Customer Reviews

Witness (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense #98)

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I know Susan Page Davis from posting on "ShoutLife" and "Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers" and since the title was intriguing, I decided to order "Witness." I was not disappointed. The plot twists kept coming. I enjoyed the read tremendously.

One day when Petra Wilson was out on her back deck, throwing a toy to her beloved golden retriever Mason, she turned to look toward her neighbor's house and saw him strangle a woman. She's sure she just witnessed a murder. But the police don't find a body, and her neighbor Rex Harwood is thought at least by one officer to be an upstanding citizen. Petra fears the police think she's a kook. The thing I grew to like about Petra as a character was her tenacity and her need to see justice done.

Now her dangerous neighbor is aware that Petra tried to turn him in and she fears she may need protection. Wanting to get away, she goes to visit her sisters just in time for the grand opening of their gift shop and meets private detective Joe Tarleton who's office is next to their shop. Petra hires Joe to look into the murder and sparks start to flie, sparks of attraction between them, that is.

However someone breaks into Petra's home and poisons Mason. Petra rushes the dog to the vet and the animal survives. Then while she's sleeping, someone breaks in and turns the gas jets on her stove on. The killer is now after her, but the police think she carelessly dropped a household poison into the food and left the gas jets on. It's obvious to Joe that he's not able to guard Petra 24 hours a day, in fact he seems to always be one step behind this killer.

Susan Page Davis is a prolific writer of historical novels, children's books, and inspirational romantic suspense. She also writes cozy mysteries with her daughter, Megan. Witness is her latest book.

Petra Wilson is a nurse who lives a quiet life in the suburbs with her golden retriever, Mason. Her life is comprised of work, sleep, meals, and walking Mason. Her spiritual life has been neglected for years, ever since her fiancé turned out to be a faithless drug dealer. She's out of the habit of praying but she'll soon be needing all the help God can give her. While playing with her dog in the back yard, she becomes the only living witness to a murder. The police investigate but can find no evidence of a murder, and the alleged killer is a well-respected pillar of the community. To complicate matters further, the suspected victim is still very much alive. Was the supposed murder simply Petra's overactive imagination? The details of what she saw play repeatedly in her mind. She's convinced she saw a woman die at her neighbor's hands. One other person knows she's right. The murderer. He'll do whatever it takes to silence her.

The office of Joe Tarleton, Private Investigator, is next door to her sisters' new gift shop. Joe is attracted to Petra, but not quite convinced that she actually witnessed a murder. He reluctantly agrees to investigate her situation. When Mason is poisoned and the gas turned on in Petra's house, he knows the murderer means business. The police still doubt foul play is afoot, don't think Petra is in danger, and Joe can't protect her 24 hours a day. He's determined to keep her alive, somehow.

This is a tidy little mystery with inspirational romance as a bonus. Petra and Joe are well-developed characters who both discover that God did not desert them in their time of greatest need. Susan Page Davis ties up all the loose ends into a satisfying package before book's end. Readers of mystery and inspirational romance will love this one.