This RITA® Reader Challenge 2016 review was written by LauraL. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Inspirational Romance category.

Here is LauraL's review:

I chose this book because I wanted to go outside my usual reading and then found comfort in the parts of the story that were familiar. Mistletoe Justice is a Love Inspired Suspense book, so it is an inspirational romantic suspense story which also happened to be set during the Christmas season. A tall order.

Well-delivered, Ms. Post, well-delivered. The story included prayers for help and thanks to God for blessings received, but there was plenty of suspense and romance. My Bible studies are a bit limited but I recognized a Prodigal Daughter when I saw one. I enjoy the simple faith that is part of Emily March’s Eternity Springs novels and Marilyn Pappano’s Tallgrass novels, so the heroine’s simple faith and goodness were familiar and comfortable.

The suspense is good and well-paced and it took me a while to figure out who one of the bad guys was. The romance was tame, as expected. However, there was no doubt the hero and heroine were building up beyond attraction to affection, respect, and love. By the way, unlike some romantic suspense stories, our hero and heroine did not stop to have sexy times while the villains were in hot pursuit! The hot scene at the middle of the book was a steamy kiss. A mild story, compared to some of the romantic suspense out there, but really engaging. And there was just enough Christmas and tree decorating.

At the start of the story, Darci Tucker learns she is being framed for embezzlement and suspects her boss and an accomplice she can’t identify. She is a single mother with a special needs child and she works as an accountant for a mining company in Florida. She’d rather be with her family and friends in Cedar Key, but life happens and Darci must support her son, Jayden. Enter Connor Stevenson, who is determined to discover how his sister disappeared, so he takes a job at the mine to try to find out what happened. There is a little dis-ingenuousness there as Connor does not reveal who he really is from the beginning. An aspect of the story that didn’t sit well with me, but he redeems himself. Connor has temporary custody of his sister’s son, Kyle. He also has the resources and smarts to find out what happened to his sister and to help Darci get out of trouble.

Both Darci and Connor feel they don’t have time for a relationship with each other. As they deal with the disappearance and the embezzlement charge, Connor, Darci, and the two boys spend more and more time together. They begin to form a family with going to church as part of that growth, of course. The story moves quickly and without giving away too much, Darci has to think quickly on her feet several times. I appreciated her resourcefulness. I did not have to give up much willing suspension of disbelief for the computer hacking part of the story even though my work life involves knowing a bit about information security. Darci’s boss is almost a mustache-twirling villain but he is also a hard-nosed businessman. Her ex-boyfriend, Jayden’s father, is not what he seems. In the end, all of the aspects of the mystery and the suspense were wrapped up with a happy Christmas bow.

This story was just what I needed to read to distract me at a tough time. While I was reading Mistletoe Justice, one of my friends was in the final stages of cancer. She was a reader and a woman who lived in simple faith and embraced kindness. Her dog’s name is Darcy. Sometimes books show up on one’s Kindle at the right time.