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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Is the Coast Guard the Red-Headed Stepchild of the Military?

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

The Killing Tide has a lot going for it, but one thing I really loved most was seeing a lesser-featured branch of our military in the spotlight. via @chautonahavig

I know where I was the day I learned about the Coast Guard, although I don’t actually know how old I was.  Dad was driving me to school along Olivas Park Drive.  Just after we passed the Olivas Adobe, whatever he was saying clicked.  Something about having an honorable discharge… from the Coast Guard. As far as I knew to that point, we had four branches of military, but if what Dad was saying was what I thought he said… We had five?  Really?

You know, to this day, I hear people talking about the military… and rarely do I ever hear the Coast Guard mentioned.

Of course, when Dani Pettrey’s book, The Killing Tide became available for review, I was ready just because of her name and that gorgeous cover.  When I learned that the book was the first in the series about the Coast Guard, well… I had to request a copy, didn’t I?

And when my mom read it and said, “Yeah.  That one was good,” I couldn’t wait to read it.  I had one question in mind…

the killing tide review

Note: links are likely affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Is the Coast Guard the Redheaded Stepchild of the Military?

You’d think so with the way it’s often overlooked in books about our military forces, but Dani Pettrey plunges us into a whirlwind of a story featuring both Coast Guard heroes and a dedicated journalist who wields words instead of weapons to keep our country safe. Am I connected with this series?  Will I be reading all the books?  Oh yeah.

Still, I have mixed emotions about this particular book.  It wasn’t the home-run I expected.

Why?  Well…

The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing on The Killing Tide.

The good:

I’ve never read anything by Danni Pettrey before, but man can this woman write.  Seriously, she kept me on the edge of my seat even in parts that weren’t… amazing.  She knows suspense, she knows mystery, and she’s not afraid to write real characters that do real amazing and stupid things.

The settings were stellar; the pacing, off the charts.  By the time I got just a few chapters in, I knew.  This was a series I’d follow all the way through.

That said… there’s…

The bad:

This will sound contradictory, but Pettrey wrote some seriously compelling bad guys.  I LOVED hating her bad guys.  I mean, isn’t that one of the benefits of fiction?  It’s not a sin to hate someone who doesn’t exist?  Catharsis, baby!  But then bad guy turns… stupid?  I mean, at the end of the book, all the brilliant bad guy-ness is just conveniently inadequate to the task.  Or, anyway, that’s how it seemed to me.  It felt that rather than the good guys out-smarting the bad guys, the bad guys just got tired and lazy.  How convenient.  As much as I hate saying that, it’s true. Like I said to start off, she wrote COMPELLING BAD GUYS.  I just wished they’d stayed compelling.  It would have meant the “good guy triumph,” had some real teeth to it instead of, “Oh, how convenient. We won.”  That’s how it felt.  🙁

But then there was Gabby.  What did Finn see in her?  What are we supposed to see in her?  Because, frankly, until the very end, there’s almost nothing to like about her. She claims to care about her family and not want them hurt, but then she seriously makes every possible decision she can to ensure they are put in danger.  Her job matters more than the people she claims to love most–and that began before the story began.  You know, back when she dumped Finn for a job.

Look, I don’t mind unlikeable characters.  However, I need a reason for them to be unlikeable, and I really need a reason to change my opinion.  Unfortunately, I just wasn’t given one.  In this book. Maybe throughout the series, that’ll change.  I really hope so.

The confusing:

I was confused in chapter two.  Right off the bat.  We have heroine showing up and… who are all these people?  What connection to the story?  Why do I care about–wait, what just happened?

Mostly, it had to do with lots of people showing up all at once and no idea who they were for pages upon pages.

Seriously, though. If that was all I saw, I might have ignored it.  I mean, it happens.  And sometimes, you just need to get your cast on the page and let them introduce themselves as it fits.  I get that.

However, because of her personality, I’m still confused about what Finn saw in her.  I want to love them together.  I just… don’t.

That said, I am not sorry I requested and received a free review copy, and I am definitely planning to read the rest of the series. I’m just certain it’s going to be great.  As far as this book goes, I enjoyed most of the story.  It’s better than most suspense out there, and I recommend it for readers who love suspense, enjoy military suspense, and like complex characters who don’t fit perfect little boxes.  Danni Pettrey’s The Killing Tide will keep readers glued to the page to find out what comes next, and isn’t that the best part of suspense?

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Comments

  1. James Robert says

    June 30, 2020 at 12:17 am

    Thanks much for sharing your book and a giveaway. Sounds great!

    Reply
  2. James Robert says

    June 29, 2020 at 12:24 am

    I appreciate getting to hear about your book. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  3. Amelia says

    June 27, 2020 at 10:08 am

    Thanks for sharing! I love Dani’s books and I can’t wait to read The Crushing Depths!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
byChautona Havig

I had a chat with actor and author Henry O. Arnold a while back, and boy did we have a lot of fun. His Song of Prophets and Kings series features the advent of Israel’s kings from Samuel’s birth through David hiding from Saul (so far) and onward. Listen in as we chat about his most recent release, The Singer of Israel.

 

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

What Made David Such a Man after God’s Heart?

I think this series will show us. I love that Henry O. Arnold started back at Samuel’s story to prepare us for the story of arguably the most influential king of Israel. Yes, Solomon was the wisest and richest, but David offered something that Solomon didn’t have. He was an average guy—a shepherd, no less—chosen by God to lead his country.

In a sense, it’s kind of the ancient Jewish version of a poor, everyday guy growing up to become President of the United States. If you know what I mean.

This five-book series is available as an eBook, in print, and as an audiobook, too! Henry read a snippet of it to us, and boy you get a feel for his love of Scripture and God’s people as he reads.

And if that wasn’t enough, he even gave us a hint of his upcoming Christian suspense/thriller “series. He says he has two books planned for sure, so… at least a duology, but maybe we can talk him into a trilogy at least? Get those odd numbers and everything?

The Singer of Israel by Henry O. Arnold

A singer’s voice inspires a troubled nation…A shepherd’s courage vanquishes a giant

The last official act of the prophet of Yahweh was to secretly anoint a replacement for the king of Israel who has been brought low by an unbalanced mind. The great prophet of Israel lives in fear of the wrath of the king. Then out of the hills of Bethlehem emerges the last-born son of a family of shepherds to become the unforeseen hero of Israel.

When David sings of the glory of Yahweh, this shepherd wins the hearts of the royal family and restores King Saul’s troubled mind. But when the singer/shepherd defeats the champion of the Philistines in single combat, David becomes forever known as “the giant slayer.” Saul quickly sees that David is now a threat to his kingdom and secretly plots to have him killed.

David may be the champion of the people of Israel, but he must live under the constant threat of Saul’s wrath until he is finally forced to flee for his life.

The Singer of Israel is a tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love, and burning rivalries; the new epoch is given a voice…and it is The Song of Prophets and Kings.

You can learn more about Henry on this WEBSITE.

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Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
March 24, 2023
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