Review – Deadly Ties

Back Cover: Her enemy will stop at nothing for control … and everything is not enough
 
A horrific crime shatters Lisa Harper’s idyllic childhood. Her father is dead and her desperate mother, Annie, quickly marries Dutch Hauk, an abusive monster who soon reveals his hatred for Lisa.  To protect her, Annie defies her ruthless husband and forfeits custody to a trusted friend. Enraged, Dutch vows to keep Annie and Lisa apart—and he does. Years later, though keenly aware of Dutch’s evil intent, Lisa and her mother seize a chance to be a family, safe in a home where love dwells. But they fail to fathom how far Dutch will go to keep his vow.
 
Determined to control his women, Dutch proves resourceful. His associates in crime are feared at the highest levels across the globe—and for Lisa they plan a fate worse than death. Yet she too has formidable connections: ones like former Special Operations officer Mark Taylor.  Burdened by his own traumatic past, Mark has loved Lisa from afar. Now, for Lisa and her mother to survive, Mark must risk his life—and even more difficult for him, he must trust God—as one question haunts them all: Can Mark and Lisa untangle these deadly ties before it’s too late?

Review: I liked Forget Me Not, the first book in this series and looked forward to receiving a review copy of Deadly Ties. Vicki pens a very powerful, suspenseful and nail biting tale I couldn’t stop reading. A few characters from Forget Me Not returned in this book in a minor way, which I enjoyed.

This book reminded me of a 007 movie. Nina – Nihilists in Anarchy is a bad international organization whose members were dedicated to making money any way they saw fit. Nina did whatever to whomever for the right price!

Taylor was a member of The Shadow Watchers, an elite highly specialized unit; meant to protect the innocent. He and his men were very aware of the Nina organization and were working on bringing it down. Taylor was a family friend of Annie and Lisa, but hoped to be more than that to Lisa some day. “Taylor, Dutch (my stepfather) will do anything to avoid losing. If that means killing me, he’ll kill me.” Lisa says and prays, “Help me Lord; I can’t save mom or myself on my own. Please help”

Taylor and his team try to protect Lisa as she does what it takes to help bring the Nina  down from the inside out! Along the way, memories of times past come flooding into Lisa’s mind. Memories that were best left buried. Lisa starts to battle demons from the past and the present. Only by the grace of God, prayers and the unconditional love of a man, could Lisa make it through such horrific times.

Annie is a mom doing what she can to protect her 20 something daughter Lisa, from her abusive husband. Annie’s whole world was forever changed in a flash and is angry at God, why didn’t He send her a sign, a warning? Annie says this, “Why, God? Why didn’t you send me at least one bad feeling? Couldn’t you spare me even one piddling stomach flutter? I’ve been loyal, obedient. Why didn’t I get something?”

Lisa, Annie’s daughter, hated her mom’s situation, but when she graduated from medical school, things would change. She promised her mom that.  She couldn’t stand to see her mom live the way she did. Meanwhile, she would help Taylor take down Nina anyway she could.

Deadly Ties is a riveting, suspenseful, action adventure novel with a believable faith-challenging message not only for Vicki’s characters, but for the reader as well. Vicki Hinze quickly captured my attention, heart and emotions in this fascinating tale of pain, healing, forgiveness and second chances. I enjoyed the colorful characters and the sweet, tender and playful love story woven in the middle of this compelling, powerful drama. I couldn’t put it down. I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in this series.