Fatal Exchange - Southern Crimes 2 - by Lisa Harris

About the book:

Desperate times create desperate people. And desperate people are dangerous . . .
Though Emily Hunt comes from a family of cops, the relatively quiet life of a high school teacher suits her just fine. She's saving up to buy a house, slowly moving forward after her brother's death, and settling into a life she loves. So the last person she wants to spend time with is Mason Taylor.

An undercover cop, Mason is enemy number one as far as her family is concerned. His involvement in the death of Emily's brother is still up in the air, and now he expects her to help him with a case. Mason has been working with one of her students, Rafael Cerda, whose brother has been kidnapped by a drug cartel. And with time running out to meet their demands, Rafael is getting desperate.

Emily will have to draw on all of her strength to handle what happens next . . .

Fatal Exchange will draw you into a complex matrix of intertwining lives, unraveling secrets, and unexpected love.

My review:

This is an incredibly suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat story I had a hard time putting down!  The action starts early in the story and does not let up.  There were a few unexpected twists that added even more suspense.  There's some romance, but I appreciated Emily's levelheadedness with not getting carried away and jumping into a relationship too soon due not only to her recent break-up but also the traumatic experiences she goes through in the story.  I liked that we get perspectives from both Emily and Mason.  This story could work on its own as it's about two different main characters from book one, but does have a story line that's continued along with some of the characters.  There's a strong faith element with not only a lot of prayer from the characters as they go through stressful situations, but also the issue of trying to forgive a parent who abandoned you. I'm enjoying this series and can't wait for the next one!

I received a free copy of this book from Revell in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Harris is a Christy Award finalist and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from Romantic Times. The author of more than twenty books, including Dangerous Passage, Harris has spent over ten years living with her family as missionaries in Africa. Learn more at www.lisaharriswrites.com.