Cold Shot

Cold shot is a term used by snipers.  You make the shot without a practice shot first.  Chief Park Ranger Griffin McCray of Gettysburg National Military Park knows all about cold shots, as he was formerly a SWAT team sniper.  Therefore, when Griffin was called to a crime scene in the park at Gettysburg, along with Finley Scott, a forensic anthropologist, they were able to determine that an expert sniper killed the victim.  Also called into the case are two of McCray’s three best friends from college days – Declan Grey an FBI agent and Parker Mitchell a crime scene analyst.  However, the third friend, Luke McCray, brother of Griffin McCray, had mysteriously disappeared after the tragic death of his and Griffin’s sister.  Their world – and their friendships – crumbled.  Each of the group realized that if they were going to be able to work together and solve this case, they were going to have to confront the dark days of the past.  Little did they know that their investigation would lead them to the mysterious disappearance of Luke.

The plot of this story has a lot going for it.  I really liked the action and suspense and how the author led us through the collection of clues and tied them together. What I did not like is the author’s weak attempt to add to the story a budding romance between Griffin and Finley.  I mean how could this woman, Finley, – all at the same time – 1. be fearfully shaking in her boots,  and  2. so overcome by Griffin’s closeness and manliness that she could hardly breathe from the excitement of standing next to him?  These romantic notions seemed to be randomly thrown in and did not add anything of merit to the story.  It was the same with references to God and faith – just thrown in so it could be called a Christian fiction book.  Not!

Bethany House Publishers provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.