Book Review: Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze

Deadly Ties is a suspense novel written by Vicki Hinze. For the most part, I enjoyed the book. There are times when the Christian overtones actually interfere with the flow of the book. Other than that, the book holds your attention. The book is published by WaterBrook Multnomah, the evangelical Christian publishing division of Random House publishers.

Overview:

Lisa Harper is the main character in Deadly Ties. At a young age, her father dies and her mother remarries in haste in order to preserve her way of life. Dutch Hauk, the new husband, is a controlling, abusive husband. Annie, Lisa's mother, signs guardianship of Lisa over to close friends in order to keep her away from Dutch's control and abuse.

As Lisa comes into adulthood, she and her mother found a way to communicate through a retired Special Operations Officer, Mark Taylor. He arranges situations where Lisa and her mother can talk over the phone for short amounts of time.

Lisa and Annie have come up with a plan where they can finally have the relationship they have been waiting for. This plan does not include Dutch Hauk. Dutch learns of the plan and vows to keep Lisa and Annie apart, no matter what the cost.

Critique:

Overall I enjoyed the book. Some of the events are truly unrealistic, even for fiction. The author writes commentary about what the characters are thinking and sometimes this interferes with the flow of the story.

Vicki Hinze does hold your interest for most of the book. The characters are mostly believable. Vicki does a great job of keeping graphic violence and sex out of this novel, making it a great choice for high school students as well as adults.

There is a reader's guide at the end of the book. This guide can be used by homeschoolers or high school teachers as a study guide or it can be used by book clubs. The questions posed by the author in the reader's guide will spark lively discussions among club members or in a classroom situation.

Sources:Blogging for Books, Deadly Ties blog page