Girl Lost

Girl Lost by Kate Angelo

A LOST BABY

Luna Rosati found acceptance and comfort with her childhood foster family, but when she became pregnant at sixteen, she gave the baby up for adoption and left without a word. Now a CIA counterintelligence officer, Luna wants to reconcile her fractured sense of self by finding the only blood family she has--the teenage daughter she's never met. As Luna closes in on learning the girl's identity with the help of her mentor, Stryker, she prepares to meet him in her old neighborhood--the last place she wants to be. Then Stryker is captured.   

AN INESCAPABLE PAST

Special Agent Corbin King changed his last name to escape the shadow of his convicted father, serving a life sentence. When he runs into Luna, the object of his failed teenage romance, the two must put their pasts aside and work together to expose a secret that someone's willing to kill for.

A DEADLY THREAT

But when they encounter a kidnapping, missing bodies, and murder, the secrets Corbin and Luna are keeping from one another are only the beginning of the threat they face with more than their own lives at stake.

Preview: An enjoyable Christian action thriller with an absorbing second-chance romance.  

What I liked: 

The relationship between Luna and Corbin was particularly well done.  Luna and Corbin were just teenagers when they gave up their baby, and they broke up soon after.  Thus, when they see each other again, there are years of hurt and resentment they need to work through as they get to know each other again.  They move slowly from begrudging allies to trusted partners, and I loved seeing their relationship rekindle.  

There are so many layers of intrigue, and I believe that works to the story’s benefit.  Corbin’s boss’s daughter has also gone missing at the same time that Stryker has gone missing, and Corbin and Luna are on the case and get into several tight scrapes. Both get beaten up and injured as they pursue the investigation - and the novel adds a level of realism by repeatedly referring back to their injuries.  

There are some great action sequences, none better than an early scene where Luna, Corbin, and some other agents infiltrate a house that was booby-trapped, and their harrowing attempt to escape the fiery house was nail-biting.  

Even though they don’t physically appear on the page that much, the supporting characters Stryker and Trinity make a big impact.  Stryker is a mentor to both Corbin and Luna, and he is the leader of the Warrior program for troubled teens.  It is obvious that he cares about the teens under his care and about Luna and Corbin as adults, too.  Trinity is a missing troubled teen who, we found out, Stryker repeatedly rescued even though she keeps running away, and Luna wonders if there’s something more to her relationship with Trinity, even though they’ve never met…

I thought the Christian elements were well timed - focusing on Christ’s love and forgiveness just as Luna and Corbin were moving toward forgiving each other.  I personally felt that when religious elements were brought up, they weren’t handled in a preachy way and were woven together well with the story.  

The ending, appropriate for a Christian book, is heartwarming and well-deserved after the trials and troubles Luna and Corbin have been through.  It gives you all the best feels.  

What I didn’t like (minor spoilers):

There is a big reveal late in the book that was not given any setup.  It just happens. This is disappointing, because so much of the rest of the book weaved in plenty of other twists and turns that were expertly handled. But for such a big reveal, I just wish it hadn’t come out of nowhere.  

Overall Review: A great thriller and second-chance romance, this is an exciting, engaging Christian suspense novel.  4 and ½ Stars

Book Rating: PG-13 for action violence and depictions of corpses.