My review of Accused by Janice Cantore!

About the book:

 Detective Carly Edwards hates working in juvenile—where the brass put her after an officer-involved shooting—and longs to be back on patrol. So when a troubled youth, Londy Atkins, is arrested for the murder of the mayor and Carly is summoned to the crime scene, she's eager for some action. Carly presses Londy for a confession but he swears his innocence, and despite her better judgment, Carly is inclined to believe him. Yet homicide is convinced of his guilt and is determined to convict him.

Carly's ex-husband and fellow police officer, Nick, appears to be on her side. He's determined to show Carly that he's a changed man and win her back, but she isn't convinced he won't betray her again. As the investigation progresses, Carly suspects a cover-up and strikes out on her own, uncertain whom she can trust. But when danger mounts, she begins to wonder if she made the right choice.


My review:

Accused was a compelling story with a lot of twists and turns. I loved the subplot regarding Carly's failed marriage and the whole idea of who to trust. Carly had gone through some tough situations and had been burned a number of times, so trusting was hard for her. But sometimes given life and death situations, a person learns who their heart trusts. That was certainly the case with Carly. I can't imagine working for a police department and discovering some cops and detectives were corrupt, but not knowing which ones would shoot you in the back, well, this would stress anyone out.

I liked the faith journey that Carly was on, though, at times it seemed a bit stilted to me. At the same time, it was clear that Carly needed to believe in someone other than herself, and it was cool how God surrounded her with believers at every turn. I loved watched her stubborn, mocking tone slowly melt as she began to envy the love and peace others had because of their faith. I'm also a sucker for a story about forgiveness and sacrifice. I loved how Carly learned to forgive her ex, and how she discovered the true meaning of sacrifice when someone died so she could live. Great illustration there! I'm not a huge fan of suspense novels with police officers, but found this book very enjoyable. Despite its length, I read it fairly quickly. I would read this author again.

Accused was published by Tyndale and released in January 2012.