Blog Stops
Book Looks by Lisa, September 5
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, September 6
Inspired by Fiction, September 7
Stories By Gina, September 8 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 8
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, September 9
Texas Book-aholic, September 10
Locks, Hooks and Books, September 11
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 12
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 13
Simple Harvest Reads, September 14 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
Blogging With Carol , September 15
For Him and My Family, September 16
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, September 16
Holly’s Book Corner, September 17
Just Your Average reviews, September 18
About the Book
Book: The Garden Girls
Author: Jessica R. Patch
Genre: Thriller
Release date: April 23, 2024
On a remote Outer Banks island, a serial killer collects his prized specimens. And to stop him, an FBI agent must confront his own twisted past.
FBI agent Tiberius Granger has seen his share of darkness. But a new case sets him on edge. It’s not just the macabre way both victims—found posed in front of lighthouses—are tattooed with flowers that match their names. There’s also the unsettling connection to the woman Ty once loved and to the shadowy cult they both risked everything to escape.
Bexley Hemmingway’s sister has gone missing, and she’ll do anything to find her—including teaming up with Ty. That may prove a mistake, and not just because Ty doesn’t know he’s the father of her teenaged son. It seems the killer is taunting Ty, drawing everyone close to him into deeper danger.
As the slashing winds and rain of a deadly hurricane approach the coast of North Carolina, the search leads Ty and Bex to an island that hides a grisly secret. But in his quest for the truth, Ty has ignored the fact that this time, he’s not just the hunter. Every move has been orchestrated by a killer into a perfect storm of terror, and they will need all their skills to survive…
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Jessica R. Patch is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author known for her dry wit, signatures twists, and complex characters. She loves reading true crime books, discussing cold cases over chips and salsa with her girlfriends, and hunting down serial killers in her romantic suspense novels and psychological thrillers.
Jessica loves to encourage and inspire people to forward living devotionals through her monthly email newsletter. You’re invited to join the Patched In community at her website: http://www.jessicarpatch.com and receive a FREE short thriller, Nobody Has to Know.
She resides in the Memphis area with her husband and her spoiled tri-color Shetland Sheepdog since becoming empty nesters. Jessica is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Management.
More from Jessica
Does Dark Subject Matter Belong in Inspirational Thrillers?
Spoil alert! Yes.
I am often asked why I write thrillers with darker subject matter and should I? My answer is easy and it’s biblical.
In the Bible, you’ll find all sorts of twisted, dark subject matter. Simply read the book of Judges. God didn’t sanitize the Bible or the people, which include sexual immorality, murder, gruesome violence against women and even cannibalism and child sacrifice (you won’t find child sacrifice in my books, so rest assured). He didn’t approve of these things nor did He condone them, but He also didn’t edit it out for easy reading pleasure. It was important to reveal the dark human condition and what happens apart from God; many heinous things were perpetrated by God’s people as they edged away from their faith into disobedience.
Reading this darker subject matter is hopeful because it reminds us of who we, too, can become apart from God actively in our lives and that God can still accomplish His redemptive purposes in the midst of that darkness. Light shines and is a beacon of hope. Of salvation.
So I don’t shy away from the underbelly of humanity whether it’s through an unbeliever or a believer who has run off the rails and needs brought to repentance and restoration. Light always shines in my books—God rescues, redeems, reconciles and redirects. I’m willing to go there in my stories because I know that it doesn’t stay dark. It doesn’t stay hopeless because we are never without hope.
In The Garden Girls, I wanted to explore that darkness but not with pointy horns and pitchforks. I think we all run from blatant evil that isn’t hiding or masking itself. But what about when evil masquerades as an angel of light? What about when it’s charming, smells good, offers pleasure, and seems harmless? Like a shiny lure that is attractive but when bitten, hooks and binds the unsuspecting victim. Biblical principles and truths weave through the story and in at the heart, it’s a redemptive story. One that takes hurricane force to bring a man to Truth, and choice to bow his heart and yield to sacrificial love.
My Impressions
“I don’t believe anything in our life is wasted. This shell is chipped and broken. Been tossed by the waves. No control and yet it’s here on this beach. It’s not so far destroyed that I can’t recognize what it’s meant to be or find the beauty in it. I think the broken shells have stronger, richer stories than those I find that are in mint condition.”
Jessica Patch has penned another very memorable thriller, The Garden Girls. While Book 3 in FBI: Strange Crimes Unit, Garden Girls stands well on its own.
Young women are disappearing, without a trace until tattooed bodies begin appearing by lighthouses in North Carolina. The Special Crimes Unit is activated and sets up a home base in the Outer Banks. Returning there id difficult for one of their members, Ty Granger. Years ago, he escaped a religious cult based there in the mountains. Plus, his former girlfriend, Bexley Hemingway, lives in the area.
I liked how the Special Crimes Unit is like a family. They look out for each other. Especially in Ty’s case, the members are closer to him than his real family. Yet, his real family with its twisted past has left an indelible mark on Ty. He may have escaped the cult. He may be the religious behavioral analyst on the team, but he refuses to go from belief in one over-controlling religion to faith in God, which he considers another controlling religion. While several of Ty’s teammates are believers, Ty feels they are in a cult just as dangerous as the one of his youth.
This is a very gritty novel that explores the darkness of man’s depravity without God. We see how dark the mind of the seri*l kill*r is. We even see how dark is the hopelessness that Ty experiences when that same mastermind has almost totally outwitted him. “This went far deeper than a killer wanting revenge. This was a killer who wanted complete dominion over Ty.” Ty begins to lose all hope. Will God step in and begin to show up for him?
“Without hope, there was no meaning in life. The ocean was vast and shadowy, always reminding her that darkness lurked and was immense, terrifying and unpredictable, but when dawn peeped over the horizon it brought light to the darkness and color. Vibrant and beautiful. That was hope—light piercing the darkness, overwhelming it with its glory and majesty, bringing a new day and fresh mercy. Light chased away shadows and sparkled on the shores, beckoning one to come and stand in its presence with outstretched arms and to be wrapped in its warmth. Yielding to hope was possible.” Ty has been self-sufficient for so long. Finally, the terrifying hurricane and the fiend Ty and his team are chasing bring Ty to the end of himself. Will he give up or let go and let God?
I always like to write down a guess mid-way through the book when I’ve figured out the culprit. I missed it by a mile. Patch does a great job of tangling the clues together like knotted fishing line.
I recommend this book for those who are fans of the NCSI series and its spin-offs. I received a copy from Celebrate Lit. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“And the truth of drawing near to God rang true. He didn’t have to ask. He only had to draw.”
“He needed renewed strength. Not his own strength but something far greater and powerful—more powerful than this hurricane—to allow him to continue. Owen was right.
My Rating
Great!
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Jessica is giving away the grand prize package of a paperback copy of Her Darkest Secret, a paperback copy of A Cry in the Dark and a $35 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.