Conspiracy by Colleen Coble Review

 

I absolutely LOVED this final book in Colleen Coble's Sanctuary series. What a conclusion!! The author wrapped up the series that began with Ambush perfectly. Conspiracy continued the story of Blake and Paradise along with their family, friends, and enemies. The Sanctuary is the wildlife park that Blake's mother owns, the park were Paradise works as the veterinarian. We also get to see characters from the Tupelo Grove series that Colleen Coble co-authors with Rick Acker, plus her Pelican Grove series. So, if you are like me and you want to really get to know the characters in the order they are introduced, I would highly recommend reading the Pelican Grove series first. I would also recommend reading the Tupelo Grove books and the Sanctuary books in the order they were published, alternating between the two series. 

If knowing the relationship connections doesn't really bother you, I would still highly recommend reading the Sanctuary series in order as the main mystery has continued through the series. 

Also, if you haven't read the previous books, you may want to skip this review as there will be spoilers to the previous books.

You've been warned.

The story is told from the points of view of both Paradise and Blake, a couple who knew each other when they were younger and have now gotten back together when Paradise began working at the Sanctuary. They have gone through quite a bit already in this series, and the author wasn't done yet with all the danger she was going to put them through. A new character has also joined them in their quest to discover who killed her parents. She finally connected with her half brother Drew, who happens to be a police detective. 

While the story begins with a sweet scene with baby lemurs, the suspense quickly escalates as Paradise is warned off of digging into the cold case of her parents' murder. However, Blake, Paradise and Drew remain determined to bring the murderer to justice. Big cats play a big role in the danger that they are facing and bring some suspenseful scenes. But there are also wonderful moments with friends and family. I loved seeing Paradise and Blake's relationship continue to grow.

There were a whole lot of suspects and I have to admit, I was not sure who the culprit was. I definitely was surprised by one twist, though close to the actual big reveal, I was starting to suspect a certain person. The author definitely took me by surprise when everything was finally brought out into the open. 

Can I just ask, why in the world does the FMC always seem to do something stupid to get herself into a predicament in suspense books??? Okay, maybe not always, but I was a bit disappointed in Paradise for a certain scene. 

I appreciated that faith was important in the lives of the characters. This is a passage that really spoke to me: 

"'God always knew the plans he had for us, but we sure couldn't see them in the rough times.' 

Blake pulled her away from his chest so he could see her face. 'There will be more tough times, babe. Our whole lives those times will come. But let's hold on to this certainty that God has us, that his plan will work for our good because we love him and want his will.'"

I absolutely loved this book, loved this series, loved the connected series, and I am definitely sad that this book seems to be wrapping up our time with all of these awesome characters. I can't wait to see what the author has for us next. She is an awesome author of Christian suspense who always leaves me on the edge of my seat, zinging through the pages. 

I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.