My review of Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze.

About the book:

Her enemy will stop at nothing for control …  and everything is not enough. 
 
A horrific crime shatters Lisa Harper’s idyllic childhood. Her father is dead and her desperate mother, Annie, quickly marries Dutch Hauk, an abusive monster who soon reveals his hatred for Lisa.  To protect her, Annie defies her ruthless husband and forfeits custody to a trusted friend. Enraged, Dutch vows to keep Annie and Lisa apart—and he does. Years later, though keenly aware of Dutch’s evil intent, Lisa and her mother seize a chance to be a family, safe in a home where love dwells. But they fail to fathom how far Dutch will go to keep his vow. 
 
Determined to control his women, Dutch proves resourceful. His associates in crime are feared at the highest levels across the globe—and for Lisa they plan a fate worse than death. Yet she too has formidable connections: ones like former Special Operations officer Mark Taylor.  Burdened by his own traumatic past, Mark has loved Lisa from afar. Now, for Lisa and her mother to survive, Mark must risk his life—and even more difficult for him, he must trust God—as one question haunts them all: Can Mark and Lisa untangle these deadly ties before it’s too late?


My review:


Deadly Ties was fast paced and tied in nicely with the first book, though you don't have to read the first book to enjoy it. I do think reading the first book gave me a better perspective because I had that in the back of my mind. I loved the NINA concept and the code words like the cleanup crew and the spiders. That was pretty creative and interesting. I really loved the romance part of the story. At first, I wasn't sure how much I'd like the book because the first chapter didn't do much for me. I thought it was an odd way to start the story, but it quickly grew on me and the next thing I knew I was pulled in and didn't want to stop.

I am not a huge fan of suspense, but the romantic aspects of this novel were a big plus for me. I loved the military scene where the hero lost Jane and then the flashbacks Lisa started to have about what happened to her when she was seven. I found it interesting that she replaced the truth of what happened with a story that fit. Kids do that, so it fit the story well. The tie-in with the Crossroads Crisis Center was minimal in this story compared to the first book, but I still enjoyed it very much.

The subplot regarding human trafficking was interesting. This author didn't soften some of the harsh realities of the crime underworld, and that seems to be her greatest strength. She paints a story with scary, realistic villains, and keeps you worried for them. I wasn't sure how any of them would survive. That's great storytelling because I forgot I was reading fiction for awhile there...

A copy of this book was provided to me for review by the author (it's autographed, too.) I won this story in the ACFW book club drawing and read it for the discussion in July 2011. Deadly Ties was published by Multnomah and released in Feb. 2011.