Salvation Station. Finished 7-18-20, 3.5/5, thriller, 311 pages, pub. 2020

Despite her years of experience investigating homicides for the force, Captain Linda Turner is haunted by the murders of the Hansen family. The two small children, clothed in tattered Disney pajamas, were buried with their father, a pastor, in the flower garden behind a church parsonage in Lincoln, Nebraska. But Mrs. Hansen is nowhere to be found—and neither is the killer.

In St. Louis, the televangelist Ray Williams is about to lose his show—until one of his regular attendees approaches him with an idea that will help him save it. Despite his initial misgivings, Ray agrees to give it a try. He can’t deny his attraction to this woman, and besides, she’d assured him the plan is just—God gave her the instructions in a dream.

Multiple story lines entwine throughout this compelling mystery, delving into the topics of murder, religious faith, and the inherent dangers in blindly accepting faith as truth. While Reverend Williams is swept up in his newfound success and plans for his wedding, Captain Turner can only hope that she and her team will catch the Hansens’ cunning killer—before more bodies surface.  from Goodreads

This covers a few touchy subjects.  What kind of woman might murder her own children?  Shouldn’t the fake men and women of faith that appear on infomercials be held accountable for milking money out of trusting souls?  Why do seemingly good men fall for the women who will most likely ruin their lives?  How far would a friend go to look out for your interests?

I liked Linda, the captain who couldn’t get murdered children out of her mind while the killer still ran free.  I hated the woman she was after, just like I was supposed to do.  Most of the book was about a good man falling prey to a devious woman and becoming a man who lost his moral code.  It was hard to read in that respect.  I liked getting to know a few of the people directly affected by his ministry and thought that was well done.

It’s hard to say I liked it, because there was so much evil compromising people of faith.  But it was a read that was hard to put down after about halfway through and the killer was one that will be hard to forget.  A well done first novel.