Not This Time

Book synopsis from the publisher:

Small town scandal. International terrorist attack. Who among them is the traitor? Sara and Beth have built a multi-million dollar business together, but their once solid friendship is now strained. Beth is leery of Sara's husband, and when he is kidnapped, authorities consider Beth their prime suspect. Then, their small town of Seagrove Village is rocked by an act of terrorism, and Beth doesn't know who to trust. Someone she knows is linked to the attack, but who? Is there a connection to Crossroads Crisis Center? In the midst of confusion and fear, Beth finds herself attracted to a man from her past. She knows she shouldn't fall in love with him, but she can't resist or even explain their bond. As her world unravels around her, she wonders, is it possible to be beyond redemption?

My take:

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Last year I read the first two books in the Crossroads Crisis Center series (read my review of Deadly Ties here), and loved them. It didn't take me very long into Not This Time to remember why I loved the first two books so much. Hinze is an expert at creating memorable and believable characters that stay in the mind long after the reader is finished with a book. All of the twists and turns with NINA (the terrorist organization in the book), Sara and Robert's relationship, and Beth and Joe's fledgling relationship had me turning pages (on my Kindle) as fast as I could to find out what would happen! I would highly recommend this book and series to anyone who enjoys suspense!! This one gets a 5!

Not This Time was quite a thriller and a real page turner. A book I had intended to read over 2 days turned out to be read all in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down! There were so many secrets and twists and turns going on in the book I just had to find out what was happening as soon as possible!

The book starts with one of the police finding everyone attending a wedding passed out on the ground. There was a chemical terrorist attack which left one person dead. Everything just started getting crazy from there. Soon after, Sara's husband has been kidnapped. Her best friend Beth rushes to her side - but since Beth and Sara's husband Robert did not like each other at all, many think that Beth had something to do with it.

The book has a lot of different characters and sub plots going on - but it was not too hard to keep track of who was who and what their storyline is - a lot of times I have trouble keeping up with multiple characters but it was not tough to follow at all for me in this book. (There are a lot of characters tossed at you in the first chapter, just a warning.)

I'm not sure what else I can actually say to summarize this book without giving everything away - so be sure to read the blurb below and if you think you have any interest in reading a thriller that you won't want to put down, then be sure to pick up Not This Time by Vicki Hinze. (Although this is the third book in the Crossroads Crisis center - so you may want to start with Forget Me Not and Deadly Ties - I haven't read either of these (yet) and I had no trouble following along - but you may prefer to read them in order!)

The book also includes a reader's guide at the end if you want to hold a book club meeting and discuss the questions or just to check out yourself when you are done to make you think a bit more about the story.

I received a free copy of this book from Waterbrook's Blogging For Books program in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated and all opinions are my own.

Not This Time the last of this great series by Vicki and it's a great book. Very suspenseful and one great ride! I really try to figure out who the bad guy is before he or she is revealed and I was unprepared for this one. With strong characters, as usual, Vicki led me on the merry chase of catching the wrong-doer and cheering on the those who were going after him/her.

I love visiting Seagrove Village and all of it's charming characters and when the story opens with a terrorist attack there I was as shocked as the rest of them. Who would harm those lovely people?

Beth, one of the main characters is one of my favorite people. Probably because I could relate to her dilemma. She didn't trust her best friend's husband and that put a huge strain on their relationship. I didn't trust my best friend's husband either. But when Sara starts getting all cryptic and weird... well that didn't help things at all, especially with all of the crazy stuff happening there in Seagrove village.

And who wouldn't wish for someone like Joe in their life? Strong, mysterious, and compassionate. He sounds almost better than my favorite dark chocolate truffles. I say almost because it takes a lot to beat out my dark chocolate truffles.

Not This Time is a great story to end the series. Or is it really at an end? Well, you will just have to read it and find out for yourself. You won't be disappointed and may find yourself revisiting the series again.

I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

It always amazes me that no matter how long I do this, I still sometimes forget to check that books I choose for review are in a series. So Not This Time took me a little while to get to because I had to get Forget Me Not and Deadly Ties from the library before I could read the third book. This is definitely a series that you need to read in order or you'll be completely lost. It's worth the time, though because all three are great stories.

Not This Time brings us the story of Sara and Beth, best friends and business partners. Despite being extremely smart and excelling in business, both women believe that they are not worth loving. Sara's response to that is to jump into an abusive marriage. Beth's answer is to avoid relationships completely. We get to see Sara grow and blossom, but we don't see much change in Beth, even with a good man pursuing a relationship with her.

I enjoyed seeing the Seagrove Village townspeople again and following their stories. I always love a series (as long as it isn't too long) because I like to see characters I've already gotten to know. Unless you're reading Outlander, one book isn't long enough to get to know several characters well. In this third book, the locals have to face the fact that one of their own is responsible for the recent terrorist attack. While everyone scrambles to stay alive while figuring out who the culprit is, Sara and Beth are also navigating budding romances with the men who want to be in their lives.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was Beth's persistent self-disparagement. No matter how many ways or times Joe or anyone else told her that he cared, she was still sure that he didn't. Gah. There comes a point when that goes from sweet and humble to just plain annoying. There was also one exchange between Mark and Beth in which he asks her if Joe calls her "sha", which apparently means "sweetheart". He tells her that Joe has never called anyone else that. How does he know what it means if Joe has never used it? How does he know that Joe has never called anyone else that? They're not attached at the hip. They also spend months at a time apart since they got out of the Army. How does he even know to ask if Joe calls Beth "sha"? That's not something that Joe would have told Mark. Not phrased that way. That's pretty much my only complaint about the whole series. Check it out.

This story starts out fast and furious when Detective Jeff Meyers arrives at a wedding and the guests all appear to be dead. If you like Christian suspense, I think you'll like Not This Time. Beth Dawson and Sara Jones-Tayton have been close friends for year. Beth feels protective toward her friend. When Sara meets Robert Tayton their friendship is strained because of Beth's distrust of the man. Robert is kidnapped, and Beth is the cops' prime suspect. Sara has health issues forcing Beth to come up with the ransom. When an act of terrorism strikes Seagrove Village, Beth is not sure who to trust. A man from Beth's past reappears. She knows her heart is too fragile to fall in love with him, but the bond is too strong to ignore. This book has it all. Suspense, tension, love and a thread of redemption. Hinze tells the story at a brisk pace, and you won't want to put the book down once you begin. I encourage you to get your own copy of Not This Time.