silhouette, when a spiritual awakening prompted her to switch gears. At the time, she was reading more suspense than romance, and felt drawn to write thrillers about ordinary people in grave danger. Her newly awakened faith wove its way into the tapestry of her suspense novels, offering hope instead of despair. Her goal is to entertain with page-turning plots, while challenging her readers to think and grow. She hopes to remind them that they’re valued by God and that their trials have a purpose.
About Asheley
Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.
You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.
Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!
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