Guest Post: Light in the Darkness

Guest blogger: Jessica R. Patch

“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” ~John 1:4-5

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse

In my newest thriller, The Garden Girls, my villain places victims at lighthouses to cast light on them, to spotlight his wicked work as he’s tattooed flowers on their bodies. He thinks he is a god of his own making and that he is invincible.

But darkness is not invincible. It never has been. It never will be.

The night Jesus was arrested he spoke to the Pharisees and He said, “Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.” (Luke 22:53)

In this one moment, darkness had its way but even then, God was still sovereign. Darkness was wielded for God’s redemptive purposes and Jesus allowed Himself to be hung on that cross to set us free, to show us light in darkness, to bring us hope, to rescue us and one day He’ll guide us home.

Cape Hatteras

Darkness seems to reign in The Garden Girls and what’s happening isn’t edited out, as the Bible doesn’t edit out darkness, but the Light does shine. God uses that darkness for His own redemptive purposes and we see the sacrificial love displayed in a beautiful moment.

Lighthouses are beacons of light, leading the blind to shore, to safety. Without the light, ships would crash and people would be lost. I wanted to use them in the books to showcase that even though it appears tragedy and darkness overpowered the beauty of light—it does not. The light is far greater, and stronger than that.

Sometimes evil masquerades as an angel of light, as my villain does in The Garden Girls, but I assure you, he’s only reigning in darkness for a moment.

Then light shines!

Do you like lighthouses? Have you ever been inside one?

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About the Story:

FBI agent Tiberius Granger has seen his share of darkness. But a new case sets him on edge. It’s not just the macabre way both victims—found posed in front of lighthouses—are tattooed with flowers that match their names. There’s also the unsettling connection to the woman Ty once loved and to the shadowy cult they both risked everything to escape.

Bexley Hemmingway’s sister has gone missing, and she’ll do anything to find her—including teaming up with Ty. That may prove a mistake, and not just because Ty doesn’t know he’s the father of her teenaged son. It seems the killer is taunting Ty, drawing everyone close to him into deeper danger.

As the slashing winds and rain of a deadly hurricane approach the coast of North Carolina, the search leads Ty and Bex to an island that hides a grisly secret. But in his quest for the truth, Ty has ignored the fact that this time, he’s not just the hunter. Every move has been orchestrated by a killer into a perfect storm of terror, and they will need all their skills to survive…

Read Eli’s review of The Garden Girls.

About the Author:

Jessica R. Patch is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author known for her dry wit, signature twists, and complex characters. She loves reading true crime books, discussing cold cases over chips and salsa, and hunting down serial killers in her romantic suspense novels and thrillers. She resides in the Memphis area with her family and her spoiled Shetland Sheepdog. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, Patched In, at her website and receive a free short thriller.

Connect with Jessica through her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Romance, Split Time
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: April 2024

1910

Effie James’ sister falls into a catatonic state after witnessing a horrific crime. Effie is determined to protect her from a killer’s reprisal. The problem is no body has been found and no one believes her. When a British gentleman arrives in town searching for his missing wife who was last seen at none other than 322 Predicament Avenue, the scene of the murder, he believes Effie. However, her relief is short lived when their search for the truth uncovers secrets some have already killed for.

Present Day

Drowning under the weight of social anxiety and grief, Norah Richman struggles to run her late great-aunt’s bed and breakfast at 322 Predicament Avenue. Norah longs to escape the haunted building and all its memories, but she is determined to keep her murdered sister’s dream alive. BnB guest and podcaster Sebastian Blaine’s investigation into the past pokes dormant ghosts back to life, threatening to bring death once more to the doorstep of 322 Predicament Avenue.

Jaime Jo Wright returns with another gothic tale that will keep you guessing until the end. As always, the author pens vivid settings that transport the reader deep into other worlds and time periods. It’s no secret that I love pretty much everything about her books—the unique characters, creepy mysteries, mind-twisting plots—but the settings are hands down my favorite. They stick with me long, and I mean LONG after finishing the last page. I have read all Wright’s stories and her early books stick with me as clearly as her latest ones.

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue delivers all Wright’s trademark elements—ghouls of the human kind, breath-snatching mysteries, and of course a message of hope. I strongly recommend Wright’s novels to readers who enjoy stories on the eerie side that don’t sacrifice morality and faith.

Review copy provided as part of the Austenprose Book Tour. Thank you!

Cover Reveal: A Lady of Conscience by Mimi Matthews

Is it July yet?! I am so beyond excited for Mimi Matthews’ A Lady of Conscience I can’t even begin to tell you. Hannah and James only made a brief appearance in Return to Satterthwaite Court but they stole the show for me. I kid you not, I reread their sections, hoping to somehow see beyond the words on the page and catch a deeper glimpse of them. Of course, that did not happen, and I’ve been dying to read their story ever since.

While we still have a little longer to wait before experiencing their story — too long if you ask me — I’m honored to share the synopsis and new cover. What do you think?

About the Book:

West Country beauty Hannah Heywood may be quiet with fashionable strangers, but when it comes to animals in need, she has no trouble finding her voice. Newly arrived in Bath for her very first season, all she desires is to find one like-minded gentleman. A man of warmth and compassion, as sensitive to animals as he is to people. But if such a man exists, he dare not approach her. Not with the tall, blond, and menacing Viscount St. Clare standing in the way.

James Beresford, Viscount St. Clare has often been described as a sentient block of ice. A man so cold and dispassionate, he would never suit a young lady of Hannah’s disposition. And she would certainly never suit him. Focused on repairing his family’s infamous reputation, James requires a diamond of the first water. The daughter of a duke or a marquess, at least, not a simple country girl with a passion for four-legged creatures.

And yet, there’s something about conscience-driven young Hannah that draws James, first to Bath, and then into one increasingly hare-brained scheme after another. She confounds him at every turn, subverting his expectations and threatening to do what no lady has succeeded in doing before—thawing his ice-cold heart.

The Cover:

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning proper Victorian romances, including Fair as a Star, a Library Journal Best Romance of 2020; Gentleman Jim, a Kirkus Best Book of 2020; and The Work of Art, winner of the 2020 HOLT Medallion. Mimi’s novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Shelf Awareness, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine.

In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats.

Connect with Mimi through her website, Facebook, and Twitter, Pinterest.

The Garden Girls (FBI: Strange Crimes Unit #3) by Jessica R. Patch

Genre: Mystery, Romance, Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Love Inspired Trade
Publication Date: April 2024

In his youth, Tiberius Granger escaped a cult. The girl he loved wasn’t so fortunate. Now an FBI agent, he hunts monsters, unravels the macabre, and seeks justice for the victims. His latest case has him on the trail of The Artist, a deranged serial killer who kidnaps women, tattooing them with flowers that match their names and posing them in front of lighthouses. A shocking connection to his past brings him face to face with Bexley Hemmingway, the woman he had loved and believed dead, and a teenaged son he never knew existed. But to find Bex’s missing sister, Ty must push beyond the hurt, anger, and betrayal, and return to a place he’d hoped never to revisit.

Wow, wow, WOW! A psychological thriller through and through, reading The Garden Girls feels likes stepping into an episode of Criminal Minds. This adrenaline-pumping tale snatches the reader’s breath from the first page as a twisted villain, broken protagonists, and mind-bending plot comes to life, all filtered through a lens of hope.

A gifted wordsmith, Jessica R. Patch painted the setting with such vibrant strokes, it became its own entity. The images rose around me as vividly as any of the characters. And no, the lighthouse didn’t bias this beacon-loving reader, though I reveled in that addition. Patch penned the Outer Banks, the storm, everything so expertly that I was transported into their midst. Even now, long after finishing the book, I still feel the rain drenching my clothes and the wind whipping my face.

The ending wrecked me as it depicted a beautiful reflection of God’s love. Have a box of tissues and your heart ready to go through the wringer.

I only discovered Patch a year ago, but she immediately skyrocketed to one of my favorite psychological thriller authors. While this story could potentially stand alone, I recommend starting with Her Darkest Secret and A Cry in the Dark, not only to fully understand the characters but because this series is too good to miss any part of it.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble

Genre: Mystery, Romance
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 2024

Widow Carly Harris barely scrapes a living for herself and her infant son on her unpredictable career as an antique dealer. When her grandmother suggests that she and her sisters renovate the family’s large home and convert it into a bed and breakfast, she moves to Beaufort and begins the task of cleaning out the house. As she works, she finds a secret her late husband Eric hid — one that points toward her family’s unknown history and a possible connection to Eric’s enigmatic murder.

With the help of Lucas Bennet, her next door neighbor and a homicide detective, Carly embarks on the hunt for the provenance of a family heirloom she believes to be a lost Fabergé egg. However, the quest for the truth can come at a high price, including the cost of those she loves.

Fragile Designs delivers a tangled mystery that scales from small-town USA to Russian Mafia. Having heard great things about Colleen Coble’s books, I excitedly delved into this book. The plot, however, felt a bit too implausible. I enjoyed the antique heirloom angle, the few glimpses we got of the B and B remodeling, and the complicated family dynamics. But as the scope widened to incorporate mobsters and international crime, it became too farfetched.

Nonetheless, it provided an entertaining read that suspense and mystery fans can enjoy. I definitely want to give another one of her books a try, especially one that sticks with small-town issues and family/community relationships since I did enjoy those parts.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!