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Random Acts
Second chances can have a terrible sense of timing.
As a child, watching her mother always pick the wrong man left Danielle Carson wary of opening her heart to anyone—except Patrick Kingsley. But circumstances came between them and left Danielle with a broken heart. Now she buries the pain of what might have been by channeling all her energy into her career. When a family crisis brings her back to her hometown, she is forced to face the past—and the disturbing fact that her sister’s car accident was staged to mask a brutal beating.
A police officer and widower, Patrick guards his heart as fiercely as he guards his beloved daughter. Seeing Danielle again unexpectedly reignites their old flame, but no way will he introduce a woman into his daughter’s life. Certainly not one whose values on faith and family are so different from his own.
Despite their best intentions, they are drawn together—until Danielle learns Patrick had a hand in putting her sister in harm’s way. Her fragile trust is crushed, but Patrick is the only man who can help her stop the villain before everything they both love is destroyed. Faith, family…and their second chance at forever.
This title contains a shadowy criminal, dark family secrets, meddling family, and a heroine who’s determined to show her old crush that she’s moved on. Or has she?
228 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 24, 2012
277 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Alison Stone
43 books171 followersAlison Stone writes sweet romance, cozy mysteries, and inspirational romantic suspense, some of which contain bonnets and buggies.
Alison often refers to herself as the "accidental Amish author." She decided to try her hand at the genre after an editor put a call out for more Amish romantic suspense. Intrigued—and who doesn't love the movie Witness with Harrison Ford?—Alison dug into research, including visits to the Amish communities in Western New York where she lives. This sparked numerous story ideas, the first leading to her debut novel with Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense. Four subsequent Love Inspired Suspense titles went on to earn RT magazine's TOP PICK! designation, their highest ranking.
When Alison’s not plotting ways to bring mayhem to Amish communities, she’s writing inspirational romantic suspense with a more modern setting, sweet romances, and cozy mysteries, including her new Murphy's Dance Academy series. In order to meet her deadlines, she has to block the internet and hide her smartphone.
Married and the mother of four (almost) grown kids, Alison lives in the suburbs of Buffalo where the summers are gorgeous and the winters are perfect for curling up with a book—or writing one.
Alison often refers to herself as the "accidental Amish author." She decided to try her hand at the genre after an editor put a call out for more Amish romantic suspense. Intrigued—and who doesn't love the movie Witness with Harrison Ford?—Alison dug into research, including visits to the Amish communities in Western New York where she lives. This sparked numerous story ideas, the first leading to her debut novel with Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense. Four subsequent Love Inspired Suspense titles went on to earn RT magazine's TOP PICK! designation, their highest ranking.
When Alison’s not plotting ways to bring mayhem to Amish communities, she’s writing inspirational romantic suspense with a more modern setting, sweet romances, and cozy mysteries, including her new Murphy's Dance Academy series. In order to meet her deadlines, she has to block the internet and hide her smartphone.
Married and the mother of four (almost) grown kids, Alison lives in the suburbs of Buffalo where the summers are gorgeous and the winters are perfect for curling up with a book—or writing one.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
February 23, 2018
Me right now:
Not really sure what to think of this one. I think it just wasn't my cup of tea. It's touted as "romantic suspense", but the romance felt incredibly shallow and weak to me. (Really? We just decided we're not right for each other but we're going to kiss anyway?) And the suspense was pretty much non-existent until the end.
I feel like this had the makings of a great book, but it just didn't quite work.
Not really sure what to think of this one. I think it just wasn't my cup of tea. It's touted as "romantic suspense", but the romance felt incredibly shallow and weak to me. (Really? We just decided we're not right for each other but we're going to kiss anyway?) And the suspense was pretty much non-existent until the end.
I feel like this had the makings of a great book, but it just didn't quite work.
April 16, 2012
Guilty Pleasures
Random Acts by Alison Stone is a sweet romance suspense story that had me from the start. I love it when a story grabs me in the first paragraph and puts me right there IN the story. I knew that I wanted to then try and figure out who was the Protector and why he was there hurting this woman. When an author can write a story and get their hook into me I want to believe it is going to be good. I would have to say that Ms Stone delivered. She developed her characters, saw plenty of trouble and had a mystery to solve, and a tug of war of feelings for both hero and heroine to decide if falling in love is worth the risk.
Danielle Carson returns to her childhood home to take care of her critically injured sister Jenny, who was hurt in a car accident. She finds out that she her injuries were worse than what she was told by Patrick Kingsley, police officer and Danielle’s childhood love. She left Mayport 15 years earlier to start her life as a lawyer in Atlanta putting her career first and supporting herself. Her only family is her sister Jenny and Grandmother, so she is feeling a bit of guilt for not being around and what she could have done for Jenny. Now she is back and has to deal with feelings and emotions she pushed aside. Also coming face to face with Patrick is going to be more difficult than she thought.
Danielle is a tough woman who thinks she is dealing with the present family situation but finds out it is easier said than done. She is dealing with trying to figure out who would want to harm her sister and how to protect her at the same time. When she finds out that there is more to Jenny’s accident, and that Patrick might have put her into harm’s way, she is torn between what she felt for him in the past and the new stirring of attraction she is feeling for him again. Patrick is there at every turn making it hard for her not to resist turning to him again in this time of need. Patrick still has feelings for her too. He also has a 10 year old daughter he has to protect himself since he is a single parent after his wife died. Patrick took Danielle and her sister under his wing all those years ago since they were neighbors which might have been the beginning of Danielle falling for Patrick. Patrick then broke her heart so putting her heart on the line is hard for her to do.
There is a surprising element of faith flowing throughout the story because Danielle doesn’t believe in God after what she grew up with and knows that it is a point of contention between her and Patrick. I don’t know how you feel about religion and prayer being in your romance story but you don’t have to worry about it being too preachy. It has a small part of the book but a definite point for both main characters to deal with in their growing relationship. Danielle slowly comes around and wants to believe again and takes baby steps to bring it back into her life. It wasn’t an abrupt about face but a subtle change that comes with time and growth when Danielle matures to understanding she can put her past behind her and live in the present.
There are many layers to this story and secondary characters that give depth to Danielle and Patrick’s love story. Patrick’s mother, Danielle’s grandmother and Jenny add just enough to flourish and advance the story. The mystery of how these random acts of violence keep happening to Jenny and her family make take up the majority of the book, but the growing romance between Danielle and Patrick tie the story together.
Random Acts by Alison Stone is a sweet romance suspense story that had me from the start. I love it when a story grabs me in the first paragraph and puts me right there IN the story. I knew that I wanted to then try and figure out who was the Protector and why he was there hurting this woman. When an author can write a story and get their hook into me I want to believe it is going to be good. I would have to say that Ms Stone delivered. She developed her characters, saw plenty of trouble and had a mystery to solve, and a tug of war of feelings for both hero and heroine to decide if falling in love is worth the risk.
Danielle Carson returns to her childhood home to take care of her critically injured sister Jenny, who was hurt in a car accident. She finds out that she her injuries were worse than what she was told by Patrick Kingsley, police officer and Danielle’s childhood love. She left Mayport 15 years earlier to start her life as a lawyer in Atlanta putting her career first and supporting herself. Her only family is her sister Jenny and Grandmother, so she is feeling a bit of guilt for not being around and what she could have done for Jenny. Now she is back and has to deal with feelings and emotions she pushed aside. Also coming face to face with Patrick is going to be more difficult than she thought.
Danielle is a tough woman who thinks she is dealing with the present family situation but finds out it is easier said than done. She is dealing with trying to figure out who would want to harm her sister and how to protect her at the same time. When she finds out that there is more to Jenny’s accident, and that Patrick might have put her into harm’s way, she is torn between what she felt for him in the past and the new stirring of attraction she is feeling for him again. Patrick is there at every turn making it hard for her not to resist turning to him again in this time of need. Patrick still has feelings for her too. He also has a 10 year old daughter he has to protect himself since he is a single parent after his wife died. Patrick took Danielle and her sister under his wing all those years ago since they were neighbors which might have been the beginning of Danielle falling for Patrick. Patrick then broke her heart so putting her heart on the line is hard for her to do.
There is a surprising element of faith flowing throughout the story because Danielle doesn’t believe in God after what she grew up with and knows that it is a point of contention between her and Patrick. I don’t know how you feel about religion and prayer being in your romance story but you don’t have to worry about it being too preachy. It has a small part of the book but a definite point for both main characters to deal with in their growing relationship. Danielle slowly comes around and wants to believe again and takes baby steps to bring it back into her life. It wasn’t an abrupt about face but a subtle change that comes with time and growth when Danielle matures to understanding she can put her past behind her and live in the present.
There are many layers to this story and secondary characters that give depth to Danielle and Patrick’s love story. Patrick’s mother, Danielle’s grandmother and Jenny add just enough to flourish and advance the story. The mystery of how these random acts of violence keep happening to Jenny and her family make take up the majority of the book, but the growing romance between Danielle and Patrick tie the story together.
April 26, 2012
Originally published at http://www.readingreality.net/2012/04...
Random Acts by Alison Stone surprised me. It was a sweet romance that almost veered into inspirational territory, yet still told a good romantic suspense story.
Danielle Carson is a woman on the fast track to partnership at her high-powered law firm in Atlanta. She's tried her best to leave small-town Mayport in her rearview mirror. It's not that she doesn't love her sister Jenny and her grandmother back home, she does, but the town itself holds a lot of bad memories.
In Mayport, everyone knows Danielle and Jenny as the daughters of an alcoholic who took up with a series of abusive men and finally abandoned her daughters. While leaving Danielle and Jenny with their grandmother was the best thing she could have done for them, she abandoned them. And everyone in Mayport watched Danielle and Jenny, waiting for them to turn out just like their mother.
Danielle had a crush on the boy next door, Patrick Kingley. He married someone else. Some of it was due to his four years' seniority, but a lot more was small-town disapproval. His mother was sure Danielle would turn out badly. Instead, she just left. Being a lawyer hardly counts as bad, so the town disapproved of Danielle living in Atlanta instead.
When Jenny is the victim of a near-fatal car accident, Danielle rushes home, knowing the toll it will take on her ambitions at the office. But the accident is discovered to be no accident. And that boy next door is not a boy anymore. Patrick Kingley is all grown up, just like Danielle is. He's been a soldier, a husband, a widower, and now a single father to a pre-teen daughter.
He's also a cop.
And he knows that Jenny's accident is no accident, because Jenny was working for him. Undercover. As a drug informant. And he hides that information from Danielle as the old ties between them start to knit together again. But it's not just about him anymore. He can't let someone into his life who will leave again, because it will break his daughter's heart.
His own heartbreak is much less important to him. His daughter means everything.
And there is a killer on the loose who is willing to exploit that.
Escape Rating B-: The romance takes a backseat to the suspense. The suspense part of the story was handled well enough that I caught the red herring but didn't figure out the final perpetrator. So that was good.
On the other hand, the romance definitely took the far back seat. The relationship between Danielle and Patrick's daughter Ava is very sweetly handled, but the central love story gets very short shrift for what is intended as a romance. I know this might be intended as a "sweet" or "clean" romance, and so not erotic, but this couple didn't generate a lot of heat, even of the banked fire variety.
And I kept wondering about exactly what happened in the way-back-when. It was clearly more traumatic for her than for him, but something happened. What was it?
The romance part of this romance needed more sparks somewhere, even if we don't witness the actual fire.
Random Acts by Alison Stone surprised me. It was a sweet romance that almost veered into inspirational territory, yet still told a good romantic suspense story.
Danielle Carson is a woman on the fast track to partnership at her high-powered law firm in Atlanta. She's tried her best to leave small-town Mayport in her rearview mirror. It's not that she doesn't love her sister Jenny and her grandmother back home, she does, but the town itself holds a lot of bad memories.
In Mayport, everyone knows Danielle and Jenny as the daughters of an alcoholic who took up with a series of abusive men and finally abandoned her daughters. While leaving Danielle and Jenny with their grandmother was the best thing she could have done for them, she abandoned them. And everyone in Mayport watched Danielle and Jenny, waiting for them to turn out just like their mother.
Danielle had a crush on the boy next door, Patrick Kingley. He married someone else. Some of it was due to his four years' seniority, but a lot more was small-town disapproval. His mother was sure Danielle would turn out badly. Instead, she just left. Being a lawyer hardly counts as bad, so the town disapproved of Danielle living in Atlanta instead.
When Jenny is the victim of a near-fatal car accident, Danielle rushes home, knowing the toll it will take on her ambitions at the office. But the accident is discovered to be no accident. And that boy next door is not a boy anymore. Patrick Kingley is all grown up, just like Danielle is. He's been a soldier, a husband, a widower, and now a single father to a pre-teen daughter.
He's also a cop.
And he knows that Jenny's accident is no accident, because Jenny was working for him. Undercover. As a drug informant. And he hides that information from Danielle as the old ties between them start to knit together again. But it's not just about him anymore. He can't let someone into his life who will leave again, because it will break his daughter's heart.
His own heartbreak is much less important to him. His daughter means everything.
And there is a killer on the loose who is willing to exploit that.
Escape Rating B-: The romance takes a backseat to the suspense. The suspense part of the story was handled well enough that I caught the red herring but didn't figure out the final perpetrator. So that was good.
On the other hand, the romance definitely took the far back seat. The relationship between Danielle and Patrick's daughter Ava is very sweetly handled, but the central love story gets very short shrift for what is intended as a romance. I know this might be intended as a "sweet" or "clean" romance, and so not erotic, but this couple didn't generate a lot of heat, even of the banked fire variety.
And I kept wondering about exactly what happened in the way-back-when. It was clearly more traumatic for her than for him, but something happened. What was it?
The romance part of this romance needed more sparks somewhere, even if we don't witness the actual fire.
December 7, 2021
Always Entertaining
Random Acts is another warm mystery with twists and turns that keep you guessing. All of her heroes are the kind of men I would pick for my daughter … strong, faithful, tender … and the heroines are strong and independent … my daughter (smile). Thank you, Ms. Stone for a very entertaining afternoon.
Random Acts is another warm mystery with twists and turns that keep you guessing. All of her heroes are the kind of men I would pick for my daughter … strong, faithful, tender … and the heroines are strong and independent … my daughter (smile). Thank you, Ms. Stone for a very entertaining afternoon.
September 17, 2022
The truth is best!
I really enjoy this author. This book has romance, but focused on the Jenny mystery. There was plenty of action and twists and turns in this story. It shows that it us possible to have mystery and romance in a clean read, and you want to keep reading it until the end.
I really enjoy this author. This book has romance, but focused on the Jenny mystery. There was plenty of action and twists and turns in this story. It shows that it us possible to have mystery and romance in a clean read, and you want to keep reading it until the end.
May 11, 2017
The story kept you captivated to the end!
Well written, the suspense kept you guessing. Showed that there is not only a second chance at love, but God gives you a second chance too.
Well written, the suspense kept you guessing. Showed that there is not only a second chance at love, but God gives you a second chance too.
June 10, 2017
Not a new theme
But... surprisingly well done. I enjoyed the way she brought it all together. She did a great job. Each character stood on their own and you waited with expectation to see where they would land. Good job!
But... surprisingly well done. I enjoyed the way she brought it all together. She did a great job. Each character stood on their own and you waited with expectation to see where they would land. Good job!
July 6, 2017
The book was an exciting page-turner from the beginning to the end. I thought it was one of the best romantic suspense novels I read so far. This is a great Christian fiction book for readers who like that particular genre.
August 17, 2017
A Decent Mystery, But. . .
I'm really not sure why I can't rate this as a "good" mystery, but it just didn't click that way with me. That could be because the story seemed to jump around so much that I had a difficult time keeping up! However, I loved the ending!
I'm really not sure why I can't rate this as a "good" mystery, but it just didn't click that way with me. That could be because the story seemed to jump around so much that I had a difficult time keeping up! However, I loved the ending!
November 2, 2017
Good read.
Liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good story. The suspense is good, a light mystery with enough twists to keep me interested, especially the end. Thanks for more good reading.
Liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good story. The suspense is good, a light mystery with enough twists to keep me interested, especially the end. Thanks for more good reading.
May 8, 2017
Good read
Drawer me in quickly. Missed a few things not explained but all in all... ill be reading more of her books.
Drawer me in quickly. Missed a few things not explained but all in all... ill be reading more of her books.
June 25, 2017
Great book
Danielle had to learn that she could not only trust on herself to take care of her. She learns that she can overcome her past
And have a great life.
Danielle had to learn that she could not only trust on herself to take care of her. She learns that she can overcome her past
And have a great life.
September 8, 2017
A quick, clean, thriller. Some parts were a little canned but I'll read more of her books.
September 10, 2017
Great Read
Tale of murder, romance, plot to cover up all wickedness..... Really enjoy this author and the story of righting wrongs
Tale of murder, romance, plot to cover up all wickedness..... Really enjoy this author and the story of righting wrongs
October 6, 2017
Good clean, inspirational mystery romance. The house on the cover in the middle of the open is not the house with woods described in the book.
August 28, 2021
Random Acts
This was a page turner to be sure. It kept you on the edge of your seat just water to see what would happen next.
This was a page turner to be sure. It kept you on the edge of your seat just water to see what would happen next.
March 24, 2022
Great Christian read
Loved it! Has made me come back to reading again! Can't wait to read all of her books.
Kept me drawn in the whole time.
Loved it! Has made me come back to reading again! Can't wait to read all of her books.
Kept me drawn in the whole time.
April 25, 2022
Quick rru
This book was a quick and light read with just the right amount of suspense. Read it quite quickly. Enjoy!
This book was a quick and light read with just the right amount of suspense. Read it quite quickly. Enjoy!
May 29, 2022
I liked it but....
I liked the storyline and the characters but felt that the ending was rushed. It was the author got lazy and just wanted to get the book finished.
I liked the storyline and the characters but felt that the ending was rushed. It was the author got lazy and just wanted to get the book finished.
July 10, 2022
Even though I figured the culprit out before I even knew the crime, I still enjoyed reading as the plot unfolded. It was a great read.
March 17, 2017
Super suspense
Random Acts by Alison Stone is a super suspense/romance. The book is well written and has a great plot with lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. If you enjoy good clean suspense I recommend you try Random Acts.
Random Acts by Alison Stone is a super suspense/romance. The book is well written and has a great plot with lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. If you enjoy good clean suspense I recommend you try Random Acts.
April 10, 2012
Originally posted at: http://www.longandshortreviews.blogsp...
Tragedy can lead you back home, love can keep you there. What leads Danielle home is her sister. What could possibly get her to stay? A little bit of love with an old crush and his ever so adoring daughter. Random Acts pulls two people together with a past and dares them not to go with the urge to just give in.
Danielle's job in a big city keeps her busy. Enough not to come home and visit more with her sister and grandmother. Isn't that the way in many small town stories? There's always something that makes someone run, and it's one thing that brings them back and plays with their emotions about whether or not to stay. Danielle won't abandon her sister, though, who needs some support and protection after an accident.
Patrick is a great hero, and I fell in love with his daughter, Ava, immediately. The two have been through so much loss and heartache, and Ava takes a shine to Danielle from the get go. Patrick can't stay away from her either, and it has nothing to do with investigating her sister's situation.
Built with elements of suspense, emotion, a little bit of inspiration, and characters that are well worth reading about, Ms. Stone creates a heartwarming and intriguing tale in Random Acts. The pacing flows great, there's not a moment that's dull, and I was left guessing until the very end. With a great cast of characters from the leading couple to the secondary, I enjoyed the feeling of being part of a family that though they'd suffered a loss, had a chance to find love again despite the odds. And through a little faith and love, Danielle and Patrick begin to see a new light at the end of the tunnel.
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. It's touching, engaging and well written. Readers can come away at the end of this story feeling satisfied. If you enjoy a romantic suspense story with some inspirational elements, come visit these wonderful characters in Random Acts.
Tragedy can lead you back home, love can keep you there. What leads Danielle home is her sister. What could possibly get her to stay? A little bit of love with an old crush and his ever so adoring daughter. Random Acts pulls two people together with a past and dares them not to go with the urge to just give in.
Danielle's job in a big city keeps her busy. Enough not to come home and visit more with her sister and grandmother. Isn't that the way in many small town stories? There's always something that makes someone run, and it's one thing that brings them back and plays with their emotions about whether or not to stay. Danielle won't abandon her sister, though, who needs some support and protection after an accident.
Patrick is a great hero, and I fell in love with his daughter, Ava, immediately. The two have been through so much loss and heartache, and Ava takes a shine to Danielle from the get go. Patrick can't stay away from her either, and it has nothing to do with investigating her sister's situation.
Built with elements of suspense, emotion, a little bit of inspiration, and characters that are well worth reading about, Ms. Stone creates a heartwarming and intriguing tale in Random Acts. The pacing flows great, there's not a moment that's dull, and I was left guessing until the very end. With a great cast of characters from the leading couple to the secondary, I enjoyed the feeling of being part of a family that though they'd suffered a loss, had a chance to find love again despite the odds. And through a little faith and love, Danielle and Patrick begin to see a new light at the end of the tunnel.
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. It's touching, engaging and well written. Readers can come away at the end of this story feeling satisfied. If you enjoy a romantic suspense story with some inspirational elements, come visit these wonderful characters in Random Acts.
August 16, 2013
Danielle Carson didnt have a lot of reason's to believe in God. No father around as a child and a mother that neglected both her and her sister and eventually left them all together in the care of there grandmother. Due to never having much as child Danielle vowed to make something of her life by getting a good education and a job that would financially support her to the degree she felt she needed to not feel like that poor lost girl she was so long ago. When she was in high school she had a huge crush on a boy named Patrick Kingsley. She thought maybe they had a future together and he would give her the fairy tale she always wanted. But things didnt work out the way she planned and Patrick went on to marry someone else. So she left small-town Mayport and headed to Atlanta and became a lawyer and never looked back. Now 15 years later she gets a late night call from a police officer telling her that her sister has been in a horrible accident. She is hit by a double whammy - not only the bad news about her sister but the police officer that called her from Mayport was none other than Patrick Kingsley, the last person she ever expected to hear from again.
Patrick Kingsley is a very religious man whose wife died and left him to raise their daughter. When Danielle makes it into town to the hospital to see her sister he realizes that there are still some lingering attraction between them even with her giving him nothing but hostility and telling him what he can do with his religion.
There were at times pretty heavy religious elements to this story that felt odd in the middle of a romantic suspense but the story itself of the reuniting of two people that had a history and the suspense of figuring out what happened to Danielle sister - which was very well written and kept you guessing till the end of who did it - was a very good story and I did enjoy that part of it.
Patrick Kingsley is a very religious man whose wife died and left him to raise their daughter. When Danielle makes it into town to the hospital to see her sister he realizes that there are still some lingering attraction between them even with her giving him nothing but hostility and telling him what he can do with his religion.
There were at times pretty heavy religious elements to this story that felt odd in the middle of a romantic suspense but the story itself of the reuniting of two people that had a history and the suspense of figuring out what happened to Danielle sister - which was very well written and kept you guessing till the end of who did it - was a very good story and I did enjoy that part of it.
May 26, 2012
This was a great blend of a wonderfully sweet romance with a kept-me-guessing suspense story. I came to care about the characters very much - as much as I wanted to know who the Protector was, I was sorry to see it all come to an end. Very much looking forward to Alison's next book!
May 8, 2012
A heart-warming Christian romance. Patrick and his daughter Ava were both total sweeties and easy to fall in love with. Strong opening, but I found the pacing a little slow in the middle.
June 5, 2012
Cute
April 17, 2017
Review: Random Acts
I enjoyed this book immensely and read it one day which is unusual for me. The characters were well chosen and the plot was a surprise.
I enjoyed this book immensely and read it one day which is unusual for me. The characters were well chosen and the plot was a surprise.
April 24, 2017
This was my first Christian fiction book. At first I was thinking it was going to be a totally cheesy story. But, I was wrong! I really loved the authors story telling and character building. I loved that the book was in both Patrick + Danielle's point of view. I enjoyed that it was a suspense and romance! It was a breath of fresh air to read after reading some rough thrillers this year. (This book was also free!!)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews