Murder, Faith, and Love: The Celebrate Lit Blog Tour and Giveaway of Shattered by Death

June 01, 2020

About the Book

Book: Shattered by Death
Author: Catherine Finger
Genre: Thriller/Suspense/Mystery
Release Date: June 2016

When Josie’s abusive soon-to-be-ex-husband had an affair with another woman, Josie could have murdered them. When someone does, Jo is the prime suspect and the only one who can solve the case.

Click here to get your copy!

Book Review

While Shattered by Death was not my favorite mystery I have read, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The main character, Jo Oliver, the chief of police, is framed for the murder of her ex-husband and his mistress. She has to find the killer before she’s arrested and the murders start piling up.

While the book is part of a series, it is one that can stand alone. However, I did not read the previous book in the series and I felt like I was missing out on something while reading it. It’s not like I was ever confused about anything in the book itself, I just felt like to be able to enjoy and understand this book more fully, I’d have to read the other one.

Jo Oliver herself is a good character with strong faith, although it does waver throughout the story. Jo’s character was a little too bold for my liking, but I guess someone in her situation would have to be.

The story itself was a little bit predictable for me and the ending seemed to be a little abrupt.

But that being said, there were really good faith lessons throughout the book. And Catherine Finger is a talented writer. And while this book is not one that I would necessarily want to read again, I would recommend this book to anybody looking for a good mystery with strong faith elements.

I had received a copy of this book as part of the Celebrate Lit Blogging Team and was required to give an honest review.

About the Author

Catherine Finger loves to dream, write, and tell stories. Recently retired from a wonderful career in public education, she celebrates the ability to choose how to spend her time in a new way during the second half of life. So far, she chooses to write books, ride horses, serve others, and generally find her way into and out of trouble both on the road and at home. She lives in the Midwest with a warm and wonderful combination of family and friends.

Capsized by Death, the fourth novel in her Jo Oliver Thriller series, will be released by Elk Lake Publishing in November 2019. Anchored by Death, the third of her Jo Oliver novels, was a Bronze Medal winner at the 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards; a 2018 Selah Awards finalist; and a finalist for the National Indie Excellence Awards. Her second Jo Oliver Thriller, Shattered by Death, was a finalist in the International Book Awards and the National Indie Excellence Awards. Catherine and her novels have been featured on radio stations, blogs, and in numerous articles—all posted at www.CatherineFinger.com.

Catherine loves to interact with her readers at www.CatherineFinger.com Follow her on Facebook at Catherine Finger, Author, and on Twitter at CatherineFinger@BeJoOliver.

More from Catherine

“If you could kill someone and get away with it, what would you do? How would you do it?”
Having posed this question over dessert during a really good first date several years ago—to my surprise and delight my date proceeded to share a story about an international cosmetic gone badly awry. I was so taken with this story, that I couldn’t wait to get home and start writing. And I did. That night I sat down to write a scene between two powerful women, intending one to toy with the other by playing with a jar of deadly moisturizer as they interacted.

As I wrote that night, an unexpected scene involving spiritual warfare popped into my head and onto the screen. The edgy, scary, lock-your-doors-before reading story I called Shattered by Death was born.

While the moisturizer scene didn’t ultimately stay in the book, the idea of powerful women pitted against each other did. I strive to create antagonists that are as strong—or stronger—than Jo Oliver. When I feel the tension of wondering whether or not Josie is going to make it out alive—that’s when I know I’m in the middle of a great story.

I hope you think so too.
Enjoy the read!
Catherine