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heidisreads's review against another edition
5.0
The audiobook was EXCELLENT. You could start reading Allen Eskens here, but I think you'd get more from the characters if you read the earlier books first. I loved it. Loved it! It had the fast pace and twists we love, but also layers of insight into faith, family, and that wavering line of wrong vs right.
judithdcollins's review
5.0
Bestselling author Allen Eskens (favorite author) returns following Forsaken Country (2022) with his Boady Sanden series. Nothing More Dangerous (Boady Sanden, #1) with SAVING EMMA (Boady Sanden #2)—Brilliantly told, a lawyer's race against time to overturn a wrongful conviction and a past personal tragedy that comes front and center in this stellar standout crime thriller.
Boady Sanden has appeared in the following books (links at the end)
~The Life We Bury
~The Heavens May Fall
~Nothing More Dangerous (main character-childhood)
I highly recommend reading this one. Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries Q&A with Allen.
~Saving Emma (main character)
Boady Sanden is married to Dee, a (black) teacher. They have an excellent relationship. Boady and Dee are raising their goddaughter, Emma. Boady closed his law office, works part-time as a law professor, and volunteers his legal services at the Innocence Project.
Boady agrees to look into the case when Elijah's sister asks for help. When doing so, there is a connection to the death of Ben Pruitt.
Elijah Matthews claims to be a prophet. He has been locked away in a psychiatric hospital for four years. He was convicted of brutally murdering the pastor of a megachurch.
Boady is frustrated when he interviews Elijah, speaking in biblical verses, riddles, and clues. He does not want the man to have to go through having his memory wiped out like an old friend, which haunts Boady. He needs proof and begins his investigation. The accused appears to have prophetic gifts and adds drama to the narrative.
In the meantime, on the home front, the past collides with the present: the death of a colleague and friend, Ben Pruitt. He was shot and killed in the home where Boady lives with his wife and Emma.
You can go back to the previous books for more on Ben/Boady relationship:
In SAVING EMMA, Ben's daughter has lived with Boady and his wife, Dee, since that horrible night. (Godparents). She is now 14 years old and seems distant. Her aunt Anna tries to interfere and misleads her away from her home. Why is she trying to get custody now? What is her motive? Is Emma or her inheritance fueling her sudden desire for custody?
Boady and Dee (love her) are desperate to bring Emma home and free an innocent man caught between personal and work. He must fight for his family and fight for a man with Biblical clues.
How are the two storylines connected?
Elijah speaks in riddles and bible quotes, convinced that a higher power will determine all. Elijah's unjust conviction is fascinating as the author explores the dark side of the megachurch.
The plot thickens when Elijah's care team has scheduled a Jarvis hearing to get approval for electroconvulsive therapy in 10 days. This pressures Boady to find the killer and evidence before this occurs.
Then there is the custody hearing for Emma's guardianship, and Boady's life and Elijah's are on the line. He must save Emma and his client.
CAPTIVATING!
I LOVED SAVING EMMA! Eskens is a master storyteller and a pro at building suspense—a perfect balance between personal and business with well-developed characters you are invested in and care for.
A long-time avid fan of Eskens, I have read every book and highly recommend them. As always, crime fiction is at its finest! A favorite author, it is hard to compare him to anyone with his unique signature style; however, if you enjoy John Grisham, John Lescroat, John Hart, Ron Rash, and William Kent Krueger, you will devour Allen Esken's books.
Masterfully plotted, SAVING EMMA is another Top Books of the Year with a mix of legal, crime, literary, murder, family drama, and psychological/domestic suspense while exploring faith, love, family, and redemption. I enjoy how Allen brings his characters from past books to the present. I cannot wait for his next book!
AUDIOBOOK: I purchased the audiobook (Editor's Pick) narrated flawlessly by Gary Tiedemann, Matt Godfrey, Saskia Maarleveld, Janina Edwards, and Timothy Pabon for a superb and engaging performance for all voices. I highly recommend the audiobook!
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins.com | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub Date: Sept 19, 2023
Sept 2023 Must-Read Books
Sept Newsletter
My Interviews with Allen #AuthorElevatorSeries
FORSAKEN COUNTRY
NOTHING MORE DANGEROUS
My AE Reviews:
These are all Must-Reads! Allen Eskens is tops if you love legal, crime thrillers, and literary fiction! Each can be read as a standalone, but why stop with one? You want to make sure you read them all—get to know each character - you will most likely see them again.
The Life We Bury
The Guise of Another
The Heavens May Fall
The Deep Dark Descending
The Shadows We Hide
Nothing More Dangerous
The Stolen Hours
Forsaken Country
Boady Sanden has appeared in the following books (links at the end)
~The Life We Bury
~The Heavens May Fall
~Nothing More Dangerous (main character-childhood)
I highly recommend reading this one. Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries Q&A with Allen.
~Saving Emma (main character)
Boady Sanden is married to Dee, a (black) teacher. They have an excellent relationship. Boady and Dee are raising their goddaughter, Emma. Boady closed his law office, works part-time as a law professor, and volunteers his legal services at the Innocence Project.
Boady agrees to look into the case when Elijah's sister asks for help. When doing so, there is a connection to the death of Ben Pruitt.
Elijah Matthews claims to be a prophet. He has been locked away in a psychiatric hospital for four years. He was convicted of brutally murdering the pastor of a megachurch.
Boady is frustrated when he interviews Elijah, speaking in biblical verses, riddles, and clues. He does not want the man to have to go through having his memory wiped out like an old friend, which haunts Boady. He needs proof and begins his investigation. The accused appears to have prophetic gifts and adds drama to the narrative.
In the meantime, on the home front, the past collides with the present: the death of a colleague and friend, Ben Pruitt. He was shot and killed in the home where Boady lives with his wife and Emma.
You can go back to the previous books for more on Ben/Boady relationship:
The Heavens May Fall features co-protagonists secondary characters in The Life We Bury. Max Rupert, the homicide detective from The Life We Bury, is investigating the death of Jennavieve Pruitt and is convinced that her husband, Ben, committed the murder. Ben is a friend and former protégé of Boady Sanden, the law professor from The Life We Bury. Boady comes out of retirement to defend Ben and is convinced that his friend is innocent at one time. The daughter Emma was ten years old at the time.
In SAVING EMMA, Ben's daughter has lived with Boady and his wife, Dee, since that horrible night. (Godparents). She is now 14 years old and seems distant. Her aunt Anna tries to interfere and misleads her away from her home. Why is she trying to get custody now? What is her motive? Is Emma or her inheritance fueling her sudden desire for custody?
Boady and Dee (love her) are desperate to bring Emma home and free an innocent man caught between personal and work. He must fight for his family and fight for a man with Biblical clues.
How are the two storylines connected?
Elijah speaks in riddles and bible quotes, convinced that a higher power will determine all. Elijah's unjust conviction is fascinating as the author explores the dark side of the megachurch.
The plot thickens when Elijah's care team has scheduled a Jarvis hearing to get approval for electroconvulsive therapy in 10 days. This pressures Boady to find the killer and evidence before this occurs.
Then there is the custody hearing for Emma's guardianship, and Boady's life and Elijah's are on the line. He must save Emma and his client.
CAPTIVATING!
I LOVED SAVING EMMA! Eskens is a master storyteller and a pro at building suspense—a perfect balance between personal and business with well-developed characters you are invested in and care for.
A long-time avid fan of Eskens, I have read every book and highly recommend them. As always, crime fiction is at its finest! A favorite author, it is hard to compare him to anyone with his unique signature style; however, if you enjoy John Grisham, John Lescroat, John Hart, Ron Rash, and William Kent Krueger, you will devour Allen Esken's books.
Masterfully plotted, SAVING EMMA is another Top Books of the Year with a mix of legal, crime, literary, murder, family drama, and psychological/domestic suspense while exploring faith, love, family, and redemption. I enjoy how Allen brings his characters from past books to the present. I cannot wait for his next book!
AUDIOBOOK: I purchased the audiobook (Editor's Pick) narrated flawlessly by Gary Tiedemann, Matt Godfrey, Saskia Maarleveld, Janina Edwards, and Timothy Pabon for a superb and engaging performance for all voices. I highly recommend the audiobook!
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins.com | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub Date: Sept 19, 2023
Sept 2023 Must-Read Books
Sept Newsletter
My Interviews with Allen #AuthorElevatorSeries
FORSAKEN COUNTRY
NOTHING MORE DANGEROUS
My AE Reviews:
These are all Must-Reads! Allen Eskens is tops if you love legal, crime thrillers, and literary fiction! Each can be read as a standalone, but why stop with one? You want to make sure you read them all—get to know each character - you will most likely see them again.
The Life We Bury
The Guise of Another
The Heavens May Fall
The Deep Dark Descending
The Shadows We Hide
Nothing More Dangerous
The Stolen Hours
Forsaken Country
rosemariew's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nattylite08's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
caseysilk's review
4.0
4.5 Saving Emma by Alan Eskins was such a propulsive read for me- I literally couldn't put it down. It reminded me of early John Grisham's books where the main character keeps finding himself in a maze where he keeps hitting the wall and has to back up and go at it from a different path.
Boady Sanden is a lawyer and a law professor. He is approached by a woman who asks him to take on a case with the Innocence Project. She believes her brother is serving time for a murder he didn’t commit and she wants Boady to take on his case. Her brother, Elijah Matthews, believes he is a prophet and he was accused of killing a pastor at a megachurch. In the meantime, Boady and his wife are guardians of their godchild Emma who came to live with them after her father murdered his wife and then was killed himself.
There are so many twists and turns and these cases actually converge in a way. Not just a legal and page turning thriller but it also encompasses faith and what it means to be a family. Definitely recommend.
Boady Sanden is a lawyer and a law professor. He is approached by a woman who asks him to take on a case with the Innocence Project. She believes her brother is serving time for a murder he didn’t commit and she wants Boady to take on his case. Her brother, Elijah Matthews, believes he is a prophet and he was accused of killing a pastor at a megachurch. In the meantime, Boady and his wife are guardians of their godchild Emma who came to live with them after her father murdered his wife and then was killed himself.
There are so many twists and turns and these cases actually converge in a way. Not just a legal and page turning thriller but it also encompasses faith and what it means to be a family. Definitely recommend.
croof's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nadiamg_reads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Saving Emma was enthralling from the beginning. The two storylines flowed together seamlessly. The conclusion was both satisfying and brought everything together.
I live in the Twin Cities, and I love supporting local authors and feel extra connected when I read about places I’m familiar with.
Really hoping for another Boady novel soon!
I live in the Twin Cities, and I love supporting local authors and feel extra connected when I read about places I’m familiar with.
Really hoping for another Boady novel soon!
marilynw's review against another edition
4.0
Saving Emma by Allen Eskens
Narrated by Gary Tiedemann, Matt Godfrey, Saskia Maarleveld, Janina Edwards, and Timothy Pabon
The past collides with the present in several way for law professor Boady Sanden. Four years ago, Boady's former business partner and friend, Ben Pruitt, was killed in Boady's study and now that dead man's daughter is Boady's ward. Life with fourteen year old Emma had been so good for the new little family of Boady, his wife, Dee, and for young Emma until Emma began drawing away from Boady. There is someone in the wings wanting to take Emma from the Sandens and the time looks ripe now that Emma has pulled away from Boady.
At the same time, a man that Ben Pruitt had unsuccessfully defended in a murder case, Elijah Matthews, has contacted Boady. Elijah is in a mental hospital and it seems that Ben hadn't defended Elijah properly. Through the Innocence Project, Boady is going to take up Elijah's case. That is, if he can get through Elijah's annoying biblical mumbo jumbo and non answers.
It seems Boady can do nothing right. Elijah is about to possibly lose his memories to electroshock therapy if Boady can't prove he is innocent of murder and that takes up all his time. At the same time, his wife Dee wants him to drop everything to get Emma back on their side. But Emma is with living with her blood relative aunt and will barely have anything to do with Boady. He's between an avalanche of rocks and hard places and every move he makes seems to make everything worse. Even the dog, Rufus, doesn't seem to like him very much.
Time is running out on all fronts and the race is to prove Elijah isn't a murderer before his brain is zapped and to get Emma's trust and love back before they lose her to her aggressive and vindictive aunt. I haven't even mentioned the mega church cultish situation that is part of Elijah's murder case. Lots of characters and lots of happenings past and present and we get the story through five narrators. Each audiobook narrator has several characters assigned to them and throughout the book no character is narrated by anyone but their assigned narrator. This means no men narrating women, no women narrating men, and each character having a consistent voice throughout the book. I liked that audiobook feature very much and hope this method of narrating books is used more often in the future.
Pub Sept 19, 2023
Narrated by Gary Tiedemann, Matt Godfrey, Saskia Maarleveld, Janina Edwards, and Timothy Pabon
The past collides with the present in several way for law professor Boady Sanden. Four years ago, Boady's former business partner and friend, Ben Pruitt, was killed in Boady's study and now that dead man's daughter is Boady's ward. Life with fourteen year old Emma had been so good for the new little family of Boady, his wife, Dee, and for young Emma until Emma began drawing away from Boady. There is someone in the wings wanting to take Emma from the Sandens and the time looks ripe now that Emma has pulled away from Boady.
At the same time, a man that Ben Pruitt had unsuccessfully defended in a murder case, Elijah Matthews, has contacted Boady. Elijah is in a mental hospital and it seems that Ben hadn't defended Elijah properly. Through the Innocence Project, Boady is going to take up Elijah's case. That is, if he can get through Elijah's annoying biblical mumbo jumbo and non answers.
It seems Boady can do nothing right. Elijah is about to possibly lose his memories to electroshock therapy if Boady can't prove he is innocent of murder and that takes up all his time. At the same time, his wife Dee wants him to drop everything to get Emma back on their side. But Emma is with living with her blood relative aunt and will barely have anything to do with Boady. He's between an avalanche of rocks and hard places and every move he makes seems to make everything worse. Even the dog, Rufus, doesn't seem to like him very much.
Time is running out on all fronts and the race is to prove Elijah isn't a murderer before his brain is zapped and to get Emma's trust and love back before they lose her to her aggressive and vindictive aunt. I haven't even mentioned the mega church cultish situation that is part of Elijah's murder case. Lots of characters and lots of happenings past and present and we get the story through five narrators. Each audiobook narrator has several characters assigned to them and throughout the book no character is narrated by anyone but their assigned narrator. This means no men narrating women, no women narrating men, and each character having a consistent voice throughout the book. I liked that audiobook feature very much and hope this method of narrating books is used more often in the future.
Pub Sept 19, 2023