Books for Christian Girls: "Counter Attack" by Patricia Bradley

About this book:

  “Her next move just might be her last.
No sooner has Alexis Stone been sworn in as the interim sheriff for Russell County, Tennessee, when a serial killer dubbed the Queen's Gambit Killer strikes again--this time in her hometown. Pearl Springs is just supposed to be a temporary stop along the way to Alex's real dream: becoming the first female police chief of Chattanooga. But the killer's calling card--a white pawn and a note with a chess move printed on it--cannot be ignored.
   Pearl Springs chief of police Nathan Landry can't believe that his high school sweetheart Alexis (he refuses to call her Alex) is back in town, and he can't help wanting to protect the woman he never stopped loving. But as the danger mounts and the killer closes in, can Nathan come through on the promises he makes to himself to bring a killer to justice before it's too late.”

Series: Book #1 in the “Pearl River” series.

Spiritual Content- Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, read, & discussed; Prayers & Thanking God; Reading Devotionals & Thinking on them; God tells Alex she is never alone when she’s in a dangerous situation (from Scripture); Talks about God & why He allows bad things to happen (Alex’s grandmother tells her to ask for God’s help); 'H's are not capital when referring to God; Alex has struggled thinking with God caring about her after her dad died when she was in high school & wonders if she has been wrong to make plans for her life without consulting with God (but convinces herself she’s on the right path; her grandmother talks to her about God not wanting her career to consume her life); Alex doesn’t think that God has given much thought to her dating life (her grandmother fusses at her for saying that); Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & devotions; Mentions of praying, prayers, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, & a youth group; A few mentions of witnessing & someone accepting Jesus into her heart; A few mentions of those & books in the Bible; A few mentions of a bomber possibly hating Christians or Jews because he planned a bombing at the start of Passover (right before Easter); A mention of a Bible study;
             *Note: A man at a bar asks if Alex would believe him if he says he’s a pastor, to which she replies that pastors in the Bible Belt don’t drink; A few mentions of the evil in the world; A mention of an online horror game’s world feeling satanic.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘confounded’, five ‘shut up’s, and eight ‘stupid’s; Some Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Shooting and killing criminals (involving guilt and it being done in self-defense; recalling it as well, up to semi-detailed); Fighting, Gunfire, Being tied in a noose, Being held at gunpoint, Being shot, being shot at, Pain, & Passing out (up to multiple times each, all being semi-detailed); Being drugged & kidnapped (up to semi-detailed); A fire & explosion (up to semi-detailed); The villain has created an online horror game about becoming a serial killer, leaves hints on how to murder those in the game, and those who win the game are rewarded with videos of the last victim’s deaths (making money off of the game and recordings; Alex and her team go into the game and have to “shoot” bystanders and see pictures of the murder victims, up to semi-detailed); The villain takes over Alex’s car by hacking it, nearly causing accidents (up to semi-detailed); Alex has the start of a panic attack (barely-above-not-detailed); Going to a bar (while Alex is undercover and she has a nonalcoholic drink; Nathan also has an nonalcoholic drink); All about many mentions of serial killers, murders, the victims, bodies, & deaths/murders (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of shooting and killing criminals (in self-defense and in protection of a child), gunshots, being shot, being shot at, being held at gunpoint, blood/bleeding, & threats (a couple deaths are called “suicide by cop” or “execution by cop”, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of crimes, criminals, crime scenes, arrests, & jails; Mentions of a car being hacked, near accidents, a near death experience, a car death & death (Alex’s mother, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a noose & someone being set to hang; Mentions of kidnappings & kidnappers; Mentions of bombs, a bomber, a bombing, & a death; Mentions of a fire; Mentions of drugs, smoking marijuana, dealers, raids, & overdoses (slang is used as well); Mentions of a bar, drinking, & alcohol; Mentions of lies, lying, & deception (Alex says lying to criminals is fair game); Mentions of cheating; Mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of the death of a military man (a landmine) & the grief from his family; A few mentions of a stalker; A few mentions of burglaries & robberies; A few mentions of parents fighting & a divorce; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of Alex getting drunk after a bad break-up; A couple mentions of the possibility of a drink being drugged; A couple mentions of a possible divorce; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a terrorist attack; A mention of DUIs; A mention of a drunk brawl; A mention of a bully; A mention of a rumor; A mention of betting;
             *Note: Mentions of Alex being subject to biases against females in the law enforcement field & her having to work hard to gain the trust of the male detectives in her office (she says she wants to make a difference for the women coming up in the department and plans to hire more female deputies); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of social media sites & other internet sites (TikTok, FaceTime, Google, DuckDuckGo, PayPal, & Netflix); A few mentions of a mentally ill man pulling a gun on a police officer and the officer killing him (it’s called a “suicide by cop” or “execution by cop”); A few mentions of brand names & items (Yeti, Dr. Pepper, & iPad); A couple mentions of Frankenstein & Dracula; A mention of Bigfoot; A mention of a Halloween party; A mention of a magazine (Architectural Digest); A mention of someone working their rear off.

Sexual Content- Three almost (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed) kisses, two semi-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; Remembering kisses & an almost kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Electricity/Shivers, Hand holding, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (including Alex’s legs, up to semi-detailed); Alex tells a man who is hitting on her (when she’s undercover) that she won’t be going home with him (and his personality changes then); a ‘sexy’; Mentions of prostitution, prostitutes, & them “working the streets” (a few were some of the serial killer’s victims, the slang term “hookers” is used once); Mentions of kisses, almost kisses, & kissing; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends/girlfriends, break-ups, & exes; A few mentions of Alex being hit on while undercover; A couple mentions of crushes; A mention of the victims not being sexually assaulted; A mention of some boys going to a youth group to check out the girls that are there; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: While undercover, Alex wears a short skirt and a low-cut blouse than what she normally prefers to wear; Mentions of that outfit & other similar outfits that her grandmother would hate (short skirts, skimpy dresses, & low-cut tops); A mention of cleavage; A mention of a man and his wife having problems (hinting towards the husband having interest in another woman).

-Alexis Stone, age 34
-Nathan Landry
                                P.O.V. switches between them & someone else (x5)
                                                        384 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add up to a full star for older girls interested in the law enforcement field}

This was my first book by this author and I have to say that it was different than the typical Christian Fiction Suspense books I’ve read throughout the years. I’ll admit to having to suspend my belief by the end because of all the near-death moments our main couple faces, but it wasn’t a bad story.

I totally called the villain, but I feel like it was a bit obvious if you picked up on certain clues and hints. I don’t play chess, so those parts were lost on me, but thankfully most everything was explained in a way that even non-chess players like me could understand.

Second chance romances aren’t usually my thing, especially in this genre as it can distract the main couple from their mission of (usually) taking down a killer. While they were really battling their feelings for each other—especially him—it didn’t completely distract them from their jobs which I really appreciate.

Even though this book was about a serial killer, I didn’t feel like it was super creepy (I would rank a few different books of Lynette Eason’s as the creepiest ones I’ve read), but when the online horror game parts came into play, that’s when the creep factor kicked in and I felt uncomfortable about reading about that kind of evil. I haven’t seen that particular kind of internet crime be mentioned in many (or any) books in this genre that I’ve read, so it was interesting, but in a horrible kind of way.

I’m curious who the next book in this series will be about, as I don’t think that was obvious. (Maybe Mark?) I think it would be neat to see Alex and Nathan as the leads in the second book since there aren’t many connecting suspense/mystery series anymore. Regardless, I’ll be watching to learn more and possibly might read it as well.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!