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Lakeview #5
Valley of Shadows
Working deep undercover was dangerous. Mercenary turned DEA agent Hawke Morran found out just how dangerous when his cover was suddenly blown. His life hung in the balance--until a mysterious woman saved him from certain death.
Hawke was a lone wolf--used to bringing down the bad guys by himself. Without a partner. Yet now he and Miranda Shelton were running for their lives, desperate to uncover the identity of Hawke's betrayor. Journeying from the mountains of Lakeview, Virginia, to the valleys of Thailand, Hawke vowed to protect the lovely Christian woman in his care.
Hawke was a lone wolf--used to bringing down the bad guys by himself. Without a partner. Yet now he and Miranda Shelton were running for their lives, desperate to uncover the identity of Hawke's betrayor. Journeying from the mountains of Lakeview, Virginia, to the valleys of Thailand, Hawke vowed to protect the lovely Christian woman in his care.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2007
23 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 10, 2017
#5 The Lakeview Series
She saves a man's life.
Which puts her life in danger.
Now they are both on the run.
Who can they trust?
When will they clear their names?
Having loved
by Shirlee McCoy, I was really looking forward to getting this book when I realised it featured Hawke's story. It was great to find out more about him, and the demons that obviously haunted him, and see him come to terms with them and put them to rest.
Having looked at The Lakeview Series list by Shirlee McCoy, I see she hasn't written a story about Hawke's brother Simon, who plays a role in both this story and Even in the Darkness. I hope someday that changes, as I would love to read his story too.
Favourite Quotes:
There had been so many times in her life when she’d hesitated, so many times when she’d missed opportunities and blessings because she was afraid to trust God’s ability to steer her course. This would not be one of those times.
The world is filled with scary situations. Our faith may be shaken when our prayers seem to go unanswered, or our deepest dreams are never realized. However, true faith is more than believing
that God will make everything go our way. It is what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had when they said, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it…But even if He does not, we will not serve your gods.” Their faith did not require a miracle. Our faith should be the same. Solid in the face of whatever might come.
I am definitely interested in reading more from The Lakeview Series
She saves a man's life.
Which puts her life in danger.
Now they are both on the run.
Who can they trust?
When will they clear their names?
Having loved
by Shirlee McCoy, I was really looking forward to getting this book when I realised it featured Hawke's story. It was great to find out more about him, and the demons that obviously haunted him, and see him come to terms with them and put them to rest. Having looked at The Lakeview Series list by Shirlee McCoy, I see she hasn't written a story about Hawke's brother Simon, who plays a role in both this story and Even in the Darkness. I hope someday that changes, as I would love to read his story too.
Favourite Quotes:
There had been so many times in her life when she’d hesitated, so many times when she’d missed opportunities and blessings because she was afraid to trust God’s ability to steer her course. This would not be one of those times.
The world is filled with scary situations. Our faith may be shaken when our prayers seem to go unanswered, or our deepest dreams are never realized. However, true faith is more than believing
that God will make everything go our way. It is what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had when they said, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it…But even if He does not, we will not serve your gods.” Their faith did not require a miracle. Our faith should be the same. Solid in the face of whatever might come.
I am definitely interested in reading more from The Lakeview Series
March 10, 2014
This book was very interesting and a quick read. The story of 2 strangers who come together unexpectadly and their trials of trying to keep each other alive in the face of drug lords.It The story takes them from Va to Yhailand and back.good story line .
May 15, 2012
This was a great book! I couldn't put it down once I started it.
April 16, 2019
So, I have mixed feelings about this one which resulted in a 2.5 as the actual rating, but I bumped it up for the star rating.
Miranda Shelton was just going for a late night walk to clear her head on the eve of her nephew’s funeral. She ends up at the funeral home that will be performing the burial, not wanting to leave her nephew Justin alone after all the years of caring for him while his absent mother (Miranda’s sister) traversed the world as a model. But what she finds there makes her blood run cold. Two men about to kill another and put his body through the cremator. Unable to standby and let it happen, she springs into action… complete with a flower pot???
Hawke Morran is just working another deep cover job for the DEA when his cover gets blown. Working at a disadvantage, he does his best to take out his potential killers and gets help from the most unlikely of people. A woman with soft eyes (I think that’s how he describes them at some point). Now he has to look out for himself AND her as the drug cartel gets him pinned with murder. His goal, get them both out of the country to Thailand where he can keep her safe while he goes directly to the source of the problem to clear their names.
This book is not as subtle as other Shirlee McCoy Christian romance novels. This one kind of smacks you in the face with it, repeatedly.
Long story: It’s not a low key ‘I believe in God but I’m not going to heap it on your as a person who has lost faith’ type character thing. This is a ‘my name is Miranda and I believe in god even though this horrible thing has happened to me. And I know you doubt, but you should trust in God and you too will see how he works in mysterious ways’. How Hawke comes about…well whatever, but I feel like smacking someone over the head with a bible would be the only way to be less subtle in the writing.
Short story: If you like God to be mentioned on repeat every couple of pages or so, this one is for you! I personally like the more subtle Christian romances.
Hawke calls Miranda Babe, every-single-time. I think I can count on one hand how many times he called her by her name, but I would have to go back and have a running tally of how often she was called Babe. Babe, Babe Babe…please, any other term of endearment, I beg you!!!! (I watched Babe the movie far too many times as a kid to enjoy that endearment more then a few times). So that was a personal annoyance.
Another personal annoyance, this book aims for the HEA (Happily Ever After) effect. So they have known each other for about a week, longer for Hawke (2 weeks) because Miranda spends 5 days sleeping in the hospital. But upon awaking Miranda and Hawke are MOVED to confess they want to be in each other’s life forever and that they love each other….Miranda gets home, takes a month or two to sell off her business and her townhouse (closer to a month, somehow), buys a new place (in Virginia I think???) and is moving in when Hawke decides HEY!!! I’m going to propose with a puppy and a ring (Okay, proposing with a puppy is a sure fire win, I’ll admit). And she accepts.
Ugh….
So in two months (if we are being generous) they go from being complete strangers who had never seen each other before to engaged. Beg your pardon, what??? I am a huge fan of realistic times lines in my romance novels. The fastest I have ever witnessed anyone get engaged in real life was 9 months and I was nervous for them. But with a 15 month engagement, it smoothed the worry. So the only thing I think was handled well was there was absolutely NO mention of when they were going to get hitched. So I just it’s more of a HFN (Happy For Now) situation? I dunno.
Also, Lauren should stick it! Random feeling I needed to express.
Miranda Shelton was just going for a late night walk to clear her head on the eve of her nephew’s funeral. She ends up at the funeral home that will be performing the burial, not wanting to leave her nephew Justin alone after all the years of caring for him while his absent mother (Miranda’s sister) traversed the world as a model. But what she finds there makes her blood run cold. Two men about to kill another and put his body through the cremator. Unable to standby and let it happen, she springs into action… complete with a flower pot???
Hawke Morran is just working another deep cover job for the DEA when his cover gets blown. Working at a disadvantage, he does his best to take out his potential killers and gets help from the most unlikely of people. A woman with soft eyes (I think that’s how he describes them at some point). Now he has to look out for himself AND her as the drug cartel gets him pinned with murder. His goal, get them both out of the country to Thailand where he can keep her safe while he goes directly to the source of the problem to clear their names.
This book is not as subtle as other Shirlee McCoy Christian romance novels. This one kind of smacks you in the face with it, repeatedly.
Long story: It’s not a low key ‘I believe in God but I’m not going to heap it on your as a person who has lost faith’ type character thing. This is a ‘my name is Miranda and I believe in god even though this horrible thing has happened to me. And I know you doubt, but you should trust in God and you too will see how he works in mysterious ways’. How Hawke comes about…well whatever, but I feel like smacking someone over the head with a bible would be the only way to be less subtle in the writing.
Short story: If you like God to be mentioned on repeat every couple of pages or so, this one is for you! I personally like the more subtle Christian romances.
Hawke calls Miranda Babe, every-single-time. I think I can count on one hand how many times he called her by her name, but I would have to go back and have a running tally of how often she was called Babe. Babe, Babe Babe…please, any other term of endearment, I beg you!!!! (I watched Babe the movie far too many times as a kid to enjoy that endearment more then a few times). So that was a personal annoyance.
Another personal annoyance, this book aims for the HEA (Happily Ever After) effect. So they have known each other for about a week, longer for Hawke (2 weeks) because Miranda spends 5 days sleeping in the hospital. But upon awaking Miranda and Hawke are MOVED to confess they want to be in each other’s life forever and that they love each other….Miranda gets home, takes a month or two to sell off her business and her townhouse (closer to a month, somehow), buys a new place (in Virginia I think???) and is moving in when Hawke decides HEY!!! I’m going to propose with a puppy and a ring (Okay, proposing with a puppy is a sure fire win, I’ll admit). And she accepts.
Ugh….
So in two months (if we are being generous) they go from being complete strangers who had never seen each other before to engaged. Beg your pardon, what??? I am a huge fan of realistic times lines in my romance novels. The fastest I have ever witnessed anyone get engaged in real life was 9 months and I was nervous for them. But with a 15 month engagement, it smoothed the worry. So the only thing I think was handled well was there was absolutely NO mention of when they were going to get hitched. So I just it’s more of a HFN (Happy For Now) situation? I dunno.
Also, Lauren should stick it! Random feeling I needed to express.
August 4, 2024
First, I really hate when there's *NO* indication on a book that it's part of a series. I had no idea this was number FIVE, and that's REALLY unfair to the reader.
Second... WHAT is that on the cover?!?!? This book takes place in smalltown USA and moves to inner city BANKOK, Thailand, and then ends up at a 'gothic castle' like fortress with razor wire and armed guards... NEVER is there a place like this in the story.
I should probably preface this by saying I went in expecting to despise this book. Why? Well first, I've read a Shirlee McCoy. Or, rather, DNF-ed one because it was so horribly written. And secondly, when I opened this, the first thing I saw was "THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY EDITOR, MELISSA ENDLICH!!!"
This indicates that it's going to be sub-par.
Nothing Endlich does is commendable.
That McCoy managed such a well-done story as this with Melissa signed on is nothing short of a miracle.
Having said, this story is reminiscent of 'Bourne: Legacy' crossed with a Suzanne Brockmann book (specifically, 'Out of Control')... except without the steamy romantic scenes... because Gawd. And I say 'Gawd', not God, because while this book is heavy on the 'Gotta have Faith' theme, it's idea of 'faith' seems to be believing there *IS* a God, and not a whole lot more. Putting 'faith' in 'Gawd' does not salvation make - and neither of these characters come across as saved believers, at any time. 'Faith' is a fluid concept, here.
Nevermind James 2:19
Which is a damn shame, considering it's supposed to be 'inspirational' fiction. What that apparently actually means is that it's 'G'-rated, but rides a fence, because it's neither Bible-centric or worldly. I... don't have more to add to this.
But in spite of this, the story itself is *MOSTLY* amazing. It's fast paced, there's actual violence in this one (although it's laughably written. He charges a guy with his head and - without any hard surface to create imact, manages to break ribs with the move? Seriously?!?!? And the heroine throws a POT at someone to knock them out. I... can't even.)
Where in Hades do these writers get their names, though? HAWKE Morran? What mother on the planet gives birth and says, "I think we should call him Hawke-with-an-e!" It's... almost as bad as Powers Knight (<< name of a hero in a book I gave my husband to read, and he still laughs like crazy at the stupid name). HAWKE. Morran.
Which, now that I think of it, is probably a Brockmann steal.
She has a character named Grady Moran.
Practically the same guy.
The other problem I had with it was that *ALL* of this could've been avoided if 1) this *dangerous* Hawke Morran dude had finished off the people who were on to him (funeral director, dirty cop, and Green's thug). Then they couldn't have fabricated the story that put Miranda in mortal danger.
For that matter, if he's coming all the way to the USofA, *WHY* didn't he just end Green and sever the American link, completely? It seems ridiculous that he bothered to come to the U.S. just to turn around and head *BACK* to Thailand and go after the cartel boss.
But if you REALLLLLLLY suspend reality, this is a fun read. Which is what I have to to with Brockmann books, too (and Bourne films, as well). But I *L.O.V.E* Legacy, so the fact that this mirror that movie really made it worth my time. IMHO.
Second... WHAT is that on the cover?!?!? This book takes place in smalltown USA and moves to inner city BANKOK, Thailand, and then ends up at a 'gothic castle' like fortress with razor wire and armed guards... NEVER is there a place like this in the story.
I should probably preface this by saying I went in expecting to despise this book. Why? Well first, I've read a Shirlee McCoy. Or, rather, DNF-ed one because it was so horribly written. And secondly, when I opened this, the first thing I saw was "THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY EDITOR, MELISSA ENDLICH!!!"
This indicates that it's going to be sub-par.
Nothing Endlich does is commendable.
That McCoy managed such a well-done story as this with Melissa signed on is nothing short of a miracle.
Having said, this story is reminiscent of 'Bourne: Legacy' crossed with a Suzanne Brockmann book (specifically, 'Out of Control')... except without the steamy romantic scenes... because Gawd. And I say 'Gawd', not God, because while this book is heavy on the 'Gotta have Faith' theme, it's idea of 'faith' seems to be believing there *IS* a God, and not a whole lot more. Putting 'faith' in 'Gawd' does not salvation make - and neither of these characters come across as saved believers, at any time. 'Faith' is a fluid concept, here.
Nevermind James 2:19
Which is a damn shame, considering it's supposed to be 'inspirational' fiction. What that apparently actually means is that it's 'G'-rated, but rides a fence, because it's neither Bible-centric or worldly. I... don't have more to add to this.
But in spite of this, the story itself is *MOSTLY* amazing. It's fast paced, there's actual violence in this one (although it's laughably written. He charges a guy with his head and - without any hard surface to create imact, manages to break ribs with the move? Seriously?!?!? And the heroine throws a POT at someone to knock them out. I... can't even.)
Where in Hades do these writers get their names, though? HAWKE Morran? What mother on the planet gives birth and says, "I think we should call him Hawke-with-an-e!" It's... almost as bad as Powers Knight (<< name of a hero in a book I gave my husband to read, and he still laughs like crazy at the stupid name). HAWKE. Morran.
Which, now that I think of it, is probably a Brockmann steal.
She has a character named Grady Moran.
Practically the same guy.
The other problem I had with it was that *ALL* of this could've been avoided if 1) this *dangerous* Hawke Morran dude had finished off the people who were on to him (funeral director, dirty cop, and Green's thug). Then they couldn't have fabricated the story that put Miranda in mortal danger.
For that matter, if he's coming all the way to the USofA, *WHY* didn't he just end Green and sever the American link, completely? It seems ridiculous that he bothered to come to the U.S. just to turn around and head *BACK* to Thailand and go after the cartel boss.
But if you REALLLLLLLY suspend reality, this is a fun read. Which is what I have to to with Brockmann books, too (and Bourne films, as well). But I *L.O.V.E* Legacy, so the fact that this mirror that movie really made it worth my time. IMHO.
March 9, 2023
A Romance Book Cover Adventure
Shirlee McCoy knows how to write a chase scene for one of her stories. I felt like I was running and hiding with Miranda and Hawke … slipping and sliding in mud … exhaustion and terror.
The exotic background was unfamiliar, but the romantic and faith strands aren’t. God always gets the credit for causing all things to work out for the characters and their happily ever after. Thank you for another very entertaining afternoon, Ms. McCoy
Shirlee McCoy knows how to write a chase scene for one of her stories. I felt like I was running and hiding with Miranda and Hawke … slipping and sliding in mud … exhaustion and terror.
The exotic background was unfamiliar, but the romantic and faith strands aren’t. God always gets the credit for causing all things to work out for the characters and their happily ever after. Thank you for another very entertaining afternoon, Ms. McCoy
October 6, 2017
This book was not up to the standard of writing I have come to expect & enjoy from Shirlee McCoy.
It was not believable and seemed to drag on. I finished it but it took awhile. Very disappointed.
It was not believable and seemed to drag on. I finished it but it took awhile. Very disappointed.
March 3, 2020
A little unrealistic, with some insta-love, but so action packed I don't care. 4.5 rounded up to 5.
March 1, 2012
I absolutely LOVED this book. Seriously, I did not want it to end. It was completely up to parr with full length novels and one of the best Love Inspired Suspense books I've read. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that I could totally picture Hawke as a Russell Crowe alla "Proof of Life" type of man (just with longer hair). *insert grin here*
The characters were very well developed. Miranda represented the everywoman. She reacted how, I think, a lot of women would react in um... lets say difficult circumstances. At least how I would personally react, maybe that's why I liked her character so much. The suspense was superb and had me flipping the pages like a madwoman. I really wish that it was a full length book, for many reasons, but most notably: 1) Some people might not like the fact that all of the action/suspense/romance takes place over a few days. Some writers may not be able to handle that very well, making the story seem hokey and unbelievable. Shirlee McCoy, however, is not one of those writers. The relationship between Hawke and Miranda actually comes across as genuine and real - well developed versus thrown together before the final pages. 2) The second reason is because I just didn't want to stop reading about this couple and their adventures! Ha! I wanted to read more of their story because I was SO invested.
I highly recommend to readers who enjoy Ronie Kendig's books.
The characters were very well developed. Miranda represented the everywoman. She reacted how, I think, a lot of women would react in um... lets say difficult circumstances. At least how I would personally react, maybe that's why I liked her character so much. The suspense was superb and had me flipping the pages like a madwoman. I really wish that it was a full length book, for many reasons, but most notably: 1) Some people might not like the fact that all of the action/suspense/romance takes place over a few days. Some writers may not be able to handle that very well, making the story seem hokey and unbelievable. Shirlee McCoy, however, is not one of those writers. The relationship between Hawke and Miranda actually comes across as genuine and real - well developed versus thrown together before the final pages. 2) The second reason is because I just didn't want to stop reading about this couple and their adventures! Ha! I wanted to read more of their story because I was SO invested.
I highly recommend to readers who enjoy Ronie Kendig's books.
November 4, 2018
This is my umpteenth reading of this book, and totally loved it. We learn so much about how God brings the most unlikely of people together to overcome great obstacles. Hawks and Miranda are so perfect for each other because they complement each other so well.
July 9, 2013
Miranda saves Hawke at the funeral parlor while saying goodbye to her nephew Justin. He must take her with him to save her. Lots of action and adventure in Thailand follow them as they try to clear their names.
April 8, 2008
loved this simple romance suspense
July 8, 2010
I've read this book before and it is always a captivating read! The suspense/romance was excellent, inviting me to come along for the ride... A well-written book that I highly recommend!
December 27, 2011
This one was actually a really interesting suspense book, especially considering it was just a short read. I really liked it.
Read
June 11, 2012One of my all time favorite books. I could read it over and over agin
June 14, 2012
One of my all time favorites of hers....you know it's a good book when you read it over and over again and it's just as good as the first time.....
August 1, 2016
Good, clean suspenseful book with a theme that God protects his people.
May 28, 2012
Intense thriller...loved it!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews