"red dawn rising" by sue duffy

About the book (from the publisher): Twenty-seven-year-old Cass Rodino is a hardworking, dedicated set designer on Broadway. But, like the actors who take the stage every night, she is masking a different reality. Her secrets lie deep within past wounds too severe to expose to anyone.

Evgeny Kozlov has secrets of his own. A former KGB assassin, he is trying to outrun the underground revolution he once served. Trying to right his wrongs, he's in a race against time and against a former colleague, Ivan, who has sinister plans to bring down the United States, including an assassination attempt on famed pianist Liesl Bower.

As Cass and Evgeny separately set out to save Liesl from an impending doom, both are hurled into a fierce CIA/FBI dragnet, not knowing that their formidable opponent—a most unlikely predator—is already closing in on them.

Book 2 of the Red Returning Trilogy, Red Dawn Rising mixes suspense, action, and romance in a tale of personal tragedy and triumph that will keep readers pivoting between the evil desires of world powers and the redeeming powers of personal faith, life, and love.

My take: Last year, I read and reviewed The Sound of Red Returning, book one in Sue Duffy's Red Returning trilogy. While I enjoyed the plot immensely, I said that I had difficulty connecting with the characters in the book. Well, I'm happy report that I had no such issue in Red Dawn Rising!

Red Dawn Rising is a fast-paced espionage novel with great character development. While characters from The Sound of Red Returning  do factor into this novel (especially Liesl Bower, her protector Ava, and President Noland), the characters I was most drawn to were Cass, her friend Jordan, and her step-father Hans. The plot Duffy designed for those three captured my interest completely and kept me guessing until the end.

Red Dawn Rising is a fantastic continuation of the story introduced in The Sound of Red Returning, and I highly recommend it to fans of spy thrillers. 4 stars.

See what other bloggers are saying.
Buy the book. (The Kindle version is free through 6-21-13.)
Read my review of The Sound of Red Returning.

About the author: Sue Duffy is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Moody magazine, The Presbyterian Journal, Sunday Digest, and The Christian Reader. She is the author of Mortal Wounds (Barbour, 2001), Fatal Loyalty (Kregel, 2010), and The Sound of Red Returning (Kregel, 2011). Sue has also contributed to Stories for a Woman’s Heart (Multnomah). She and her husband, Mike, have three grown children. Find out more at www.sueduffybooks.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review from Kregel Publications.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”