Settle Down With a Good Inspy Novel This September

Looking for a inspy suspense novel? Settle down in your favorite chair and watch the hours fly by as you these new inspirational releases grip your attention.

I receive free electronic advanced reader copies of these books through an arrangement between the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion on NetGalley’s website. I only review books on my blog that I really love.

What’s an Inspy Novel, Anyway?

I kept seeing #inspy on Twitter and Instagram and had no idea what it meant. But I should have known it’s just a character-saving shortened version of ‘inspirational.’ And I love inspirational (inspy) novels in just about every form. Sorry, I’ve never really enjoyed sci-fi, inspy or not. These two new inspy releases will inspire you in different ways. One, a suspense novel, will help you understand why we need people of faith need doing the hard jobs. The other, a general fiction inspirational title, has an equally gritty theme that I enjoyed despite it falling outside my regular comfort zone. You can read one now and pre-order the other for later.

Hostile Intent

By Lynette Eason, Revell, August 2021, 320 pages.

Ava Jackson retires from the Navy to care for her mother. For ten years, the Navy provided her with the most regular family she’s ever known. Her father died during one of her deployments, and she doesn’t want her mother to die alone, too.

While walking to her car after a visit to her mother at her care facility, someone brutally attacks Ava. She manages to escape with minor injuries when a good Samaritan stops to help.

FBI Special Agent Caden Denning arrives at a nursing facility just in time to break off an attack on the woman he’s looking for—Ava Jackson. He’s on the trail of a serial killer who targets entire families—even small children.

An old photo of Ava Jackson and her father hold the only key to what ties the murders together. Caden and Ava team up to stop the killer before the killer can strike again. It appears Ava is already on his list.  

Why I Loved This Book

Eason knows how to build strong characters, create tension, and keep the reader immersed in the story for hours on end. Don’t open this one unless you have time to spare. Or you could just forego meals and cancel appointments. Fans of Cara Putman, Colleen Coble, and Kelly Irvin will enjoy this book

Don't miss this thrilling new release from @LynetteEason and @RevellBooks #inspy #amreading #netgalley Click To Tweet

After She Falls

By Carmen Schober, Bethany House Publishing, November 2021, 352 pages.

Adri Rivera finds herself in a church for the first time in years. Out of hope, out of the will to fight, and struggling with a mountain of regrets. A Bible verse reignites a spark of hope, lighting the way to her next step—leaving her abusive husband before he kills her.

Adri escapes to her hometown in rural Pennsylvania, where the uncle who raised her and taught her to fight welcomes her home. Adri’s dream of one day earning a championship title in mixed martial arts fighting gets reignited, too, despite her five-year leave of absence from the sport. She struggles with learning to live out her faith when dealing with her husband, the community she left behind, and especially her high-school sweetheart.

Max Lyons made a name for himself in the fight world, but after his father’s unexpected death he wants nothing more than to retreat from the glamour and glitz of the fight scene. He invests his money in rehabbing the old community center and turning it into a gym his hometown of Sparta, PA will take pride in.

When the only woman he’s ever loved shows up in town with her young daughter, Max offers her a job at the gym. After five years of silence, he doesn’t know how to pick up the friendship with Adri “La Tormenta” Rivera. If only she hadn’t rejected him, things wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable now.

But Adri’s back in town, and although clearly beaten down by life’s circumstances, Max can still see the champion’s spark within her. Will she learn to believe in herself again?

What I Loved About This Book

I did love this book, even though I’m not a Rocky fan, and have never watched anyone fight (whether boxing, MMA, or wrestling) in my entire life. My previous knowledge of fighting comes from reading Louis L’Amour’s books where hardened outlaws and cowboys duke it out in the bar. Add glitz, glamour, and a fight cage, and you’ll have a fight scene from After She Falls.

But don’t let the fight scenes turn you off or turn you away. Schober builds a believable world where sin is strong, but grace is stronger. I grew up a sheltered Christian, but I loved seeing the saving power of Jesus working in people’s lives—even if they didn’t grow up just like I did.

A lot of inspirational fiction features middle-class white women like me, giving the illusion that Jesus is only for tidy, middle-class white people. Adri and Max remind me of my own sinful state (different sins, but equally sinful) and how true victory comes from surrender to the One who knows us best.

Trigger warnings: relationship abuse, near-rape, and a scene with cruelty towards an animal.

#AfterSheFalls, a gritty, down-to-earth book that inspires as well as uplifts. By newcomer Carmen Schober and @bethany_house #inspy #amreading #newrelease #debut Click To Tweet