I’ve decided to try something new this year. Instead of just posting book reviews, I’m going to also chat about one of the themes from the book. This “Theme Chatter” section will usually be fairly short, but hopefully it will be something you enjoy. If you have thoughts to share about any given theme under discussion, please make good use of the comment section.
Theme Chatter
One theme in Life Flight by Lynette Eason for me was being completely surprised. I’m not typically one who loves surprises in real life, because a lot of surprises aren’t good ones. However, I do love gifts, which are surprises in a way. Opening those beautifully colored packages to see what’s inside fills me with such anticipation, and then seeing what someone thought to give me makes me smile. It’s fun to be thought of in that way, don’t you think?
What’s one happy surprise you’ve received lately?
Book Review
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.
Life Flight kicks off the Extreme Measures series in superb, hang-on-to-your-hat fashion. With a plethora of twists I didn’t see coming and a creepy villain who belongs on Criminal Minds, this book kept me on the edge of my seat and flipping pages at a furious pace. One of my friends told me the shockers kept coming in this one, and having that proven true was spectacular. Sometimes Eason’s baddies are predictable to me (though I still love all the books of hers that I’ve ever read), but this one… oh man, were these baddies twisted and surprising, and, yes, the shockers kept coming until the very end.
It was really fun to have an EMS helicopter pilot who loved doing renovation work on her house as the main character. Penny Carlton was hardworking and smart as a whip, but she had moments of fear and weakness too. She was a great role model for readers, because of this complexity that made her totally realistic.
Holton Satterfield, the leading man, was a gentleman throughout, but I loved that he showed his instinct to protect the women he cared about, whether girlfriend or sister. Once again, we have a great role model. This guy displayed real masculinity that every guy ought to try to emulate. He was brave, courageous, not afraid to admit when he was wrong (though there was a battle of his will on that at first, which is natural and was well written), and chivalrous. This type of man is exactly what the world needs right now.
I wish I could talk about the twists, but that would spoil the story for other readers. Suffice to say that my jaw dropped on more than one occasion. My mind was blown on at least three of the plot twists, and that delighted me to no end. It’s yet to be known if this Extreme Measures series will surpass the Women of Justice trilogy as my favorite Eason series so far, but it has a greater chance of taking that top slot than all the series in between—and there have been quite a few great ones.
High stakes were present from page one, but they skyrocketed with each new turn of the journey. Closing the book when I had to work one of my jobs was difficult. This is the exact type of story I love reading, and I’m glad there are going to be more installments soon. Not soon enough for my taste, but I understand it takes time to write a novel. The next book, Crossfire, just rocketed to the top of my most-anticipated list.
My favorite thing about this book, as with all other Eason novels, is that the author showed how God overcomes the evil of the world. Evil may have its day, but it doesn’t win in the end; God does. That was such a beautiful thing to see unfold, and it’s true in real life too. This exquisite thread was a joy to witness.
The way that family and friends were woven in for both Penny and Holton was lovely. I enjoyed the high stakes involved with these interesting connections. I can hardly wait to see how similar things are done for Penny’s friends as well. I hope their backgrounds prove to be just as wonderful and complicated and heartbreaking as Holton’s and Penny’s were. Yet another reason I can hardly wait for the next book to arrive!
Content: replacement expletives, alcohol, drunkenness
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