Showing posts with label Annabel Lee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annabel Lee. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

The Raven by Mike Nappa - A Book Review

Mike Nappa      Product Details

     Having read Annabel Lee, I was quite anxious to read the second installment in the Coffey and Hill series by Mike Nappa. At first I thought I was going to be disappointed, and then I reached chapter seven, and I was hooked. I love the way Nappa takes seemingly disconnected details and pulls them all together into a satisfying ending. I also appreciate the way he is unafraid to tackle events and themes often avoided in Christian literature, but handles them in a way that does not sensationalize them.
     When Trudi Coffey first sees, deception specialist, The Raven, he’s in a tight spot. The Raven becomes enamored with this beautiful lady who saves his life, but little did either of them know the trajectory their relationship would take from there. They also had no idea how the men who had placed him in that tight spot would figure so prominently in their future. These men certainly weren’t done with the Raven, and weren’t to be frightened away by Trudi.
     Samuel Hill, Trudi’s ex, has made mistakes, big ones, but he still loves Trudi, and will go to any extent to protect her, whether she feels like she needs to be protected or not. Is his trust placed in the right people to assist him in this endeavor? Only time will tell. Has bringing Trudi in on his Nevermore investigation placed her in greater danger? Well, neither one of them is backing down now. While they may not be able to resume their relationship, Trudi and Samuel’s love will be Forevermore.
     Then there is Mama Bliss, matriarch of Little Five Points in Atlanta, Georgia. There is much more to that sweet, elderly lady sitting in her wheelchair painting outside the store, Sister Bliss’s Secret Stash, that she opened with her late husband, William, than meets the eye. Much more. Mama Bliss is the character in this story that will grab the reader’s attention and hold it firmly until the end, driving the reader to put off other things that need to be accomplished in order to uncover the truth behind Mama Bliss.

     I highly recommend Mike Nappa’s Coffey and Hill series. While The Raven would work fine as a stand-alone read, the reader who has first read Annabel Lee will have greater insights into the characters’ motivations and relationships, and will understand the occasional reference to their previous case. I thank Revell Publishing and the Christian Blog Alliance for providing this book for my honest opinion. I received no monetary compensation for providing this review. 

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Annabel Lee by Mike Nappa - A Book Review

Cover Art      

     I like watching Steven Seagal movies on TV where the bad language has been bleeped out, and I can enjoy the storyline and action. Reading Annabel Lee was a lot like that. In this book, I think Seagal would be cast as The Mute, a former Special Forces warrior who would lay down his life for his former commanding officer and his niece, Annabel Lee, and who wasn’t beyond taking a few other lives with him. Trudi Coffey, private investigator, is unwittingly drawn into the mystery surrounding Annabel by Samuel Hill, her ex-husband, ex-partner and CIA agent. Little did she know that she had been intrigued by the mystery ever since she first discovered the “Safe” message in the classified section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution three years prior, not long before she discovered Samuel’s duplicity. This action packed story will have readers turning pages long into the night.
     In the author’s notes Nappa tells of the difficulty he had finding the right niche for this story. Including one Christian, a seeker, a handful of agnostics, mercenaries, and a cult member, along with quite a bit of violence, it isn’t your typical Christian fiction tale, but it had enough of a Christian slant that secular publishers were not sure it fit their market either. I am so glad that Revell publishing decided to publish Nappa’s story. It was a wild, bumpy ride, and one I have thoroughly enjoyed. I hope that some of you will decide to take the ride as well. I am looking forward to future books in the Coffey and Hill series.

     I thank Revell Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for providing Annabel Lee for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.