Linda Hall, author of several acclaimed Christian novels, has started a new series featuring private detective Teri Blake-Addison. A Christian P.I. may seem like an odd combination, but Hall’s first book in the series works on many levels.

Teri, a private investigator who lives with her new husband in a large house in Maine, has been contacted by famous minister Carl Houseman to investigate the death of his wife six years ago. Ellen Houseman was a supposedly happy mother of four sons and an ever-supportive wife to her successful husband. However, she had another life back where she grew up on a small island in Canada. This life revolved around sailing and around friends who never were a part of her life with Carl and her children. It was while she was living this life that she died, in a sailing accident with two other women. Their bodies were found. Ellen’s never was.

Although Carl has supposedly moved on with his still-successful ministry and a new fiancée, he cannot get over the death of his wife or the feeling that he was somehow to blame. What starts out as a quest for Teri to find out more information on his wife turns into a breathless rush to find a woman who may never have died in the first place.

Teri Blake-Addison is a spunky, intelligent heroine who will appeal to most women, especially those who follow the Christian faith. Although Christian themes permeate this novel, they are rarely overpowering or preachy and those who follow other faiths (or none at all) should still be able to enjoy this book without feeling isolated.

The best part of this book, however, is the plot, intricate and full of twists and turns. Hall does a laudable job of creating a situation that keeps the reader interested until the very last page. Unfortunately, the ending is a bit anticlimactic, but it’s a small drawback to an otherwise commendable book.