Winter Reads: Cold Shot by Dani Pettery

Bethany House Publishing

About the Book: In college, Griffin McCray and his four best friends had their lives planned out. Griffin and Luke Gallagher would join the Baltimore PD. Declan Gray would head to the FBI, and Parker Mitchell would go on to graduate school as a crime scene analyst. But then Luke vanished before graduation and their world–and friendships–crumbled. 

 Now Griffin is a park ranger at Gettysburg, having left life as a SWAT-team sniper when a case went bad. The job is mostly quiet–until the day he captures two relic hunters uncovering skeletal remains near Little Round Top. Griffin just wants the case to go away, but charming forensic anthropologist Finley Scott determines that the body is modern–a young social justice lawyer missing since spring–and all evidence points to the work of an expert sniper. 

When FBI agent Declan Gray takes over the case, past and present collide. Griffin soon realizes he’ll need to confront some of the darkest days of his life if he–and those he cares about–are going to escape a downward spiral of murder that crosses continents.

Billy's Thoughts: Dani Pettrey is one of my new favorite authors. You might recall me reviewing her Alaskan Courage books over the last few years; so naturally I was excited to be part of the blog tour for her newest novel Cold Shot, book one in the Chesapeake Valor series. 

I received my ebook copy only a few days before the review had to be published, so I had to have a few late night reading sessions and several cups of coffee to get this book read.

Cold Shot centers on a park ranger, Griffin, who stumbles upon grave robbers at the Gettysburg cemetery along with a body. At first he thinks the body is of a Civil War Soldier, but after bringing in a forensic anthropologist, Finley Scott, to take a look at the scene, he comes to the conclusion that the body isn't from the 1800s; which means there is a murderer on the loose.

Wow! I didn't know what to expect from Cold Shot, but after reading the first two chapters, I realized it was going to be a completely different story than the Alaskan Courage series. This story is a murder mystery; playing out like an episode of "Bones" (the television series, not the Kathy Reichs novels). The plot has many twists & turns that kept me turning the pages, and the main characters were likable. Overall, Cold Shot is an entertaining, well-written mystery.

Cold Shot can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, Books-a-Million, and Christianbook.

*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

About the Author: Dani Pettrey is a wife, home-schooling mom, and the acclaimed author of the brand new romantic suspense Chesapeake Valor series, as well as the well-loved Alaskan Courage series which includes her bestselling novels Submerged, Shattered, Stranded, Silenced, and Sabotaged. She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves–the thrill of adventure, nail biting suspense, the deepening of her characters’ faith, and plenty of romance. She and her husband reside in Maryland, where they enjoy time with their daughters, son-in-law, and super-adorable grandson.