Amber Morn (Kanner Lake Series #4) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In book four of the Kanner Lake Series, a Saturday morning celebration at Java Joint coffee shop for the “Scenes and Beans” bloggers turns into terror when three gunmen burst into the coffee shop, shoot one person, and hold the rest hostage. Their demand: the world’s attention. The stakes: the lives of over a dozen Kanner Lake citizens.

From the Back Cover

The whole thing couldn’t have taken more than sixty seconds. Bailey hung on to the counter, dazed. If she let go, she’d collapse—and the twitching fingers of one of the gunmen would pull a trigger. The rest of her group huddled in frozen shock. Dear God, tell me this is a dream … The shooter’s teeth clenched. “Anybody who moves is dead.” On a beautiful Saturday morning the nationally read “Scenes and Beans” bloggers gather at Java Joint for a special celebration. Chaos erupts when three gunmen burst in and take them all hostage. One person is shot and dumped outside. Police Chief Vince Edwards must negotiate with the desperate trio. The gunmen insist on communicating through the “comments” section of the blog—so all the world can hear their story. What they demand, Vince can’t possibly provide. But if he doesn’t, over a dozen beloved Kanner Lake citizens will die …

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1st Thus. edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310276411
• ISBN-13: 978-0310276418
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #218,800 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 4th book in the series is my least favorite, still a great read, April 17, 2008

By	Bill Garrison (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Brandylin Collins closes out her Kanner Lake series with the most thrilling premise yet. All the regulars are planning to meet at Bailey Truitt's Java Joint to celebrate Ted Dawson's signing of a two book publishing contract. Kent Wicksell and son's Brad and Mitch know this because they've been reading the Scenes and Beans blog, a blog kept by the regulars of the Java Joint. Kent and family arrive at the Java Joint just as the party has started. They are loaded with weapons and plenty of ammunition and they invade the Java Joint and take everyone hostage. They have one demand. Kent's youngest son, T.J., must be relased from prison. Kent just knows that TJ is innocent and believes he can prove it.

All the regulars are there, including Paige from the first book and Carla Radling from the third. Vince Edwards, the police chief and recent hostage negotiator trainee, is forced into being in charge of the stand-off and negotiating with Kent. Bailey is worried about her husband, who is on new medication. One character is shot and no one knows if they will live. Leslie is moving out of town and boyfriend Ted doesn't know if their relationship will last.

The scope of this novel is impressive. Collins wraps the entire plot around the hostage situation at the Java Joint and the safety of the characters trapped inside. The most intriguing plot point for me was the actual innocence of TJ. Were Kent, Brad and Mitch right, even though they were insane for taking hostages. Was TJ really innocent? This point is covered, then dropped, then picked back up again at the end of the novel. This plot point could have been much stronger.

I enjoyed this novel but believe it was the worst of the series. To me, it had way to many points of view. I didn't have a problem with all the characters from the previous novels being involved in one situation, but it really bothered me that each character, even the smallest ones, had their own point of view chapter. There were probably over 20 different points of view presented in the novel and that was way to many for me to get involved in the story. Overall, Amber Morn is a good conclusion to a series where I have come to know and enjoy. I understand why Collins chose to include the entire town in the story, I just wish she had narrowed the focus to a smaller group of characters.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fourth entry a fitting end to terrific series, April 7, 2008

By	Christina Lockstein "http://christysbookblog.... (Oconto Falls, WI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amber Morn by Brandilyn Collins is the fourth and final book in the Kanner Lake Series. Kent Wicksell's son T.J. is in prison for a crime he claims he didn't commit, so Kent and his other two sons, Mitch and Brad, decide that the only way to get the world to hear of his innocence is to take the bloggers from Scenes & Beans blog hostage when they gather for a party. All the favorites from the previous three books are back and ready to celebrate S-Man's signing of his book contract. But these three volatile men storm in, shoot one of them, and in a systematic way set about getting their story out to the world. Only police chief Vince Edwards can negotiate with the Kent and find out the truth about T.J. Collins is known for writing Seatbelt Suspense, and she lives up to that title again in this book. The scenes are fast and furious leaving me often breathless. I had one small disappointment with this book: the Wicksells were completely unsympathetic, and while I know there are monsters like that in the real world, it would have made for a more complex story. Collins continues to develop the other characters and move their stories forward to a satisfying conclusion.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hostage Situation In A Small Town, April 11, 2009

By	Karen Zemek "Author of 'My Funny Dad, Harry'" (Parma, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I loved this book. It is the first one I ever read by Brandilyn Collins but I will be reading more. "Amber Morn" is filled with action and suspense brought about through a hostage situation in a small town at a café where older people do a blog together. I finished reading this book in just two days. It held my interest and I was anxious to keep on reading. It is the last book in the Kanner Lake Series but I still enjoyed it even though I hadn't read the other three first. It has Christian overtones through it but does not preach at all. I liked the way it ended too.