State of Lies

Siri Mitchell

After her government-employed husband dies in a hit-and-run accident, Georgie Brennan begins noticing small clues—a missing pocketknife, hidden cryptic notes, fake repairmen showing up at her house—that make her question the circumstances surrounding his death. Georgie soon discovers her husband held secrets powerful politicians wanted buried. But the more she digs, the more people die, and she puts herself and her child in danger. Whom can she trust to help her? Readers will be listening for strange noises late into the night while reading this fast-paced political thriller.

No Ocean Too Wide

Carrie Turansky

Inspired by true events, No Ocean Too Wide features a little-known early 20th-century British government program that sent poor or orphaned children to Canada, most often to live as indentured servants or farm hands. When their mother falls ill, the McAlister youngsters are placed in a children’s home. Older sister Laura returns to London to reclaim her siblings, only to find they’ve been shipped to Canada. With help from a benevolent lawyer, Laura travels overseas to find them. The children endure harsh conditions, but faith and family ties provide hope. Loose ends guarantee a follow-up book.

The Words Between Us

Erin Bartels

Bookstore owner Robin Windsor leads a reclusive life, avoiding unwanted media attention since her high-profile parents went to prison. Characters in her beloved books and an ornery old parrot remain her constant companions. Flashbacks to the year she went to live with her grandmother, where she forged a friendship with a boy named Peter, explain how she became the person she is as an adult. Time and maturity help her gain a better understanding of her parents and Peter, and she realizes she was wrong about many things. A bittersweet story with a hopeful ending.

The Gryphon Heist

James R. Hannibal

CIA agent Talia Inger travels to Moldova to assess the security of U.S. interests in an aerospace technology company. She uncovers a plot to steal plans for an advanced weapons system stored in a vault in the mesosphere. Teamed with a former assassin—whose conversion experience resembles that of Paul of Tarsus—they search the dark web to assemble a group of unsavory characters with special skills to help stop the theft. Heart-pounding action and snappy dialogue move the story at a swift pace, but the specialized terminology presents speed bumps for non-techno geeks unfamiliar with the jargon.

AFTERWORD

Finding Lady Enderly (Revell, 2019) by Joanna Davidson Politano contains a mystery, a love story, and a dash of inspiration. In Victorian England, a mysterious man hires a rag lady to play the role of a countess, fooling hundreds. As the ruse becomes more complicated—and deadly—the imposter realizes pleasing God matters most, regardless of consequences.

German Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer also sought to please God, no matter the consequences. In My Dearest Dietrich (Kregel, 2019), Amanda Barratt spins a fictionalized tale of the tragic romance between Bonhoeffer and Maria von Wedemeyer. Much of it is inspired by letters exchanged between the two while Bonhoeffer was in prison for his part in a conspiracy to subvert Hitler and the Nazi regime. The story humanizes the famous theologian, showing his devotion to one woman, his fellow man, and above all, his God. —S.B.