~ BLOG TOUR STOP CROSS SHADOW ~

~ BLOG TOUR STOP ~

--  'CROSS SHADOW'  --

AUTHOR ANDREW HUFF

~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight, Book Trailer,
Book Review, Author Bio & Giveaway~

About the book:

All journalist Christine Lewis wants is the truth. All pastor John Cross wants is to avoid it.

Former CIA agent turned evangelical pastor John Cross is busy caring for the small community of believers he ministers to in Virginia. Journalist Christine Lewis is busy with the demand for her talents from top news agencies in New York City. Neither has any time left for their relationship, which began eight months before when they paired up to prevent the detonation of a chemical bomb in the nation's capital.

But when Christine hears that her stepbrother has been arrested for murder in Texas, they team up again to discover the truth about the crime. Untangling a web of conspiracy, the couple finds themselves in the center of another dangerous situation-and in trouble far deeper than they expected.

With an assassin on the loose, a trusted colleague acting as a double agent, and unreliable artificial intelligence connected to mercenaries who have Cross on their hit list, these two may not get out of the Lone Star State alive.

About the author:

Huff spent ten years in local church ministry as a youth pastor and creative arts pastor before pursuing God’s calling into creative storytelling and media production as the product director at Igniter Media, a church media company (ignitermedia.com).

He is a two-time finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Genesis Contest for unpublished authors (2014, 2017) and also won the best screenplay award at the 2015 48 Hour Film Festival in Richmond, VA. A Cross to Kill and Cross Shadow in the Shepherd Suspense series are his first releases.

Huff holds a bachelor of science in religion degree from Liberty University and a master of arts in Christian education from Dallas Theological Seminary. He resides in Plano, TX, with his beautiful wife, Jae, and their two boys.

Learn more Andrew Huff and the Shepherd Suspense novels at www.andrewhuffbooks.com. He can also be found on Facebook (@huffwrites), Twitter (@andrewjohnhuff) and Instagram (@andyhuff).

My Thoughts:

I recently read the first book in this series, A Cross to Kill, and I enjoyed it immensely! I was looking forward to reading this installment in the Shepherd Suspense series, and I was in no way disappointed by this well-written follow-up to the author's debut.

Cross Shadow may be read as a standalone novel, but I highly recommend you read A Cross to Kill first simply because you will have the background knowledge needed to truly understand the main characters in this book and also because A Cross to Kill is such an awesome story!

LINK TO MY GOODREADS REVIEW OF 'A CROSS TO KILL'

Cross Shadow begins with several chapters of intense, rapid-fire action involving a character introduced in the first installment in the series. I was glad to see this character was included in book two as she is as likeable and formidable as the main character, John Cross.

Throughout the course of the story, John's and Christine's paths meet again; and whenever they do there is a lot of emotional depth and substance to their interactions. The introduction of a couple of new characters into Cross's social circle make the drama and action even more  extreme.

The author is adept at building his story layer upon layer. The plot is intricate and is filled with red herrings (an essential in a good suspense novel, in my opinion), diabolical villains, and good old-fashioned investigative work. 

My three favorite aspects of the author's writing style are the faith elements woven into each chapter, and the manner in which he conveys his message (and the message of the characters--good and bad) by not using explicit language or content. This book is completely clean in language and content. Finally, I appreciate the manner in which the main character, John Cross, accepts his own flaws as a human being and how he works to become the man he believes God wants him to be. He is dedicated to his new-found faith and to changing the way he thinks and acts to be more in keeping with his interpretation of God's word.

This book is highly-recommended to fans of Christian/clean fiction, Christian/clean suspense, and Christian/clean romance.

My only concern about this series is this -- Do I really have to wait until 2021 to read the next installment in this series, Right Cross ?

Disclosure from blogger:  I received a paperback copy of this book from the publisher in conjunction with this blog tour coordinated by Read With Audra Publicity Tours. I was not compensated in any manner to post my review here or on Goodreads or any retailer site. My opinions expressed here are solely my own.

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