It was with great anticipation that I started Dee Henderson’s newest book. A well established writer in the Christian Romantic Suspense genre, Ms. Henderson writes books based in the world of the military and emergency forces. The O’Malley Family Series resonated with me in a way few book achieve, and, having had family in the military, I found her Uncommon Heroes series firmly grounded in reality. Honestly, the only one of her books I felt fell a little flat was her one stand alone, Before I Wake, and even it was well worth a Sunday’s afternoon reading. I expected Full Disclosure to be somewhere in the middle of her books, but it quickly vaulted to the top as I read it in – mostly – one sitting. I say mostly since there were a couple trips to my bookshelf to double check parts of her other books as a sneaking suspension turned into a glorious reality. The O’Malley’s were back.
Ann Silver, Midwest Homicide Investigator, and Paul Falcon FBI take center stage in a book that relies on puzzles and secrets more than suspense and personal peril. This felt like a very different book than most of Ms. Henderson’s prior offerings. I’m not sure if Ann and Paul were actually that much older than previous characters or if that was simply who they were, but they brought a great deal of maturity to their relationship, the case, and how they handled their pasts. I was particular smitten by the glimpse into the “current” lives of past characters. They too seemed more relaxed and more confident in themselves and their choices. And my absolute favorite part was the blurring of the line between author and character.
Unlike the O’Malley books and Uncommon Heroes, Full Disclosure also presents moral quandaries well worth pondering once the story is over. Most of the other stories seemed pretty straight forward in terms of the good guys and the bad guys. While there is an undisputable big bad in this story, many secondary characters are harder to place. Even the main characters aren’t completely without fault as layers of lies, cover-ups, and questionable decisions are peeled back.
I had high hopes for Full Disclosure. Higher, probably, than is safe for a new book from a favorite author. But it easily exceeded them becoming my favorite of Ms. Henderson’s books, one of my favorite books ever, and definitely in my top five best books of the year. It was one of those rare reads that surpasses genre preference and slides neatly into the category of literature.