Title: Twisted Innocence
Author: Terri Blackstock
Publisher: Zondervan
Narrator: Nan Gurley
Published: February 2015
Series: Moonlighters, Book 3
Genre: Suspense, Christian Fiction
Length: 7 hours, 28 minutes. Unabridged.
About the Book: (from the publisher’s Web site)
Holly Cramer’s past choices have finally caught up to her, but she never expected them to endanger her baby.
Though Holly’s stumbled through most of her adult life as a party girl, she longs to live a more stable life for her daughter. Then police show up to question her about the whereabouts of Creed Kershaw, Lily’s father. She has kept his identity a secret from friends and family—she never even told him about the pregnancy. Now he’s a person of interest in a drug-related murder case.
Determined to keep him out of their lives and turn him over to police, Holly uses her private investigating skills to search for him. But her bravado backfires when he turns the tables and takes her and the baby hostage. As desperate hours tick by, Holly realizes his connection to Leonard Miller—the man who has gunned down several members of her family. Creed claims he’s innocent and that Miller is after him too. His gentleness with Lily moves her, but she can’t trust a man who has held her at gunpoint . . . even if he reminds her so much of herself.
Dangers old and new threaten Holly and her baby, and lives are demanded as sacrifices for love. Through a complex web of mistakes and regret, redemption is the one hope Holly has left to hold on to.
My Thoughts on the Book:
I read and reviewed the first two titles (Truth Stained Lies and Distortion) in this series a long while ago, and somehow never got around to finishing the series until recently. When I stumbled onto this one available as an audiobook on Hoopla through my local library, I figured it was time to finish what I’d started. And yes, I’m glad that I did.
This novel wraps up many loose ends from the first two books, and takes the perspective of a character who wasn’t always seen in the best light in the earlier books, and turns her life around. Wow. Some very meaningful themes throughout the book, including a strong redemptive storyline.
While Creed, the hero, doesn’t start out as a terribly appealing character, the author does a good job changing our perceptions of him over the course of the book and making him sympathetic to Holly and to the reader, until by the end, we’re rooting for them and their relationship.
Overall, a good conclusion to the series. And the author’s note at the end is well worth reading too.
Specific to the Audio Edition:
This series started with one narrator, and switched to another midstream. Generally a risky move, since each narrator will have a different interpretation of the same characters and their voices, which can make for a jarring difference from one book to the next. Fortunately, both narrators did an excellent job with their respective books, so I can’t really complain. Especially since it’s been so long since I read the first two titles in the series.
Nan Gurley did a great job of giving voice and emotion to the characters in this story. I thoroughly enjoyed the listening experience and would highly recommend it.
I borrowed this audiobook from my local library via Hoopla. I was not expected to write a review, but wanted to share how much I enjoyed the book.
Quick Links: About the Book | About the Series | Audio Sample | Author’s Site