Accused: 1 (Pacific Coast Justice) [Kindle Edition]

Janice Cantore (Author)

Book Description

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Police officer turned inspirational crime novelist Cantore delivers another round of crime and intrigue to readers in Accused, the first in her Pacific Coast Justice series. Carly Edwards has been a cop for 10 years, divorced for 1, and stuck behind a desk in juvenile for six months. When a suspect requests Carly by name, she jumps at the chance to get back in the action. But the case is not the simple open-and-shut homicide case it appears to be, leading Carly, instead, into a web of political scandals and police corruption. Who can she trust as she tries to get to the truth? Her ex-husband Nick proves to be an unexpected ally, and his new Christian faith has changed him, making it harder to hate him. As she goes deeper into the murky details of this dangerous investigation, Carly also feels a deeper pull toward God, shared by so many around her. Forced to trust people she has been wary of, Carly begins to see the benefit in trusting faith as well. --Carolyn Richard

From the Back Cover

“Time to prove she isn’t a broken cop.”
An officer-involved shooting six months earlier takes Detective Carly Edwards off the street and sends her to a boring desk job in juvenile. When a troubled youth is arrested for the murder of the mayor, Carly is summoned to the crime scene. Homicide thinks it’s a quick, open-and-shut case, and Carly hopes this will be her ticket back to patrol.

Though her professional life seems to be on track, Carly still has unresolved issues in her personal life. Nick, her ex-husband and fellow police officer, is determined to show Carly that he’s a changed man, but she isn’t convinced he won’t betray her again.

As the murder investigation progresses, Carly suspects a cover-up and strikes out on her own, uncertain whom she can trust. But she soon realizes the case may put her directly in the killers’ crosshairs.

Janice Cantore is a retired Long Beach police officer who now writes suspense novels to keep readers engrossed and leave them inspired. Her years of experience on the force lend authenticity to her stories. Accused is the first in the three-book Pacific Coast Justice series.

Product Details

• File Size: 657 KB
• Print Length: 415 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1414358474
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (January 20, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00724BUEW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,747 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Cop's Life in Novel Form February 3, 2012

By Writer_for_Christ VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

"Accused" gives a glimpse into the life of a cop from the perspective of a cop author, which is what drew me to the novel.

Carly is an extremely tormented character. A fresh divorce, a conspiracy theory that the agency she works for is corrupt and a cop-related shooting has taken her off the streets and put her behind a desk. Her bitterness drove me away from her a bit. For the first quarter or so of the book she is very much against a faith in Christ and makes that very clear to the reader and those in her life. I was searching for something that would make her more likeable and struggled until just about half way when she started to soften.

There was much going on, both on an emotional level for Carly and a greater story level for the suspense of the story. A part of the ending did surprise me (in that it actually happened), but there is certainly much to keep the book from being dull -I would have liked a faster pace through the middle of story, but that is my personal opinion in what I want in suspense.

"Accused" is a pretty quick read, I thought parts of the actual writing could be improved, but at the close of the novel, it makes me wonder how Carly will become a stronger character in later books.

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers for my copy to review.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite... June 29, 2012

By AvidReader

Format:Kindle Edition

I wanted to love the book, i am always looking for more Christian mystery writers to add to my must-read list, but I found my mind wandering half way through and realized I didn't even care how it turns out...never a good sign! There just wasn't enough believability and genuine intrigue for me. I found myself wanting to tell the main character to stop whining rather than wanting to root for her! There was a little too much over-explaining for my tastes as well, I prefer stories that flow seamlessly without the author having to completely spell every single little thing out over and over again for the reader.
The writing style seemed slightly disjointed, but nothing that was too distracting. It seemed as though this must be the author's first novel...although I did not check, so not sure if that is the case. If it is, hopefully the series will get better, but I don't think I'll be looking for the next book.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Accused by Janice Cantore February 19, 2012

By i blog 4 books

Format:Paperback

Not sure how I've missed out on Janice Cantore's previous novels, but Accused is one of the best suspense novels I've read in a while! The book read very much like an episode of a TV police drama . . . well, maybe two or three episodes! (Think Law & Order but cleaner and better!)

I loved both Carly and Nick and found myself rooting for them . . . even before I really had the entire back story.

Janice's background as a police officer made the book so realistic. It's obvious she knows what she's writing about! Janice did a great job staying one step ahead of me, so that it wasn't until the very end that I knew for sure "whodunit." (I love trying to guess who the culprit is but hate figuring it out halfway through the book!)

Due to the nature of a police drama, there were quite a few characters and sometimes I had trouble remembering who was who. However, knowing this is the first in a series, I'm sure I'll get to know the main characters better in future books.

The ending was beautifully done . . . not too rush, not trite, but realistic and a good pace. And ... Janice did an amazing job at tying up the loose ends of Accused while obviously setting the stage for the next book in the series. I can't wait to read the next installment of Carly and Nick's story!

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my fair and honest review.

More About the Author

A retired Long Beach California police officer of 22 years (16 in uniform and 6 as a non-career officer), Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, patrol, administration, juvenile investigations and training. During the course of her career in uniform Janice found that faith was indispensable to every aspect of the job and published articles on faith at work, one for a quarterly newspaper called "Cop and Christ", and another for the monthly magazine "Today's Christian Woman".

With retirement Janice began to write longer pieces and several novels were born. Janice is excited and honored to now be a part of the Tyndale Publishing House family. Accused, the first installment in her new suspense offering, The Pacific Coast Justice Series, was released February 1, 2012 and kicked off a brand new chapter in her writing career. In addition to suspense and action, her books feature strong female leads. Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep you engrossed and leave you inspired.