Title: Criss Cross (A Holly Novel #1)
Author: C.C. Warrens
Pages: 400
Year: 2017
Publisher: Self-published
My rating is 5 out of 5 stars.
Holly Smith is woman on the run. She pays for everything in cash. She only uses a basic program online to get business for herself as a freelance photographer. She has hopes that she might be able to settle down in this community. She has had this hope before, but it has been dashed to pieces. She has been forced to flee for her life more than once. She has no memories of her life before the age of ten. Her life in the foster care system was terrible, leaving her with an intense fear of men.
What she initially thinks is a random attack by two men in a park takes a deadly turn when her attackers turn up dead. She immediately prepares to run but the detective investigating her case offers police protection until the case is solved. Little does he know what he has committed himself to solving. More things happen, ramping up the danger to Holly. Her memory loss continues to frustrate the detective. Marx discovers that Holly is not the first person this killer has stalked. Another death occurs, and Holly decides she must return home to confront her past in the hope that she will remember.
Wow! This book kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. There was no let up on the adrenaline rush. Just when you think you might get a moment to breathe, think again! The characters were a joy to get to know. Jace was a great best friend who wouldn’t let Holly completely disengage from interaction with others. Marx was more than a detective doing his job; he came to care about Holly as a person, not as a case to solve. Holly had a horrific childhood after age nine. She encounters God when she was at her lowest, and she refuses to give Him up. She clings to Him as the source of her strength and survival. I’ve already bought book two in the series, so stay tuned for my review.
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. ( )

C. C. Warrens is a new Christian Fiction author and if she continues to write novels like her first, Criss Cross, I will continue reading them. The book is full of edge-of-your-seat, hold-your-breath suspense. And you don’t know the whole story until much later in the novel, which I love! That’s true suspense. If you are worried about bad language or sexual scenes, don’t. It’s a very clean novel, yet deals with tough situations and yet the author writes in such a way that you don’t miss the bad language that most secular novelist think they must include to captivate the reader. The main character is a Christian, but the book is not overtly Christian, so I feel anyone could read this and love it.

Holly, the main character, is a photographer that lives completly off the grid. She has many quirks and a past that will not let go of her. Her quick, witty banter with her best friend, Jace, and later with Detective Marx is totally wonderful. A very tense situation can turn funny with the wit of Holly.

Holly’s past has caught up with her and she needs help, yet due to her past, she is reluctant to accept it. She isolates herself and likes, no demands, her personal space. And getting her to trust is very hard, but totally worth it.

You will find yourself holding your breath because you are so scared for her and you will be sitting on the edge of your favorite reading chair wondering what’s going to happen and how will it turn out. But you will also smile and a few times laugh and the funny things that happen during tense moments of suspense.

And the ending? Oh my goodness!!! I can’t wait until Book 2, Cross Fire, comes out in November 2017. And I believe there will be a Book 3 also. Yeah!!!! Love this new author and her novel. Looking forward to reading many more books to come. ( )