Review – Double Cross

Double Cross brings Taylor Pasbury back into a staring role from author James David Jordan’s first novel Forsaken, a Suspense Zone Reviewer’s Choice Book for 2008. So when I received an advanced readers copy of the sequel, Double Cross, I opened it and wanted to immediately delve into the book but had to force my eyes away from the pages and put the book into my to be read pile. I had too many books I had committed to read and review before I could look at Double Cross.

Well, now I am happy to report that I have reached the book in my stack and am I glad I did. The publisher’s description of the novel is the best way I can tell you about the plot and not reveal anything I shouldn’t. So here’s their description.

Raised by a father who was a former Special Forces officer, Taylor is beautiful and brilliant and knows how to take care of herself. But she is haunted by her past and the sacrifice her father made to save her from a brutal rape when she was seventeen. After a controversial stint in the Secret Service, she has become the most prominent private security specialist in America. When she discovers the body of a former client’s top assistant, all the evidence points to embezzlement and suicide. But Taylor has no way of knowing that her mother, who ran out when Taylor was nine, is about to reappear and lead her down a twisting path of danger and deceit. It’s a road that won’t end until they reach the spot where Taylor’s father died-where Taylor learns some sacrifices can never be earned.

What I can tell you about is how much I loved Forsaken and Double Cross. Taylor Pasbury is a character that I longed to find in Christian fiction but didn’t until Jordan released Forsaken. She is a strong woman with a sassy wit, yet she is soft and vulnerable and begs to be understood by the reader. She’s had a tough life, made terrible mistakes and yet she has also worked hard to overcome them and heal from her past.

But it’s not just this character that makes the book an award winner. It is the masterful way Jordan tells a story, filled with unrelenting suspense and humor, and yet when you think this would be enough to give you a satisfactory read, he adds a spiritual message that causes you to stop and think about your own life.

Please don’t miss out on this book. If you haven’t read Forsaken, I would recommend picking that one up first. Not because you have to read it to understand the story, but because it makes the reading of Double Cross all that much more enjoyable.