Book Review: Firewall

The book, Firewall, by Diann Mills, is a Christian thriller/mystery. As far as thrillers go, it was filled with suspense and a fast-moving plot. The reader is swept into the action within the first few pages and the action doesn't really let up until the end, when everything is resolved nicely and good triumphs over evil, and God is affirmed as being the true source of comfort and sustenance. The inclusion of God into the story still felt somewhat like ... well, a purposeful inclusion of God into the story. In other words, I guess I just didn't feel that the religious bits were naturally woven into the story, but rather felt forced or tagged on. Still, the plot was excellent and the writing was seamless. I did enjoy it.

Taryn Young is heading for her honeymoon. When she steps away from her husband to use the restroom in the airport, she never expects that a bomb will explode. Nor is she ready for the discovery that both she and her husband are now suspects in the bombing. Her husband clearly is not the person she thought he was. Has her whole whirlwind romance been a lie? Will she be able to convince the FBI that she was not involved in the plans to bomb the airport? Will she be able to help her company salvage a computer program she disabled prior to leaving for the honeymoon? Who is responsible for the many deaths surrounding these events? What do they want and hope to accomplish?

You can see that there are plenty of gripping, plot-driving questions. The pacing is perfect. The final reveal of the central bad-guy took me by surprise. While it does require the willful suspension of disbelief (I found it difficult to believe the timid, gullible computer programming nerd would be gutsy and grounded enough to put herself in harm's way in order to assist in the investigation or that she would be willing to consider romance with the FBI agent on the heels of her discovery of the betrayal and deception of her marriage ), it was easy to get swept up in the story. If you are looking for a Christian-based thriller, you will not regret taking the time to read this book. It holds the reader spellbound for the duration. As far as plotting goes, it receives an A+.