"The Sister Pact", by Cami Checkett: Book Review & Giveaway

Back Cover Blurb for The Sister Pact:

Savanna Compton is devastated when her sister and best friend, Allison, falls into a coma after a tragic accident. Or was it an accident? Even with a charming and handsome detective at her side, it seems Savannah may never discover the truth. But if she doesn’t her family could be in even more danger. And Savannah’s past holds its own secrets that could change everything.

Now she must prove her innocence to the one person who is beginning to matter most. Join Savannah as she struggles to summon hope and rely on faith even in the darkest of circumstances, and learn how the bond between sisters can overcome anything.

Okay, the first thing I realized when I began reading The Sister Pact is that I watch entirely too much Law & Order. (I’m speaking of the “original series” here.) As soon as the handsome, hunky, and entirely WOWSOME police detective, Noah Shumway, stepped onto the scene, I couldn’t stop my subconscious mind from asking: Is this what Lenny Brisco would do? Nahhh, just can’t see it! How about Detective Green? Well…maybe, but it’d be a stretch for me to buy. What about going back all the way to the “early days” of Detective Mike Logan? Ah, now there we have a possibility! Mike was undoubtedly impulsive and hot headed enough to potentially allow himself to get emotionally caught up with a suspect. Not that I’m advising you to picture Detective Shumway as a Mike Logan. Noah is older and much hunkier and built like a ROCK. Which I mean in the very best of romantic ways. And he doesn’t particularly have a challenge with his temper (except perhaps towards the end, when he is justifiably motivated by extreme circumstances). Nor is he particularly impulsive…except for falling head-over-heels in love with the beautiful Savannah Compton, his prime suspect in a possible murder attempt against her sister.

The Sister Pact is billed as a “romantic mystery”, but there is little mystery in it, since we know who the perpetrator is and how and why the crime was committed from the very first pages. “Romantic suspense” would be a more accurate description, with heavy on the “romance” theme. The “suspense” part does kick into high gear during the last 70 pages of the book. And once the action starts, it comes on slam-bang non-stop. Well done, Cami!

On second thought, I might be wrong about the mystery angle. Just not the way the book billing suggests. The mysteries that are teased out through the course of the book are more of a personal nature. What experiences in Savannah’s and Noah’s pasts have made them afraid to trust each other with their hearts, or even to trust in their own basic self-worth? I liked the way the characters were revealed to the reader a layer at a time, rather than splashing their entire life histories upfront. These were the mysteries that kept me reading, wanting to find out who these people really were, why they had become who they had become, and whether each could overcome the hurts of their pasts to find love in one another’s arms.

If you’re looking for a well told story about fierce family loyalty (the “sister pact” made as children between Savannah and her sister drives Savannah to uncover the truth behind her sister’s “accident”), as well as a satisfying romance (and don’t forget that slam-bang action ending!), then check out The Sister Pact by Cami Checketts.

The Sister Pact is available at Amazon.com, Deseret.com or CedarFort.com

Also, check out Cami's website and blogs: Cami's Books and Fitness for Mom.

You can win a copy of The Sister Pact by doing one or more of the following. Each one will count as one entry in the drawing, for a potential total of 3 entries per person!

(1) Leave a comment on this review, then email me at jdipastena@yahoo.com WITH YOUR NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS, telling me you left a comment.

(2) If you're a Law & Order original series fan, send me the name of your favorite (regular) character to jdipastena@yahoo.com, and please include your NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS.

(3) Subscribe to JDP NEWS posts by clicking on the "SUBSCRIBE TO POSTS" box in my left hand side bar (right under my list of "FOLLOWERS") OR become a Goodreads follower of me (Joyce DiPastena) on Goodreads.com, then send me an email at jdipastena@yahoo.com (WITH YOUR NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS) telling me which you have done: subscribed to my blog or become a Goodreads follower. (If you're already a subscriber or Goodreads follower, email me to let me know that, too, and I'll count that as an entry.)

Deadline for this giveaway is midnight PST, Sunday, October 4. Good luck to one and all!