Announcing: “Philosophy of Romance” Book of the Year for 2011:

"The Officer’s Secret" -- an ‘Ideal Romantic Suspense Novel’!

One of the Best Love Inspired Suspense Romances I've Ever Read!



"The Officer’s Secret"

Debby Giusti

Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense

Miniseries: Military Investigations Book 1
May, 2011, 224 pages

(Book 2  "The Captian's Mission" now Available
Read Review of "The Captian's Mission")

"The Officer’s Secret"  was an easy standout choice for the Philosophy of Romance “Book of the Year” Award. When I first wrote my review, back in May, I called it the "Best Love Inspired Suspense Romance I’ve ever read.  I’m still as enthusiastic about the book today as I was back then.  I have been watching this author since I read her Christmas novella, "Yule Die" in the "Christmas Peril" , December 2009, Love Inspired romance. I thought "Yule Die" was the perfect novella and I have been using it as a model for my own novellas.

The Philosophy of Romance “Book of the Year” is not awarded simply because I liked the book better than any of the other books I’ve reviewed during the past year. There’s more to it. The winner of our “Book of the Year” must be demonstrably excellent! In other words, there must be many praiseworthy elements of the book that I can point to as proof of the book's excellence. 

Excellence at Every Level!

“The Officer’s Secret” is a paradigm Romantic Suspense novel. It does everything it should do and it does it well. The story was strong enough to sell the publisher on the multibook Military Investigations series. That is very strong in today's competitive publishing market.

I can say this with enthusiasm because ‘The Officer’s Secret” is outstanding on three different levels: it’s an intriguing mystery, a breathtaking suspense story and a compelling romance. This is very unusual because normally there is not enough time in a suspense story to develop a satisfying romance. (Love Inspired Suspense Romances tend to be short format and take place over a few days.)  In a suspense story the suspense action normally gets center stage. Moreover, there often is not a mystery to solve in a suspense. The 'suspense' often involves whether the hero and heroine will survive the threat that is causing the suspense. 

The Tension Never Lets Up

“The Officer’s Secret” is a very good suspense story because there is the constant threat of death right up to the last page. To add even more suspense, the heroine’s dead sister warned her not to trust any of the authorities including the military police. Even the weather threatens to kill the hero and heroine! This story is about as suspenseful as a suspense gets! 

There's a Real Mystery

The mystery is intricate and well plotted providing ample red herrings and logical twists and turns.  I doubt that even hardened mystery fans will figure out ‘who done it’. I’m good at solving mysteries and I couldn’t do it. The romance also works well because both the hero and heroine are at turning points in their lives and both have suffered similar traumatic experiences. The hero and heroine are ideally suited for each other and it is enjoyable to watch them come to this realization in the story given all the trust issues and secrets they have. How could they fall in love in a few days? Because they are perfect for each other. 

The Story: 

The heroine, Maggie Bennett, finds her sister, a major in the Army, dead in the sister's attic -- an apparent suicide. Before she died she called her sister to come to the Army post and help her out of some problem. She was also told not to trust the authorities.  

The hero, Nate Patterson, is a militarily policeman in the CID, criminal investigations division. Everyone seems convinced the sister’s death was a suicide. All evidence leans that way. However, Maggie is convinced it was murder and she tries her best to get Nate to investigate it as a murder. There's a problem however, because Maggie cannot trust the military police (who might be involved in a smuggling cover-up). As such, she can’t give Nate all the reasons for believing it might not be a suicide. Since Nate suspects that Maggie is holding back information, he has trust issues with her as well. If she is innocent why is she holding back information? Could Maggie be involved in the killing?  Is that why she is really at the Army post?

Of course, if it is not a suicide, then there is a murder (or group of murders) out there with a good reason to kill anyone who might try and show the death was a murder. This puts both the hero and heroine under constant danger of death. 

This is the first book in the author’s “Military Ingestions” series, (the Army version of NCIS). Actually, I liked this story better than the NCIS TV show and I used to be in the military police. The author was an 'Army brat' with excellent current military advisors in the family so she has all her military details down pat.  

Don’t Miss This "Philosophy of Romance" Book of the Year Thriller Mystery! 

5-Star Military Suspense!