Counter Attack

January 23, 2023
In this propulsive series opener from Bradley (Deception), two police officers begin a romance as they track down a serial killer. Alexis Stone is undercover searching for the Queen’s Gambit Killer (so-called because each victim has been found holding a white chess pawn in their hand) when she runs into Pearl Springs police chief and former boyfriend Nathan Landry at a bar. Though they haven’t been in touch since high school, Nathan maintains deep feelings for Alexis, and later that night, he drives by her house to make sure she safe. Instead, he finds her unconscious on a street corner and learns from a witness that a man attempted to abduct Alexis and then shot her as she tried to escape. Alexis stays with her grandparents while recovering, but soon her grandfather, who is chief of the local police, appoints her as his chief deputy, leading her to work closely with Nathan. As more murders plague the area, they struggle to uncover the killer’s identity. Meanwhile, Alexis harnesses her faith to navigate the investigation and her growing feelings for Nathan. Balancing a slow-burning romance with a twisty mystery, this will keep Bradley’s fans hooked till the final page.

May 15, 2023
When Alexis Stone leaves the Chattanooga police force to become interim sheriff in a rural Tennessee county to help her sheriff grandfather, she doesn't expect a serial killer to follow. But the Queen's Gambit Killer strikes in her small hometown, Pearl Springs, and Alexis uses all her contacts and resources to find the murderer. She gets a lot of support from the chief of police, Nathan Landry, her old high-school boyfriend. As they work together, they rekindle their romance even as Alexis tries to figure out what she wants and where her career should go. Plenty of action and interesting details about the dark web and police procedure keeps this thriller with light Christian messaging moving. Readers learn more about Alexis and her motivations than about Nathan, but both characters are appealing, and since this is the first in Bradley's new Pearl River series, Nathan will most likely have his chance. For fans of romantic suspense and police procedurals.

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