Shadows of the Past

Heavy on action, Bradley’s debut inspirational novel rushes to fit in everything from violent chase scenes to renewal of faith. Dr. Taylor Martin, a beautiful, übercompetent criminal profiler, wonders why God doesn’t answer her prayers for help finding her father, who has been missing for 20 years. An answer appears, perhaps, in the form of crime novelist Nick Sinclair, whose addict brother Scott seems to be stalking Taylor. Family financial issues call Taylor home from Washington state to Logan Point, Miss., where, suspiciously, Scott turns up. Nick follows him there, determined to prove that Scott is not the criminal Taylor suspects him to be. This is a page-turner—in every chapter, new hints of foul play arise suggesting that Scott, Taylor’s missing father, and the current family crisis are all dangerously interrelated. Family and friends help untangle the riddles, culminating in a climax readers won’t want to miss. It will be gratifying to watch Bradley’s characters evolve in future installments of this new Logan Point series. Agent: Mary Sue Seymour, Seymour Agency. (Feb.)