The Raven by Mike Nappa

A street performer known as The Raven picks his audience's pockets while they watch.  In one city councilman’s wallet, he finds not money, but compromising photos of the councilman and his "personal assistants", The Raven decides to blackmail him. Soon the Ukrainian Mafia is after him. It’s up to private investigators Trudi Coffey and Samuel Hill to sort out the clues and save hundreds of lives..

What’s the best thing about picking up a book and realizing that it’s the second book in a series?  Getting to pick up the first book!!  This book, “The Raven”, is the second in the Coffey & Hill Series by Mike Nappa.  The first book in the series, “Annabel Lee” is just as action-packed and suspenseful and shouldn’t be missed.  With that said, you don’t really need to read these in order, but there are parts of “The Raven” that make a lot more sense if you do.  I will warn you that there is a lot of violence in these books, enough so that the author convened a roundtable of other Christian authors to discuss this topic (http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Books/Whats-Too-Violent-for-Christian-Readers.aspx).  Getting past all of that, this is a terrific book filled with a great storyline, a very well developed plot and witty banter that plays well with all of the character interaction.

Is this a "Guys Book"?   No doubt about it!  Ukrainian mobs, corrupt politicians, gun runners, etc!  This book has everything you would want to read in a great suspense novel, without all of the garbage that comes along with a secular novel.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion, as part of their Book Review Blogger Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”