Lis Wiehl

This book drove me crazy. I was so creeped out that I kept wanting to stop reading, but I couldn't stop because I had to know what happened. Waking Hours was published by a Christian publisher, but don't make the mistake of thinking that means it's not a book that will keep you up at night. It just means there is no cussing or sex in the book. Trust me, you won't miss it.

Tommy Gunderson is the town hero: former high school football star, former NFL player. He's also a Christian, which makes show more for some very interesting conversations with Dani Harris, who is a scientist through and through, and doesn't believe in anything she can't see and touch. There is no preaching going on here, though. I can't say that the Christian part is downplayed because the mystery Dani and Tommy are unravelling seems to literally be a battle between good and evil, God and Satan.

Aside from the crime-solving, watching Tommy and Dani get to know each other is sweet and funny. There is a lot of humor in this book, despite the subject matter. Tommy, in particular, has a corny sense of humor. I could give a dozen examples, but my favorite line is,

At the double door to the east wing, a workman on a stepladder was mounting a bracket to the moulding. "I have one just like that. I love my stepladder," Tommy told Dani. "But it makes me sad to think I never knew my real ladder."

This book has it all: mystery, humor, a battle between good and evil, a little hint of romance. Waking Hours is the first in the The East Salem Trilogy, and I'll be waiting for the next installment.

About the book
Title: The Waking Hours (The East Salem Trilogy)
Author: Lis Wiehl with Pete Nelson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release date: October 4, 2011
Pages: 336
Where I got the book: I got this book for free from the publisher as part of the BookSneeze review program. All opinions are my own. show less

Historic East Salem may not be the sleepy little town it seems. Things are a bit off, especially when it comes to the supernatural. Forensic psychiatrist Dani Harris and former football star Tommy Gunderson form an uneasy alliance in order to solve the tragic murder of a local teenage girl. All of the evidence points to a group of teenagers, a group that doesn’t remember a thing about the night of the girl’s murder. Dani and Tommy begin to realize that there may be more to the murder show more than they realize and that perhaps, the evil involved may be more than human.

Waking Hours is part mystery and part thriller with a dash of supernatural thrown in. This book successfully pulls the elements of a murder mystery and a supernatural thriller together and weaves a story so compelling and entertaining that I could not put it down. The plot moves at a quick pace, weaving mystery after mystery. It never gives too much away, only hinting at what is to come. The characters are smart and engaging, you really care what happens to them. Perhaps the best part of the characters in Waking Hours is how real they seem. They make mistakes, they doubt themselves, they suffer and they love. The hint of supernatural in the story was perfect, not overwhelming or silly. It was so believable that, at times, I found myself looking around to see if I was alone. There is nothing better than a story that seems so real you think you see shadows around every corner. And Waking Hours is that story.

I highly recommend Waking Hours to everyone. It was a perfect read—perfectly scary, perfectly paced and perfectly entertaining. I was excited to discover that this is just the first of a trilogy. I anxiously await the next book! show less

Fans of Fox News know that Lis Wiehl doesn't shy away from hard-hitting news and isn't afraid to ask the questions the viewers want to hear the answers to. In THE NEWSMAKERS, she has created a reporter with the same drive to get to the truth of the story.

Erika Sparks has been chosen by Nylan Hastings to be the new face of Global News Network (GNN). Nylan created the network and runs it himself after making billions on a video game that he created. Now as a leader in the news world, he wants show more to be the best including hiring the best reporter and newscaster he can find. On Erika's first live shoot to interview the Duchess of Cambridge, the Staten Island Ferry crashes into the port, on live TV while Erika is reporting. GNN's ratings spike and Erika becomes an instant household name. Later, while interviewing a potential presidential candidate, another incident happens, live, during her interview. Is this all a coincidence or is there an evil force behind all these incidents. As Erika, ever the reporter, digs deeper into the accidents, she finds that not only herself but everyone close to her could be in danger.

This fast-paced book, even with its predictability, kept me turning the pages with quickening breaths. Even though I guessed the root cause of the casualties in the story, there was more that I couldn't have imagined. Some of the scenarios were quite disturbing and makes me cautious of our future. I have no doubt that some of these types of situations are occurring already.

Wiehl takes you into the heat of the action in the newsrooms and shows you the backstabbing, the favors, and the deals that are made on a given news day. Wiehl takes current stories ripped from the headlines and inserts them into Erika's life as a reporter making the reader think that much of this could be happening in our world today. Wiehl shows the reality of stardom and how quickly it can be achieved or taken away by the next upcoming star.

Erika is a flawed, yet likable character that the reader will root for and worry about. Erika's past makes her real to the reader and backs up her driven character. Even if the situations she puts herself in feel a bit far-fetched, Wiehl pulls you into the storyline so effortlessly that you ignore it and focus on how Erika is going to get out of this mess.

Current news stories and a fast-paced suspenseful thriller make this a great read for mystery readers. Wiehl is known for her other series of mysteries and she leaves the ending of THE NEWSMAKERS open for the reader to want to know more about Erika's next story. show less

A nice little mystery ripped from the headlines. Lis Wiehl uses her experiences as a federal prosecutor and television journalist, as well as her father's career as an FBI agent, to create three very different characters all fighting for the same goals.

The book takes place mostly in Portland, Oregon. Three women, who had known each other since high school, are re-united after their career paths once again converge. Allison, federal prosecutor, is the only one not to have left Portland. show more Married and trying to start a family, she seems the most stable of the trio. Firmly grounded in her Christian faith, Allison will not hesitate to turn to her pastor in times of trouble. Cassidy, the television news reporter, has worked her way up from small market news reporter to the mid market Portland news. Always looking for the angle that will be her big break, Cassidy always has a different take on events. Seeming to latch on to the latest new age fad, Cassidy seems to be struggling for acceptance. Nicole, the third in the triple threat club, is a black female FBI agent. She too had left Portland until her career path had re-united her with her friends. An unwed mother, the identity of her daughters father remains a well kept secret. An agnostic, Nicole thinks that both Allison and Cassidy are foolish for placing their faith in non-existent entities.

The mystery, and it is a very good one, starts when Katie Converse, a senate page home in Portland over the Christmas break, takes her dog out for a walk and never returns. The Converse family contacts Cassidy in order to garner publicity to help find their missing daughter. This publicity soon turns nationwide, and Cassidy thinks she has finally received her big break. Nicole has been assigned FBI liaison to the Converse family. Allison, as federal prosecutor, sets up a grand jury to investigate senator Fairview, Katie's sponsor in the page program and number one suspect in her disappearance.

The three meet regularly, just as friends normally will, and inevitably compare notes. They refer to themselves as "Triple Threat," as much for the dessert they share as for their three prong attack on crime. There are other things going on in their lives as well. Allison has been receiving death threats. Cassidy is involved in an abusive relationship, and Nicole finally has a love interest. But all three have an emotional connection to Katie Converse, and she takes center stage in their respective lives during the time the case remains active.

As I said earlier, the mystery was very good. I was a little surprised by the ending, but the clues were mostly present to solve the case. The problem I had with the book, and thus only 4 stars, were the characters. They seemed too stereotypical. The over-achieving television news woman, the double minority FBI agent who has to be twice as good as the next agent, and the firmly grounded federal prosecutor struggling to start a family. My next observation is that all three women should be big enough to float above the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. They always meet over food - burgers and fries, tacos, pizza, etc. - and always ends with some kind of exotic dessert which they share. These are probably minor discrepancies, however they did bother me enough to make an impact on my rating.

I would recommend this to fans of good mysteries and will read more of Ms. Wiehl's Triple Threat novels in the future.

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