Officer
Carly Edwards finds three young gangbangers shot execution style. This alerts
Carly and her husband, Sergeant Nick Anderson, head of the gang unit, fear Las
Playas may be on the verge of a gang war. The Las Playas Police Department is
put on high alert as tensions escalate between rival gangs, especially after
Carly confiscates weapons from a gang leader and learns they were stolen from a
military base along with explosive devices.
This is the third book in the
"Pacific Coast Justice" series by Janice Cantore. I have
already read the first book, "Accused" and already read and reviewed
"Abducted", so grabbing this one from the store shelf was a
no-brainer. If you haven’t read the
other books in this series, go buy them now.
Go read my other reviews too so that you can see what a great reviewer I
am J
Carly is preparing for the
upcoming Burke trial where she will be the star witness. It’s because of her involvement that several
corrupt officials have gone to jail, and hopefully Burke will be put away for
murder. Nick is now the sargent of the
homicide division, so they are juggling their work life, personal life and spiritual
life. The atmosphere in their town of
Las Playas is bristling with tension as environmental protestors have setup
camp in Sandy Park to protest changes to the marina and new development along
the shoreline. As if that isn’t enough,
a gang war appears imminent between the two biggest gang rivals in town. On a chance encounter with the head of one of
the gangs, Carly’s partner is sidelined with a knee injury. Carly is offered a job with a Federal
Taskforce, so maybe Joe getting hurt is a sign.
A recent parolee arrives on the scene along with a woman blogger who
seem bent on discrediting Carly and her credibility. Then there’s a bomb at the local coffee shop,
a protestor killed along the water, Carly is involved in another shooting and
Nick is kidnapped! Do any of these
things tie together? Will Carly be
thrown off the force for complaints lodged against her? Where is Nick and will she find in him
time? Yep, you guess it….. Go buy the
book!
Since this is the last book in
the series, it’s rather bittersweet.
Carly and Nick have been such great role-models for not only top notch
police officers, but as a great example of what communication should look like
in a marriage. These two characters
provide time for themselves together, separately and for Christ. I read a review that said her characters
aren’t very believable because they appear to always be on a honeymoon. Well, if we turn it ALL over to Him, I
believe that that is exactly what He wants us to look like as we go through out
day to day lives. The constant theme I
found through this book is that we must always remember the He is in charge and
that if we turn it over to Him we have a better outlook on our lives. Will we have a perfect life to lead with no
struggles or problems or cares? Not a
chance. But we will know that He is
there to protect us and to care for us through all those times.
Is this a "guy's
book"? Most certainly! This
book again is littered with police chases, bomb threats, gang killings and
more. This was a very fitting end to two
great characters that Ms. Cantore has been gracious enough to introduce us all
to.
Interview with Janice Cantore:
What is your favorite
bible verse and why?
This changes depending
on what I am going through. Right now it is Jer 29:11-13 I need to remember
that God has good plans for my life, nothing is haphazard.
What has been the most
important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?
That there is hope in
life. No one is here by accident. We have a Creator and a Savior who are
concerned about us and no matter what mistakes we make God can and does
redeem.
Besides writing, what
are some of your favorite hobbies?
Reading, hiking with my
dogs, cross stitch and crocheting. (And a bad habit of wasting time playing
computer games.)
What advice would you
give to a beginning writer?
Be sure it's your
calling even if you never make a penny at it. Be prepared to learn, to listen
to criticism, and to never stop learning.
Favorite memory from
childhood?
We always had
Thanksgiving dinner at our house. The rest of the the family would start
arriving around noon. Some of my best memories are of the wonderful smells of
my mother's cooking, of aunts and uncles arriving with flowers and then
everyone gathering around a huge table eating wonderful food and hearing many
conversations going on everywhere.
Favorite comfort food?
Anything Italian.
Lasagna, ravioli, smothered in cheese with thick, crunchy toasted French bread.
Thanks, Ms. Cantore, for taking the time to chat with us today!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A retired Long Beach California
police officer of 22 years (16 in uniform and 6 as a non-career officer),
Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, patrol, administration,
juvenile investigations and training. During the course of her career in
uniform Janice found that faith was indispensable to every aspect of the job
and published articles on faith at work, one for a quarterly newspaper called
“Cop and Christ”, and another for the monthly magazine “Today’s Christian
Woman”.
With retirement Janice began to
write longer pieces and several novels were born. She has a two book suspense
series in print she calls Brinna’s Heart Series, The Kevlar Heart and A Heart
of Justice (Oaktara Publishing). Janice is excited and honored to now be a part
of the Tyndale Publishing House family. Accused, the first installment in her
new suspense offering, The Pacific Coast Justice Series, is set to be released
February 1, 2012 and will kick off a brand new chapter in her writing career.
In addition to suspense and action, her books feature strong female leads.
Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep you engrossed and leave you
inspired.
Janice has bachelor’s degrees
in Biology (University of California at Irvine) and Physical Education
(California State University at Long Beach). She also completed graduate
coursework in Criminal Justice (University of Southern California) and is
currently a member of American Christian Fiction Writer’s and Sisters in Crime.
She attends Crescenta Valley Community Church in La Crescenta California
and while a few years ago she retired to a house in the mountains of Southern
California, she currently resides in Glendale California in order to help care
for her aging parents. Janice is single and has three Labrador Retrievers,
Jake, Maggie and Abbie. Janice’s hobbies are reading, cross-stitching,
kayaking, hiking, walking the dogs and trying to stay fit.
