“Fear and memories had climbed into her luggage for the relocation to Houston, but she resisted their hold.” FBI Special Agent Bella Jordan’s past “stalks” her to the present as she accepts relocation to the field office in Houston. Bella can no longer run from the memories of her painful West Texas childhood. Author DiAnn Mills left me with dangling questions that kept me turning the pages.
The corpses of three men are found on an ordinary Monday afternoon on a ranch in Texas. Bella must face her most paralyzing fears when FBI fugitive Brandt Richardson is mentioned as a possible link in the case. Brandt is known as a murderer for hire and a man with an obsession, finding the Spider Rock treasure. For years this treasure has been legendary in Texas and many men have risked their lives in order to find the treasure?and haven’t always made it out alive. During a recent search, the victims follow the clues to Carr Sullivan’s High Butte Ranch. When the victims request permission to dig they are refused. Etched in the dirt near the victims’ bodies are the words “Spider Rock.”
When Bella arrives at Carr Sullivan’s ranch she finds a man who claims to have a new life in Christ. Is it a ruse to protect him? “Mistakes in the name of love were not in her playbook.” Bella certainly never expected to have to protect her heart from falling in love?with a suspect.
As Bella begins to investigate the Spider Rock Murders, threats on her life take center stage. When an investigator who stumbles too close to the truth is infected with a deadly flu, Bella understands that she must find the courage to face the past. How can she heal from the bleeding scars of her painful childhood that just don’t seem to scab over?
Bella provides the narration for the majority of the book, but short chapters narrated by Carr Sullivan and Brandt Richardson enable the reader to explore the story from the point of view of two suspects. I would have preferred a single point of view, although Mills was effective in offering an authentic voice for each character.
Although this was the third book in the series, it was easy to follow this book without having read the other volumes. The characters were well drawn and I found myself immediately relating to Bella. Pursuit of Justice deals with faith issues in a realistic way. Bella struggles with forgiveness and the need to make peace with her past in order to live a faith-filled life today. Other characters’ struggles were equally down-to-earth. Some themes include the meaning of wholehearted surrender and the acceptance of the fact that we are a new creation in Christ.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book I must admit there were a few points where I had to suspend disbelief. For instance, given her past connection to several of the suspects, I would have expected Bella to discuss this with her boss. She develops romantic feelings for one of the suspects ,and though she does not act on them, I would have again expected her to remove herself from the case. Both of these scenarios could have affected Bella’s objectivity in the case, in my opinion.
I enjoyed the action-packed roller coaster ride of Call of Duty #3. Although I had a few qualms, I am still anxious to read the rest of the series.
