One Discovery Will Change Lives

For me, a gal who is as single as a slice of American cheese (ok, I stole that line from someone), a haunted hero struggling with his past is attractive. Make him a protective brooding hero with a sense of justice, and I’m gone. And then, you make him look like Griffin McCray in Dani Pettrey’s Cold Shot (the first book in her Chesapeake Valor series), and I can just stare at the book cover for hours…but then, I’d never get to know the real Griffin, would I?

Former SWAT-team sniper Griffin McCray now leads a fairly quiet life as a park ranger at Gettysburg. Of course, the appearance of forensic anthropologist Finely Scott has stirred up a few emotions Griffin’s not ready to acknowledge. When he catches two men digging up a body (one that is most definitely not from the Civil War), Griffin and Finley are thrown into an investigation full of twists and turns.

With the help of Griffin’s friends, FBI Agent Declan Gray and Crime Scene Analyst Parker Mitchell, the group struggles to put the pieces of the mystery together. When evidence points to a sniper, Griffin’s expertise is called upon. And one thing he knows for sure is that he and his friends are in the sight of a sniper’s scope.

Pettrey does a fantastic job of drawing out the suspense in Cold Shot. Not only did I keep pushing forward in this book to find out who was behind the crimes (and the culprit continued to change in my mind as the story proceeded), there were many mysteries in both Griffin’s and Finley’s pasts to be uncovered.

Set around the Chesapeake Bay area in Virginia, this new series has lots of potential. All (or probably most) of the characters for the remainder of the series have been introduced in this first book. I’m looking forward to learning more about Declan, Parker, and Kate as well as maybe (hopefully) finding out what happened to Luke Gallagher in future books.

For fans of Dee Henderson’s O’Malley Series will enjoy Dani Pettrey’s offerings with suspense, a sense of family, romance, and adventure (check out her Alaskan Courage Series).

***Bethany House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. All opinions expressed are my own.