Caffeinated Book Reviewer: Downfall by Terri Blackstock

Emily Covington has turned her life around after a drug addiction, but her family still has trouble trusting her. Though Emily has committed herself to a year-long treatment program and has been sober for almost a year beyond that, even her mother walks on eggshells around her, fearing she'll relapse. After her behavior during her drug years, Emily realizes she has a lot to prove.

When police discover a homemade bomb under Emily's car, and she then learns the wife of one of her friends was murdered that same morning, she knows things are deadly serious. But who wants Emily dead? And why?A conversation she had with two men, an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and a plan for a double murder all conspire for one explosive ride ... and Emily is the only one who can identify the killer and save the life of the next potential victim. As she frantically works to solve this ever more complicated puzzle, Emily finds herself playing right into the killer's hands.(synopsis from Barnes and Noble)

Terri Blackstock’s Intervention series has been a hit with her fans. The last book in this series is entitled Downfall and it is a captivating, suspenseful, murder mystery. Blackstock captured me on page one and I consumed this story in a little less than three hours.

The protagonist is Emily Covington and she has been drug free for almost two years. She recently started going to college. She lives at home with her mother and brother and works weekends at a rehabilitation center. She is slowly piecing back together her life. The Covington family moved away from Jefferson City to Atlanta. This move was made for several reasons; her Mom got a better job and her mom’s boyfriend, Detective Kent Harlan lives nearby. If you asked Emily’s mom she’d say it was to get Emily away from the people who influenced her former life. I really liked Emily and I found her story to be inspiring. I found her to be thoughtful, intelligent and determined.

When a homemade car bomb is found on Emily’s car, her mom immediately begins to worry that she is using again. After all she has been staying out late with her college friends. When Emily discovers that the wife of one of her friends was murdered that very same morning, she begins to remember bits and pieces of a conversation between two men. The tale that unfolds is fast paced, as Emily finds herself in hot water and races to stop a killer. Blackstock weaves a captivating mystery that kept me turning the pages. She does this while, brilliantly portraying addiction. We are plunged into the life of a recovering addict and we see the impact it has on not only the addict, but the family as well. While this could have been made the tale dark, Blackstock instead focused on redemption, faith, hope and healing. As a parent with teens, I felt for Emily’s mother as she struggled with believing her daughter. I felt her panic when she knew instinctively that Emily was lying. Blackstock captured that "mother bear protecting her cub mentality", that every mother experiences. We are also given a glimpse of how tough it is to overcome addiction and prove yourself, especially to the ones you hold dear. She does this all with a sprinkling of a faith and a murder mystery that kept me on edge.

I highly recommend Downfall to fans of suspense and faith based stories. While I did not read books one and two, I had no difficulty picking up the Covington’s story. The first book is entitled Intervention and the second is Vicious Cycle. Downfall will be published on February 28, 2012. I have read and reviewed one of Blackstock’s previous work, Shadow in Serenity,and she is on my list of authors to read. Downfall will be available in paper, audio, and eBook formats.

I want to thank Zondervan publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I gave this novel 4 coffee cups out of 5.