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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
This was an absolute thrill ride from beginning to end. It starts off with a literal bang when a bomb goes off at a presidential candidate's campaign rally, and things hardly let up from there.
It follows four different characters. Dustin, who's wrongly accused of being the bomber; Jamie, his old friend and lawyer; Taylor, a young woman who survived the bombing; and Travis, Dustin's business partner. When there are multiple POVs like that, I usually gravitate more towards one or two of them, but I found all four of them compelling, and each one held my full interest.
I forgot how much I enjoy Blackstock's books. They're always so engaging, fast-paced, and impossible to put down. This one was great, and I'm looking forward to reading whatever she releases next.
It follows four different characters. Dustin, who's wrongly accused of being the bomber; Jamie, his old friend and lawyer; Taylor, a young woman who survived the bombing; and Travis, Dustin's business partner. When there are multiple POVs like that, I usually gravitate more towards one or two of them, but I found all four of them compelling, and each one held my full interest.
I forgot how much I enjoy Blackstock's books. They're always so engaging, fast-paced, and impossible to put down. This one was great, and I'm looking forward to reading whatever she releases next.
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Jamie Powell is a renowned criminal attorney fighting to help the wrongly accused get justice, but she never thought someone from her past would call needing her professional advice. Dustin is that guy from the past who didn't have the best childhood, but has risen above it all, but is accused of causing a bombing at a political rally.
I will always love the reuniting with someone from the past trope. For me it allows the characters to jump to a more familiar ground fast because there is a history that the reader may not see, but knows that it is there.
Jamie Powell is a renowned criminal attorney fighting to help the wrongly accused get justice, but she never thought someone from her past would call needing her professional advice. Dustin is that guy from the past who didn't have the best childhood, but has risen above it all, but is accused of causing a bombing at a political rally.
I will always love the reuniting with someone from the past trope. For me it allows the characters to jump to a more familiar ground fast because there is a history that the reader may not see, but knows that it is there.
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
This was a fun, suspenseful novel that moved quickly for me. The Christian aspect is pretty minor, with a couple references to God and faith. This book features trauma/PTSD, mental illness, betrayal, and the slightest hint at romantic entanglement. It gave me a little Jack Reacher vibe. I would have enjoyed more character development of the two main characters.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
emotional
tense
fast-paced
This’ll be my last book by Terri Blackstock.
To be fair, it was a good run. She’d been one of my favorite authors for years. Even when the faith based messages were a bit too on the nose (and I’m a Christian), she still managed to write a captivating suspense thriller, and that made up for it.
That said, I didn’t enjoy Aftermath as much as I thought I would. Frankly, although the premise was pretty decent, it wasn’t really much of a thriller as it was a whodunit. I figured out the twist pretty quickly, and once it was revealed I ultimately wished it’d been done a different way.
The most disappointing aspect of this book was the Taylor storyline. She added nothing to the story except for the fact that she was a victim of the bombing, but it felt as though her PTSD/trauma/mental illness was handled in almost a cartoonish way. That she suddenly resolved to murder Dustin in order to get revenge and the only thing that stopped her from doing so was the adverse effects from her new medication fell super flat. It also kind of felt like a bad stereotype, in that people who suffer from intrusive thoughts will go 0-100 and suddenly want to murder someone as a result.
From a story standpoint, it overall didn’t feel very suspenseful or have that typical thriller feel that Blackstock usually employs in her stories. Wouldn’t recommend.
To be fair, it was a good run. She’d been one of my favorite authors for years. Even when the faith based messages were a bit too on the nose (and I’m a Christian), she still managed to write a captivating suspense thriller, and that made up for it.
That said, I didn’t enjoy Aftermath as much as I thought I would. Frankly, although the premise was pretty decent, it wasn’t really much of a thriller as it was a whodunit. I figured out the twist pretty quickly, and once it was revealed I ultimately wished it’d been done a different way.
The most disappointing aspect of this book was the Taylor storyline. She added nothing to the story except for the fact that she was a victim of the bombing, but it felt as though her PTSD/trauma/mental illness was handled in almost a cartoonish way. That she suddenly resolved to murder Dustin in order to get revenge and the only thing that stopped her from doing so was the adverse effects from her new medication fell super flat. It also kind of felt like a bad stereotype, in that people who suffer from intrusive thoughts will go 0-100 and suddenly want to murder someone as a result.
From a story standpoint, it overall didn’t feel very suspenseful or have that typical thriller feel that Blackstock usually employs in her stories. Wouldn’t recommend.
This was good, as all of Terri's books are. I did feel like it was great in the beginning and lost momentum towards the end. The mystery was intriguing and pulled me in, but by the end everything was easily wrapped up in a nice little bow. I wasn't particularly drawn to any of the characters or the romance either. I did like Taylor and the mental health representation (specifically OCD) that came with her character. I do feel like it got used as a reason for her "losing it," which I was obviously not a fan of. But all in all, I enjoyed this. The plot was good and it was an interesting audiobook that held my attention.
Thank you, Netgalley and the author, for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.
I should have known--Terri Blackstock never disappoints! She is an author who belongs on every Christian fiction reader's list of books to read. In this story, we know that a crime occurs, that Dustin is wrongly accused of the crime, that Taylor in her mentally unstable state which, understandably (!), gets worse as the story progresses has seen something that seems unrelated and trivial but may be the key to unmasking the real culprit, and that Jamie, Dustin's lawyer, is his childhood friend. So, this story is all about putting together the snippets and clues dropped throughout the book to unmask those who are responsible for the bombing and framing Dustin. The story is fast-paced as usual and once again, Terri Blackstock was able to intertwine her story with God and prayer without faith being the main focus of the book, which makes this novel a book that non-Christian readers can enjoy as much as Christian readers. Love it!!
I should have known--Terri Blackstock never disappoints! She is an author who belongs on every Christian fiction reader's list of books to read. In this story, we know that a crime occurs, that Dustin is wrongly accused of the crime, that Taylor in her mentally unstable state which, understandably (!), gets worse as the story progresses has seen something that seems unrelated and trivial but may be the key to unmasking the real culprit, and that Jamie, Dustin's lawyer, is his childhood friend. So, this story is all about putting together the snippets and clues dropped throughout the book to unmask those who are responsible for the bombing and framing Dustin. The story is fast-paced as usual and once again, Terri Blackstock was able to intertwine her story with God and prayer without faith being the main focus of the book, which makes this novel a book that non-Christian readers can enjoy as much as Christian readers. Love it!!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
One of my favorite authors, Terri Blackstock has delivered another riveting thriller. Great characters and unique plot
Aftermath — my most recent read by Terri Blackstock — was just as gripping as it claims to be.
I particularly liked the romance as I especially enjoy books that are mostly suspense with a little bit of romance. It took up very little of the book, literally only a few pages, but was adorable and well-developed.
I will say that I had a suspicion — which turned out to be correct — of who the perpetrators of the bombing would be not long into reading the story.
While I enjoyed the book overall, there was one thing I did not like: Taylor. She drove me crazy. I think it was intended for the readers to have compassion on her, and in a way I do, but let’s just be honest, she is straight up insane. She needed to be checked into a mental facility (and be prosecuted for almost killing two men!). I could be wrong, but I don’t believe her OCD diagnosis was correctly used to explain her mental health issues either. I think her symptoms started out as OCD when she was a teenager and spiraled into something much worse after the bombing; probably more like schizophrenia and manic depression.
Well, anyway, enough of my rant but I just thought I would include my thoughts on this. I actually have more issues with the book but I think this review has dragged on long enough. Despite it’s flaws, Aftermath is a good book. It’s worth a read, it just might not be the best book you’ve ever read. 3.25 stars.
God bless,
Kaya :)
I particularly liked the romance as I especially enjoy books that are mostly suspense with a little bit of romance. It took up very little of the book, literally only a few pages, but was adorable and well-developed.
I will say that I had a suspicion — which turned out to be correct — of who the perpetrators of the bombing would be not long into reading the story.
While I enjoyed the book overall, there was one thing I did not like: Taylor. She drove me crazy. I think it was intended for the readers to have compassion on her, and in a way I do, but let’s just be honest, she is straight up insane. She needed to be checked into a mental facility (and be prosecuted for almost killing two men!). I could be wrong, but I don’t believe her OCD diagnosis was correctly used to explain her mental health issues either. I think her symptoms started out as OCD when she was a teenager and spiraled into something much worse after the bombing; probably more like schizophrenia and manic depression.
Well, anyway, enough of my rant but I just thought I would include my thoughts on this. I actually have more issues with the book but I think this review has dragged on long enough. Despite it’s flaws, Aftermath is a good book. It’s worth a read, it just might not be the best book you’ve ever read. 3.25 stars.
God bless,
Kaya :)