Oath of Honor by Lynette Eason

In her new novel Oath of Honor, Lynette Eason has offered a drama/mystery that would easily fit into any Friday night  television lineup.

Eason excels in placing her readers at the  heart of the action. I appreciate how she can weave her plot and truly make her main characters the readers eyes. I did not feel  the plot was overtly obvious and  never felt like I was moving too far ahead of Izzy and Ryan's discoveries. Eason really strives to lay her story out not without twists but still in a way that feels logically as Izzy and Ryan uncover their trail of clues.

As a main character, Izzy strikes me as your typical heroine. Easily likable thanks to her hard work ethic, her kind heart, and her appropriate mix of vulnerability and police smarts she easily holds this book together. I appreciate how relatable Eason makes her heroine, spiritual elements are not overly heavy but pop up in natural flowing ways given the high stress/short time frame of the narrative.

That said, those looking for a  book with a sermon should probably look elsewhere. Throughout the story I was constantly struck by how easily this could be turned into a series screenplay, bringing the strengths and weakness of that genre. 

The action and adventure kept me pressing on to discover Kevin's killer, the budding romance felt a little rushed but tempered thanks to the author's skillful use of established character history. 

Eason keeps her pace tight and fast which helps build the tension and convey the stress Izzy and Ryan were under in tangible ways. 

That said, some areas struggled though in the written format.

I felt that  the scenes with the family whether at home or during heavy emotional moments struggled to convey the nonverbal emotion that is so present in those moments. As a result, those scenes lost impact and  even felt awkward at times.

I was also unsure  how to interpret the mental health  aspect of the story line. I wish more emphasis had been placed on the differences between  illness and where the story eventually went (seriously don't want to give away spoilers).

3.75 stars out of 5

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."