Welcome
to my book review page, this month featuring . . .
Dana
Mentink
whose humor adds a special touch to her Christian romantic suspense
and cozy mystery novels.
Killer
Cargo
(Love Inspired Suspense, June 2008) is Dana's first romantic suspense,
and it is lively!
Independent
Maria de Silva pilots her small plane to run a private air shipping
business in California. She no sooner lands on a lonesome airstrip
when she discovers she's transporting illegal cargo. With the drug
lord's henchmen at her heels, she makes a mad dash for her life in
a borrowed car with a three-legged bunny. The hair raising chase thumps
her straight into Cy Sheridan's secluded animal sanctuary and short-lived
safety.
Cy doesn't
know quite what to make of Maria, but he offers her refuge in his
home and moves to another cabin at the sanctuary while her borrowed
is repaired. In the meantime, danger presses in, not only from the
drug lord but from toxic dumping that's poisoning the critters that
live on Cy's property.
Author
Dana Mentink, a native of California, leaves ample evidence of her
self-description as a "writer of the wild, wacky and wondrous"
in her novels. In Killer Cargo, her quirky
heroine and endearing hero had no trouble keeping me glued to their
fast-paced story. I couldn't wait to find out what they would attempt
next to stay ahead of the killers or how their Christian faith would
help them resolve serious issues with their families.
California's
emphasis on wildlife conservation found its way into Killer
Cargo through Dana's longtime interest in frogs. "They
are an indicator species, the first to be impacted by pollution and
habitat loss," she said. Hence, Cy's passion for protecting endangered
critters. Maria's three-legged bunny materialized from Dana's years
of teaching elementary school. "I had classroom rabbits for years.
One had a penchant for chewing through the phone line. I didn't figure
out for a long time why I never got phone calls!" As for Maria's
career as a pilot, Dana has a "senior citizen woman friend who
was a pilot when it was primarily a male only profession. She spoke
about her accomplishment with such pride, and I was struck by the
fact that she paved the way for today's women to fly."
Enjoy
Dana's added dimension of humor in
Killer Cargo and come
back for more. Flashover,
her second romantic suspense novel for Steeple Hill releases
in January 2009. For more about these and her other novels, go to
www.danamentink.com.
