Escaping Illusions by Therese Heckenkamp, is a bit of an unusual mix of genres. You’ve got a murder mystery. Add in some Christian elements. Mix together with hints of romance. While it’s part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone novel. I read an ARC of the book through BookSirens, and it will be available on Kindle on August 22nd. I’m not sure if it will be available in paperback format at the same time or if readers will have to wait a bit longer for that.
Intro to the Book
I read the first two books in the series about 3 1/2 years ago, so they weren’t super fresh in my mind. The good news is that this book can be read on its own. Char, our main female character from the previous two books, is only a minor character in this book. Instead, this story is mainly about her friend Brook. You don’t have to know the backstory from the previous two books for this one to make sense.
In this book, Brook decides to leave her abusive husband in the middle of the night. She escapes with her daughter. Unfortunately, the night that she leaves, her husband gets murdered. At first, she’s the prime suspect, but it’s soon clear that she has an alibi. Even with an alibi, though, her husband’s family is convinced she killed him. Once she’s cleared of his death, Char, from the first two books, convinces Brook to come and stay in her cabin for a while. Unfortunately, some people think she’s running away from justice, instead of just escaping the scrutiny.
My Reaction
This book really drew me in. I was hooked almost from the first page. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Brook and her daughter, Ella. I wanted to know who the killer was. I wondered about a few characters, and I had it figured out about 75% of the way through the book, which was probably a chapter or so before the killer was officially revealed to the reader.
Should I Read the Previous Books First?
In most cases, I would recommend reading the two previous books before reading the third book in the series. In this case, I feel like that depends on what you can handle in a book. All three are Christian suspense novels. There’s no swearing or graphic sexual content in any of the novels. The only reason I might not recommend reading all three books in order is that the first one, Frozen Footprints, does get a bit graphic when it comes to violent content. As far as I can remember, it is only one scene, but the first book in general is a bit dark for a Christian novel. If you can’t handle that, you may want to skip the first book.
*If you would like more information about the first book to help you decide whether to read it, I will provide some information at the end of this review.
Additional Thoughts
While this book, like the previous two, is a Christian suspense novel, I didn’t feel like religion was a huge part of the book. Yes, they pray, and there are times when they pray for safety, but for a good portion of the novel, it was easy to forget that it was a Christian suspense novel. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It really depends on the reader.
Overall, this was a good, enjoyable book. I’m giving it a “soft” 5-star rating. I think that it deserves an “A,” but it’s not quite to the level of being one of the best books that I’ve read this year.
First Book Content Warnings
*Do not read this part if you plan to read the first book, and you don’t want any potential spoilers.
In the first book, Charlene (Char) and her twin brother, Max, are kidnapped and held for ransom. While it is handled in a sensitive way, they do undergo some torture, both mental and physical, especially Max. Let’s just say that Max loses a portion of a body part in the process. It’s not described in detail, but it made me a bit squeamish when it happened. The first book is definitely darker than your traditional Christian novel. I felt like it was kind of an allegory for the struggle between good and evil or Christ and Satan.
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