‘SHATTERED,’ by Dani Pettrey
STORY: She may be the baby of the family but Piper McKenna is one determined girl. Her brother’s return to Alaska is shattered when he stands accused of murder. Fiercely protective of those she loves, Piper refuses to believe that Reef would murder anyone even as the evidence mounts. Making matters worse, the one person Piper thinks she can trust is who makes the arrest.
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Deputy Landon Grainger is conflicted over the arrest of Reef McKenna. For over ten years, he has been a part of their family and Cole’s best friend but now, in order to uphold the law, he has to follow the evidence, only doing so will mean crushing Piper. Refusing to stand by helpless, Piper determines she’ll carry out her own investigation, and Landon can do nothing to stop her. In order to keep close tabs on her, he sticks to her side, wanting to protect the woman he has silently loved all these years.
Shattered, by Dani Pettrey | Book Review
REVIEW: It’s rare for me to be giddy over a suspense work of fiction. Sure, I like the genre as well as the next person but it’s one I’ve drifted from since reading Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series years ago. Nothing else seemed that good. Until now. In Dani Pettrey’s terrific character driven series, we step into a world that while fiction is in fact, very real. At the heart of the story is the McKenna clan. You’ll remember (from Submerged) Piper, the “pesky” youngest McKenna sibling whose reckless choices strikes fear in the heart of family friend and Deputy, Landon Grainger. Piper is an interesting lady. Her character is easy to life, and I particularly enjoy her young age as it made her motivations and personality more relatable. Everything Piper does is to protect her family, perhaps she even overcompensates trait because she’s the youngest and most “protected” by her siblings. We feel Piper’s heart as she fights to clear her brother’s name. Because of Piper’s persistence, the story is actually a compelling one.
‘SHATTERED,’ by Dani Pettrey. Book two in Dani Pettrey's McKenna series! #FWarchives #BookReviews #BookTwitter #BookLove Share on XThe sparks of this romance stems, in part, from Piper and Landon being influential in Submerged; this makes their story here all the more poignant. Landon’s heart is Piper’s completely, perhaps even to a fault since he allows his emotions to control the choices he makes. It’s a spiral that almost begins to backpedal him into his dark past. Even though these characters is what makes the story charismatic and centers the narrative, none of this even begins to touch the suspense which is terrific. There isn’t a single plot hole; it’s written skillfully as we work to figure out the mystery. Even the culmination of the ending is good. Like she does with Submerged, Dani Pettrey never shirks in creating nail-biting suspense. It’s a novel that will cause you to pause and catch your breath; in more than one of its beautiful vistas.
About the Book:
Author: Dani Pettrey
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: 2013
Series: Alaskan Courage – Book 2
Genre: Christian Fiction; Mystery, Sequel
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Rating: 4 ½ out of 5
With thanks to Litfuse and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for reviewing purpose
Yay! You liked it too! I don't get to post my review until March…the 13th, I believe. But I'm having trouble waiting because I did really enjoy this book! Desperate to read "Submerged."
Yes, indeed! I sure did. It was SO good. Definitely a must-read for any suspense fan. :)
Oh, I know what you mean – the wait can be difficult if you want your readers to know about the book. Despite it being the 14th, cannot wait to read your review. :) And, I hope you get 'Submerged' ASAP. It's excellent also! :)
I wanto read the first book in this series since I've heard it was really good.Thanks for the review!
Oh, it was, Ella! Hope you read it soon – will love to know your thoughts!
Thank you for stopping by. :)
Never heard of this book before. May just have to give it a read soon :)
xo TJ
If you like suspense fiction, TJ, this is an EXCELLENT read. :) Dani is one talented author.
I haven't read this series. Seems like I better check it out! :)
Yes, do, Kara! It's quite awesome.
Will love to know your thoughts if/when you read it. :)
LOL, that anonymous comment got forwarded to me and made me laugh…"This piece of writing is in fact a fastidious one…it assists new internet users who are wishing in favor of blogging." These things…so pointless. Sorta like this particular comment. ;) But hey, it made me laugh!
Ugh! Those "anonymous" spam comments are annoying aren't they!? *sigh* Sometimes they're "real" but most the time it is easy to separate them because they always leave some form of "visit my web page." That is a dead giveaway. :)
Your comment isn't pointless at all. :) Always need a good laugh.
This book looks really good! I admit to loving suspense novels – Terri Blackstock's Newpointe 911 series is still my all-time favorite…but that has alot to do with the fact that all the characters are First Responders, specifically…fire-fighters…my one weakness. ;) Anyways, now that I look like a totally idiot….have you read those before? The first book in the series, "Private Justice" is probably the most suspenseful book I've ever read, but once again, it's about fire fighters and that's a career line that FASCINATES me and always captures my attention immediately.
No, Kellie, those I've not read. Yet. ;)
Given my love of Dee Henderson's O'Malley series and now, Dani's fantastic McKenna family saga (this family feels so real – as if they're your best friends), they sound good. My mother has read a couple of Terri's novels but cannot remember which they are… *goes to check* She read the first "Sun Coast" book and one called Predator…? For her, Terri's books are "hit or miss." Glad to know that "911" series is good. It sounds just like something I'd love. :) *Adds to Amazon list*
This novel is especially good also. Hope you can get a hold of a copy – and let me know what you think!
I haven't really gotten into Contemporary Suspense yet, but these books certainly catch my eye! So glad you liked it. I may have to give "Submerged" a whirl. :-)
Really, Gwendolyn? You should check into it sometime unless you just don't see it as your "type." Then I completely understand. In fact I used to ignore suspense books after being freaked out by a mystery movie as a kid. Now, it is one of my favorite genres. Dani joins the ranks of Dee Henderson's 'O'Malley' series which was ironically probably my first foray into this genre. It's still one of the BEST series I've ever read. As is this one from Dani. (Good news is, we get FIVE books from this Alaska series instead of three!)
Let me know if/when you ever read these – and what you think. :)
I decided not to read your review until I was finish. Hehehe… I'm with you, I was totally giddy over this one!! :D September can't come fast enough!
Oh, I know, right, Rosie! Where is September!? Am already eagerly anticipating Stranded and am giddy over the five books in this series – the standard seems to be three. Thanks to Dani, each McKenna gets their own story. How exciting! :)
Thanks for doing this book justice with such a great review…even after I read Reef's story, I have a feeling Shattered will remain my absolute favourite in this series. A big fan of the best-friends-who-realize-their-in-love plot device (Emma and Mr. Knightley anyone!), I thought Dani teased it out in this book perfectly, the tension and restrained passion between Landon and Piper making me hold my breath a few times in anticipation of what would happen next.
Something else I also thought excellent was her brilliantly crafted introduction to Gage and Darcy's story; I found myself looking forward to their next scenes almost as much as the ones involving Landon and Piper!! (Spoiler Alert!!) My favourite moment would have to be when Darcy lets Meredith have it for her rotten treatment of such as wonderful man as Gage, and he turns out to have heard the entire thing…absolutely priceless, and rife with tenderness and feeling.
I also loved the comparison you made between Alaskan Courage, and the O'Malley Series crafted by the talented Dee Henderson; the warm feeling of family is very front and center in both series, an anchor which works wonderfully and leaves the reader feeling at home with these people we have come to know so well.
God Bless
Eleanor Rose
Sidenote: Have you ever read Dee's Uncommon Heroes series?
Hi, Eleanor! Thank YOU for reading! I appreciate it. I still hold a fondness for Submerged, perhaps because it was the first from Dani, but of course, I enjoy all of her books. Aw, I'm the same – I adore the Mr. Knightley/Emma dynamic! So fun. :)
Darcy is a spitfire and I love her as a character – it's nice that Dani has set up her couples in the books proceeding each one and sometimes for more than just that (Jake and Kayden!). Yes, Dee's books are also some of my favorite and I just adore the family dynamics (both Dani and Dee do a fabulous job of making everything seem genuine) – and yes! I have read the Uncommon Heroes books. They too are good though my favorite is still the O'Malley family. If you like those kind of books, check out Susan May Warren's newest series or Denise Hunter's latest. They aren't suspense, but the family dynamics are fun. :)
I''ll be honest here and say that the first time I read Submerged, I kind of got a bit distracted by Landon and Piper, and so sort of skimmed over the parts of the book that didn't involve them…I should really read it again, a bit more thoroughly this time!
Thanks for the recommendations…I confess I've recently just bought my very first Denise Hunter book. It's one I've been wanting to read for a while actually, Seaside Letters. I'm only about 1 quarter of the way through, but so far I am really enjoying her style.
The story-lines for the second and third books in her Chapel Series are actually the ones which interest me the most, but I have to admit the covers for all three so far have been GORGEOUS!! Covers featuring real-life models are far and away my favorites.
God Bless
Eleanor Rose
Hey, that's okay! You really enjoyed Landon and Piper and it's not hard to see why; Piper is a dear, and while it took me longer to warm to Landon in this book (oddly enough), I adored him in book one though.
Yay! I'm glad you're liking Denise Hunter's books. I've not read the series that has Seaside Letters in it though I've been told it's a must read. As for Chapel Springs, I agree – the covers are stunning and I just read the third book (it's oh-so-good!). Enjoy if/when you read them. :)
Thanks – as always, for visiting, Eleanor. :)