Shoreline

Nora Khalil #2

by Carolyn Baugh

Compelling, important, and completely engrossing it will change the way you look at the world. Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Higgins Clark Award Winning author

Officer Nora Khalil is a strong independent woman used to navigating different terrains. As an American-born Muslim, she loves her country and tries to honor the traditions of her people, but feels that she must constantly confront those who think she is alien.

Assigned to the FBI office in Erie, Pennsylvania, she tries to fit into small-town America after a childhood growing up in the bustle of Philly s dark streets. A series of horrific acts of violence are committed by a well-connected group of domestic terrorists eager to spark a national revolution. The town erupts in chaos and the eyes of the nation are on these events. In turn, this heats up the debate about the fabric of our nation and how those who feel disenfranchised by our new multiculturalism are determined to take back their birthright and, in their own words, make our nation great again.

Will Nora and her team be able to defuse the situation before the carnage goes national?

Readers will look forward to seeing more of the plucky Nora Khalil. Publishers Weekly

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Genres: Mystery, Thriller

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 27, 2017

About the author

In addition to being Associate Professor of History and Arabic at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, Carolyn Baugh is a mom to two girls who constantly surprise her, and a devoted dog-owner to Carmen the Mutt.

She holds a master's degree (2008) and a PhD (2011) from the University of Pennsylvania in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Her academic focus has been gender issues in early Islamic law. At Gannon, she directs the refugee oral history program and also the Women's Studies program.

She believes she was probably meant to be a jazz pianist in some smoky Parisian bar.

Adulting is not her strong point.

Reviews

[Anne, Unfinished Woman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so looked forward to another in the Nora Khalil series and I was not disappointed. Baugh has written an ingenious story, if somewhat over the top, with a fascinating protagonist and a roller-coaster plot. Khalil is compelling as impulsive, feisty, risky, brave, and willing to question her reactions to the events facing her and law enforcement in Erie. Where at first she is bored in her new assignment with the FBI, she comes face to face with the most violent and frightening revolution of a White Supremacist militia. The story is so relevant to today's social and political issues, that I was thinking this could be _____. Reading this I could sense the disfranchised person's fears of loss of self, traditions and a way of life described by the author. One the other hand, without revealing the end twist, the basest action of revenge points out how easily we can be manipulated. I would only have subtracted a couple of points in my rating as the final turn could have been left out. Overall an exciting read, and I once again anticipate another installment with Agent Nora Khalil.

[Kyle Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a riveting, engrossing, thought-provoking thriller. This is the second book in the Nora Khalil series. I have not read the first book, but I am putting it on my list to read in the near future! It seems that bad luck and trouble follow Nora around, from the mean streets of Philly to the quiet hamlet of Erie. As an American-born Muslim, Nora finds it increasing difficult to perform her duties as a special agent in the FBI. Her desire to hold true to the customs and traditions of her culture put her under constant scrutiny from everyone around her. Add to this her overbearing family and somewhat distant boyfriend, and Nora often finds herself spinning in circles.

A seemingly random bank robbery sets the wheels in motion for this book. Nora and her team soon realize that the bank heist was just the first step in a large scale terrorist attack that soon turns the town of Erie upside down, and the tension and scrutiny placed on Nora increases exponentially. This well-connected group of terrorists plan a series of violent acts that hey hope will spark a revolution in cities across the nation, reclaiming the nation that they feel is slipping away. Nora and her team encounter many obstacles as they desperately try to solve the puzzle that has been laid out and find the mastermind behind the overall plan. The cast of characters is complex, each having a specific function and skill set.

Aside from being a great work of suspense, this book has a deeper, more powerful message that cannot be ignored. It will change the way you look at your friends and neighbors, strangers on the street, and the world as a whole. I highly recommend this book to fans of thrillers and suspense, and I look forward to reading previous and future installments in this series.

I received this as a free ARC from Forge Books, MacMillan Publishing Group on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shoreline earned it's fourth star solely for the deep look into and exposure off what is going on in our country right now. Actually, I would like to read this book 4 1/2 stars.
I just have to start off with what bothered me the most. I know the group called themselves patriots but do we have to continue with that definition throughout the book? Even capitalizing the word! I say no! These are not patriots! These people are extremists and neo-Nazis and KKK and white supremacists. They are traitors to everything America was built upon and stands for. they are totally against equality and freedom and a safe harbor for those fleeing oppression and terrorism in their own countries.
No, I can't think of a one word description for these kinds of people but surely someone else out there can.
This book starte out a little slow for me and I wasn't particularly fond of the Erie FBI team. But, when this book heats up, it heats up! The team develops nicely and the interpersonal relationships are quite interesting. There is plenty of action, but it's a little misleading on the back of the cover. That is just a small one small (considering all the action to come) event in this book and has nothing to do with the main plot. But it is a very interesting scene. The problem is that this book is just a little too long. There is suspense, but at times it just gets tiring. Would probably help to be an operatic connoisseur. Me...not so much.
The subject matter is compelling and, unfortunately, perfectly in tune with today's tragedies. So many hateful paranoid people, racists and bigots, have been brought out from under their rocks. People who refuse to take responsibility for their lives and seek to put the blame on someone-something else. It's the government that is oppressing them. It's the Mexicans taking their jobs. It's government regulations taking away the call or steel industry. Yada yada yada. They would rather sit around and complain angrily than get out and get involved in clean renewable energy or seek a job that hasn't been passed down from generation to generation. Hitler presented I scape goat with the Jews in Germany. That is what the alt right is doing. It's just an easy way to shed responsibility and these people are so vulnerable to propaganda.
One thing you can count on – there will be change. You can either come along and be part of it or you can lay back like a kicking, screaming baby in the middle of a temper tantrum and let it leave you in the past.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shoreline by Carolyn Baugh.
Detective Nora Khalil, 2.
Officer Nora Khalil is a strong independent woman used to navigating different terrains. As an American-born Muslim, she loves her country and tries to honor the traditions of her people, but feels that she must constantly confront those who think she is alien.
Assigned to the FBI office in Erie, Pennsylvania, she tries to fit into small-town America after a childhood growing up in the bustle of Philly's dark streets. A series of horrific acts of violence are committed by a well-connected group of domestic terrorists eager to spark a national revolution. The town erupts in chaos and the eyes of the nation are on these events. In turn, this heats up the debate about the fabric of our nation...and how those who feel disenfranchised by our new multiculturalism are determined to take back their birthright and, in their own words, make our nation great again.
Will Nora and her team be able to defuse the situation before the carnage goes national?
A very good read with good characters. Great series. 4*.

[Steve Ring · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent thriller. I especially enjoyed the process of solving who was leading the attacks — a creative intellectual exercise. Some of the happenings were a little unbelievable, but most thrillers suffer from that problem. The mix of cultures amongst the characters is also interesting in this book. I read Quicksand and thought I would try another Carolyn Baugh book. I am glad I did.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nora Khalil is an interesting character, and I will read at least one more in the series because I like seeing how she navigates the world as a Muslim-American federal agent.

[Lakresha Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Took me on a wild ride