Terri Blackstock SMOKE SCREEN Christian Mystery Smokerjumper

Smoke Screen by author Terri Blackstock is a stand-alone Christian mystery which is a delight to read, Brenna is a newly divorced mother of two young children. He ex-husband is using a custody conflict to further his appeal to the public for an upcoming mayoral race. Brenna is having problems dealing with her failed marriage and the threat of losing custody of her children. She loves her children and has been a very good mother. In order to cope with the stress of her problems, she has been drinking alone on the weekends while the children are with her ex. Has she totally lost control of this situation? She feels she has lost her faith but life has dealt her some unimaginable blows. She blames herself for the death of her father who was a preacher. No, she didn't actually cause his death, but the first love of her teenage life was Nate, and his father has been in prison for 14 years for the murder of her father. She remembers how her father did not want her around Nate because his father was an angry drunk. Brenna has many regrets and uncertainties as she opens her door one day to see an injured Nate standing before her.
Nate is an honest man who decided to leave home at age eighteen after his father is sentenced to prison. The local church had burned to the ground the day before Nate left home. Many people in the community felt he burned the church as revenge for his father going to prison for the murder of the church pastor. It was only a coincidence of the timing. Nate and Brenna had not talked again after her father was killed. Now that Nate is off work healing from burns he sustained in a wildfire event, he decides to talk with Brenna and let her know he still cares about her. He is surprised at how he finds her and feels compelled to try and help her.
Many people from their past have secrets that can affect Brenna and Nate. Will Nate be able to uncover those secrets and motives which have held him from pursuing the love of his life?
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.