Colleen Coble is well known for her Christian Fiction, Romantic Suspense stories. I have read many of them and was happy to read and review these two published in 2022. A Stranger’s Game is a standalone story, while The Edge of Dusk is the first in a new series. I listened to one and read one and enjoyed them both to varying degrees. Scroll down for my reviews.

A Stranger’s Game by Colleen Coble, Liz Hill (Narrator)

Published January 4th 2022 by Thomas Nelson

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Stranger’s Game is a standalone, romantic suspense story from Colleen Coble. In this story we meet heiress and hotel magnate’s daughter, Torie Bergstrom. Torie had gotten her best friend a job at one of the family’s hotels on Jekyll Island, where she ends up dead. The case is closed and deemed a drowning accident, but Torie knows that couldn’t have happened. Lisbeth was terrified of water and wouldn’t have gone anywhere near the water let alone for a swim. Torie feels responsible, so goes undercover at the hotel to see if she can find out what really happened. When pills are found in her room, suicide is suspected, but there is noone seems to think she was depressed or had any issues. While there she meets Joe Abbott and his daughter, Hailey, rescuing baby turtles. They become friends and he agrees to help her, but he is unsure if she is on the right track.

This story started very abruptly, so it took me some time to figure out what was going on, but once I did, I really enjoyed the book. There is a lot going on, with Torie’s life being in danger, the more she snoops. When her identity is revealed, even more storylines are revealed. There seems to be some connection to her mother’s suicide many years before. When another death occurs, the urgency picks up as well as the tension. I was pleased with how all the various plotlines come together in the end. I enjoyed the addition of Hailey, she was a real sweetheart. There was definitely chemistry between Torie and Joe, but the romance is light and does not overpower the mystery. This is a Christian Fiction story, so there is a faith basis to the story. It is a natural addition with Joe sharing scripture with Hailey and pointing out God’s presence in the many things that happened in the story. I enjoyed all aspects of this story and recommend it to those who enjoy Christian Fiction. Liz Hill narrated this story and I was pleased with her voices and the expression she used in the story to add emotion and suspense. I recommend the audiobook or any format of this story if you don’t enjoy audiobooks.

Edge of Dusk (Annie Pederson #1) by Colleen Coble

Published July 12th 2022 by Thomas Nelson

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Edge of Dusk is the first book in the new Annie Pederson series by Colleen Coble. It is a Christian romantic suspense story featuring a female ranger, Annie Pederson. The book is set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, close to my neck of the woods. It is the same setting as a previous series, but you so not have to read that series to enjoy this book. Annie has had a lot of tragedy in her life. Her sister was kidnapped and Annie left for dead when she was only nine. Her sister, nor her body, were ever found. Annie feels responsible for her sister vanishing. A few months earlier, her husband and parents were killed in a boating accident so she is now a single mother, trying to run the Tremolo Resort and Marina that was left her by her parents, raise her daughter and work as a ranger. When a body is found in the lake, she works with the sheriff’s office to help solve this crime, but also to see if it ties into the other murders and disappearances that happened in the past. With all this going on, her ex-boyfriend, Dr. Jon Dustan, returns after nine years away, bringing a nine year old crime back into the public eye. As they run into each other often, those old feelings bubble back to the surface. Can Annie solve the mystery surrounding the dead man as well as solve other cold cases before another victim turns up? Will she finally be able to cure Jon of wrongdoing?

This was a complex mystery with lots of loose ends, false leads, red herrings, plenty of suspects and danger. As Annie and Jon begin snooping around, you could feel the tenseness and heaviness develop. How did the disappearance of the two young women 9 years ago, connect to the recent death? This was a gripping read that kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. I really liked how Colleen Coble developed the relationship between Annie and Jon, it built slowly, but the chemistry was definitely there. I was a little disappointed in the ending as it seemed a bit to perfect a way to wrap things up, but I enjoyed the story enough to read the next book in the series to see what Annie gets up to next.