⛰️🪨🛻 “Canyon Survival” (2022) 🛻🪨⛰️ – Book Review
MY REVIEW
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1335554963
ISBN-13: 978-1335554963
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information
“Ambushed in the canyon
with no memory of why…
Waking on a cliffside with bullets firing and two unknown children at her side, Annie Tillman knows she must run—even if she doesn’t know why. Dashing to the nearest ranch leads her to former FBI agent Riggs Brenner, who just might be their best chance of surviving in the canyon. But can Annie overcome her amnesia and uncover the reason why they’re being chased?”
When I saw this was going to be on tour with JustRead, I HAD to get it on a pre-order sale. After all, I LOVE the Love Inspired Suspense (LIS) line and wasn’t disappointed in Queen’s previous release, Texas Christmas Revenge, so it was a no-brainer that I was definitely going to want to read this.
A woman with amnesia and two kids being chased by gunmen? A former FBI agent? Yup – definitely my kind of read. It is also a standalone title so there is no need to worry about reading books before it or after it.
The cover, like so many is realistic and intense, if not terrifying. It definitely sets the story’s pace and tone of being intense, non-stop action, heart-pounding, and emotional given the content. [Note: Harlequin actually featured this one on their “spot the difference” post].
While this is LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENSE, and has themes of Christian faith – this also deals with some darker themes that might be triggering for some people. Those are: kidnapping, child trafficking, and the selling of children on the black market. Obviously kids in peril doesn’t sit well with me, but I di understand it happens.
But, Queen’s writing focuses on the work Annie does, as well as Riggs’ “redemption” after feeling like he failed his wife and young daughter. Queen also adds in the sweetness and innocence of Kay-Kay (4) and the poor sweet unsuspecting baby Jonah (6 months old) to balance it all out.
The author definitely created a strong, but reluctant hero in Riggs. While being around Annie and Kay-Kay (along with Jonah) stirs up the painful memories – he knows he can’t just not help them.
Even Rigg’s Australian Shepherd (one of my FAVORITE breeds) is along for the journey. I had to laugh at the dog’s name – SHOTGUN.
The story starts off with a bang – of course Annie doesn’t know who she is, where she got the kids, or who is after them. They meet up with Riggs who’s wondering the same things – but, Annie can’t tell him. He doesn’t quite believe her. He decides to call her Jane (as in Jane Doe) until Kinsleigh (Kay-Kay) calls her “Tormy” – for Stormy. Kay-Kay and Jonah seem to trust her and are with her willingly … for now.
The first task is trying to get out of the canyon and to safety which won’t be easy since there are two men (and likely more) determined to find them. Vehicles are dwindling, and Stormy can’t even remember how she got there.
Despite thinking his house is safe – it is blown up (reminding him again of that night with Carol and Macy Sue). One thing is clear – even though he could get help a lost faster on his own – he won’t separate from Stormy and the kids because of what happened that night all those years ago.
But, something about Stormy seems familiar to Riggs. Yet it won’t connect until about 50-75% of the way in when the woman finds out who she really is.
Their peril in the canyon has them facing the gunmen, riding on horseback with few provisions, a storm, and a mountain lion. That’s all in about the first 50% of the book, so Queen DOESN’T let up on the suspense and action at all, nor does she give the foursome a break at all.
Bits and pieces of Stormy’s memory comes back but she can’t make sense of it, nor can she tell if it is real or something she saw on TV (loved that particular note). She hopes she isn’t the one who took the kids, but from handling the gunmen, she knows she has something to do with law enforcement.
A sweet, but terrifying moment (and a bit of a spoiler) is when Kay-Kay falls in a crevice during their “escape” from the canyon. It is Riggs who rescues her and his sense of humor brought some levity to the situation (truly one of the best parts of the book):
Riggs: “Hello, honey. Aren’t you tired of playing down here?”
Kay-Kay (giggling): “I fell. I wasn’t playing.”
I absolutely adored Riggs in that moment as he put his own past and the situation aside to comfort Kay-Kay.
Annie isn’t revealed as the woman’s name until around the 56% mark after they get to some safety. But, even with the big reveal, things come back in slow patches for her in a very realistic setitng. And, after she finds out who she is and why she does what she does, she won’t stop until the kids are safe, and neither will Riggs (did we expect anything less form this guy after what happened with Kay-Kay earlier). But, Annie is also afraid of who was at the heart of it.
Like the action in the story, this grabbed me right off and didn’t let up until the end. I was a bit sad at the ending, but understood why Queen wrote it that way. I would’ve liked to have seen a resolution to one open-end. I can’t mention it without “spoiling” the entire plot.
I had a few ideas of people I suspected; one was a given. The other? I had a strong feeling, so a bit predictable there. But, despite that, there were some surprises I didn’t anticipate.
Overall, I LOVED the book despite some typos which shocked me that were there. One was a bit of a stumbling block for a moment, but it didn’t completely impact the storyline for me. There is also a point where the author refers to a “clip” for a pistol when it should be “magazine” – an error that is all too common in fiction (TV shows, movies, and books).
There was an EASTER EGG moment in part of the book. It was when Stormy/Annie and Riggs go through a bag with information and find a card with “Bliss” on it and a Texas number. At one point they think it is a town (turns out it isn’t). I had to laugh as in the LOVE INSPIRED line, Mindy Obenhaus just completed a series set in … Bliss, Texas.
Fans of the line, genre, and author won’t want to miss this. I can’t WAIT to see what she’s got up next!
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CONNIE QUEEN has spent her entire life in Texas, where she met and married her high school sweetheart. Together they’ve raised eight children and are enjoying their grandchildren. Today she resides with her husband and Nash, her great Dane, in Nebraska, where she is working on her next suspense novel.
You can find her on the following social media accounts:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/queenofheartthrobbingsuspense
Website: http://www.conniequeenauthor.com/
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