Hidden Agenda by Lisa Harris - A Book Review

        
   Since retiring I have had the pleasure of adding several new authors to my favorites list.  The most recent being Lisa Harris.  While I enjoy a wide variety of genres, mysteries will always compose the greatest number of entries in my reading log.  Harris proves herself to be a masterful writer in this genre.
     Hidden Agenda is fast paced and action packed, with well written dialogue.  Harris has added a touch of romance that serves the plot well without taking over.  While the book reads like a movie script, the events seem plausible and the worlds of undercover police work and drug cartels well researched.
     While reading this, the third book of the Southern Crime series, the reader is aware that the previous books most likely focused on protagonist Michael Hunt's siblings, but the book works well as a stand alone read. While facts are revealed about the outcome of the first two mysteries, enough is left unsaid to pique rather than squelch the reader's interest in reading those books as well. 
     A major theme of Hidden Agenda is doing the right thing even when it is not convenient or even safe to do so.  A second, and no less important theme, deals with faith in the sovereignty of God and the freedom that comes from the truth He reveals.  Michael Hunt is forced by circumstances to look at God in a different light, to trust in God's goodness and truth even when answers to his questions were not forthcoming.  The reader is encouraged to trust in God to walk with him or her and to trust in the profound truth that God is good, even in the midst of trials.  
     I highly recommend Hidden Agenda to both fans of mystery and romance novels.  While the author probably wrote the book with women readers in mind, I believe men would enjoy it as well.  I've suggested my husband add it to his to be read pile.  I thank Revell Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for providing Hidden Agenda for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.