A Cross to Kill by Andrew Huff

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. A complimentary review copy was provided to me. 

The weather lately has been wonderful. We had a few days in a row where the weather was rather warm and humid but this weekend brought the return of spring like days. I took the opportunity to sit on my front porch and start a book. I had just received a copy of A Cross to Kill by Andrew Huff, as a bonus to his new book Cross Shadow, so it was the book that I chose. John Cross is a former CIA assassin that found God and left his CIA life behind (mostly) and is now a pastor at a small church. Christine Lewis is a reporter who had been kidnapped in Jordan and is going to be executed on camera. When she is saved from a certain death through the amazing heroics of Cross and makes it home, she wants the chance to say thank you to the individual that rescued her and decides to seek him out. This unfortunately puts them both in danger's way.

The action started right on the first page and didn't really stop until the story was done; once I started reading I simply didn't want to put the book down. The author's description of the action was well done and allowed me to vividly picture what was happening in the story which helped draw me in. With the story in continuous motion, the author does a good job sharing about the characters over the course of the story, revealing more about them through background and dialog as the story unfolds. The story is told from a somewhat omniscient narrator point of view, still allowing the reader insight to what the characters are thinking and feeling. The characters were well developed and you quickly find yourself cheering on the main characters and loving the quirky supporting characters as well.

The story was full of drama, adventure and of course, that element of unknown that makes it a great thriller. Being a work of Christian fiction, there is an underlying thread of faith that is easy to read and well incorporated to the story line. John has a newer found faith and is still learning and struggles to not revert back to his former life. Through the course of the story, we see him sharing his faith and encouraging others to renew (or find) their faith. He wants others to learn from him and share the same type of benefits that his faith has provided to him. But, will his sharing be enough to help others take the high road and have the faith to get through this adventure with him? That being said, there was one short scene where the Christianity thread felt a little too forced and off pace from the rest of the book - but that was only about a page of the book and the story quickly moved forward leaving that slow section behind. The twists and turns leave the reader guessing and as often is the case, leaves you surprised and even shocked as you learn the truth. In balance to the suspense, or perhaps to help drive it, there is a bit of romance mixed in the story.

About the Book:A gripping debut thriller pits a man of God against terrorists—and his own deadly past.

John Cross is a small-town pastor, bent on leading his flock to follow God's calling. He's not the sort of man one would expect to have a checkered past.

But the truth is that the man behind the pulpit preaching to his sheep was once a wolf--an assassin for the CIA. When John decided to follow Christ, he put that work behind him, determined to do penance for all the lives he took. He vowed never to kill again.

Now someone wants the peaceful pastor to pay for his sins with his own life. And when a terrorist out for revenge walks into the church, John's secrets are laid bare. Confronted with his past, he must face his demons and discover whether a man can truly change. Can he keep his vow--even when the people he loves are in mortal danger? Will his congregation and the brave woman he's learning to care for be caught in the cross fire? In the end, John's life may be the only sacrifice he has left to offer...


About the Author:
Andrew Huff is the product director at Igniter Media, one of the largest church media companies in the nation. He has also spent ten years in church ministry as both a youth pastor and creative arts pastor. Andrew currently lives in Plano, Texas. This is his first novel. Learn more at www.andrewhuffbooks.com.

An action packed, mind bending suspense with a twist, I would recommend this book for anyone that likes a good suspense novel. I look forward to starting the second book shortly and have high hopes based on his first book.

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. A complimentary review copy was provided to me.