This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Nightshade

Barbour Books (July 1, 2010)

by Ronie Kendig

MY REVIEW:

As I sit here ready to write this review, in my head swirls a hundred and one thoughts. My husband just announced that he was chosen for a special mission to Afghanistan to do what he loves to do–teach Afghan farmers how to farm in the 21st century. While Ronie Kendig’s book doesn’t deal with this kind of special mission, it’s still a military book at the core. And for me, it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

Life for military heroes is still in essence combat when they leave service or return home. Civilians struggle to understand, wives struggle to cope with the changes in their husbands, but when it comes to the effects of combat related PTSD we all are at a loss. Because no one but another fellow veteran can understand. Max Jacobs, a former Navy Seal, is teetering on the brink of self-destruction. He has nothing to lose, his wife Sydney has taken the last thing he had left, herself. He’s primed for death, until a chance encounter gives him something to continue on. A group called Nightshade, of the radar and off public knowledge, they do what no one else will do.

Sydney is harboring a secret that drives Max further away from her. But she sense he’s also hiding something from her as well. Ingrained as a reporter, she’s bound and determined to discover what that is and who this special team of men is off saving the world, until it lands her in trouble.

Cut-throat writing, detailed scenes that even the most action junkie man will love, and a deep look at the condition of the human heart when its ripped apart by mental trauma; Nightshade is a perfect blend of all, with a sprinkling of romance. This book isn’t for those who are looking for a sweet romance, there’s enough grit inside these covers to be wary. But this one is for the guys. Ronie’s ability to convey the speech and attitude of military men is spot on, I could see bits of my husband’s mentality in each of the guys. I loved it and it’s a keeper!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ronie has been married since 1990 to a man who can easily be defined in classic terms as a hero. She has four beautiful children. Her eldest daughter is 16 this year, her second daughter will be 13, and her twin boys are 10. After having four children, she finally finished her degree in December 2006. She now has a B.S. in Psychology through Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Getting her degree is a huge triumph for both her and her family–they survived!!

This degree has also given her a fabulous perspective on her characters and how to not only make them deeper, stronger, but to make them realistic and know how they’ll respond to each situation. Her debut novel, Dead Reckoning released March 2010 from Abingdon Press. And her Discarded Heroes series begins in July from Barbour with the first book entitled Nightshade.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

After a tour of duty in a war-torn country, embattled former Navy SEAL Max Jacobs finds himself discarded and alienated from those he loves as he
struggles with war-related PTSD. His wife, Sydney, files a restraining order against him and a petition for divorce. Max is devastated.

Then a mysterious a man appears. He says he’s organizing a group that recycles veterans like Max. It’s a deep-six group known as Nightshade. With
the chance to find purpose in life once again, Max is unable to resist the call of duty and signs on.

The team handles everything with precision and lethal skill…until they’re called upon to rescue a missionary family from a rebel-infested jungle and
avoid a reporter hunting their identities.

Will Max yield his anger and pride to a force greater than him…love?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Nightshade, go HERE.

Watch the trailer: