Title: Justified Means
Author: Chautona Havig
Series: The Agency Files, book 1
Major Themes: Mystery, Romance
Synopsis: What is happening when Erika is carried off in the night by a strange man?
As much as I love Chautona Havig’s books, I never read any of The Agency Files until recently. Now I’m wondering why I waited so long! When I started reading Justified Means, I could hardly make myself put it down. The suspense was hard to bear. And then, I got about 47% of the way through (from memory), and it seemed like the climax had been reached. I wondered what the rest of the book could possibly be about…but I soon found out that it was a false climax. There was a lot more to the story still, and the suspense got even worse.
Erika woke up suddenly in the middle of the night with duct tape around her mouth, zip ties around her legs, and a strange man carrying her out of her house. What in the world was happening? He assured her that there was nothing to fear, but who wouldn’t be terrified when something like that happened? And then he told her that her life was in danger, but he refused to tell her why, and that she was being hidden away in a safe place until the danger was past. What was going on?
Gradually, Erika learned to trust Keith, her abductor, and appreciate the work that The Agency did. But, could they really keep her safe from the criminals who were after her? And why did those people want her life, anyway? And, how should she deal with the other people who took their turns guarding her—especially the woman who was jealous of Erika’s friendship with Keith? There was also this matter of Keith’s faith. She had never met anyone who had a relationship with God like he did.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I don’t read very many suspense books, but this one was great! It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through—and as I mentioned above, I started to relax about halfway through, only to realize that the problem wasn’t anywhere near solved yet! The one thing that made me a bit uncomfortable was the justification of lying in order to save people’s lives. Corrie ten Boom was quoted as an example, but the way I remember reading The Hiding Place she didn’t out-and-out lie, as the characters in Justified Means did. I also wondered about Keith’s use of a gun—but then I found out what it actually was!
Finally, this review is written, so now I can allow myself to read the second book in the series! It’s been hard to wait.
WARNING: As stated in the last paragraph. Also, darn appears five times.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback
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