Sandra Orchard’s “Desperate Measures” picks up right where her second book ended — with herbal researcher Kate Adams’ quest to reunite with her father who had been missing for 20 years, and to protect the secretive and powerful amendoso plant from Columbia her father has been working with.
Also, as the novel begins, Detective Tom Parker, who is deeply in love with Kate, is searching for a missing teen, Caleb, who may or may not be caught up in the crazy mystery of the plant Kate is so desperately trying to hide and protect. Is he simply a runaway, or is he hiding because of something he saw?
“Desperate Measure” is as suspenseful of a thriller as you can get — with corporate espionage, kidnapping, attempted murders, and so much more. Orchard leaves you guessing until the very end as to “whodunnit.” Her characters are just as complex as the plot, as it’s impossible to guess a character’s true intentions and trustworthiness.
Besides justice, the novel’s main theme is trust — learning to trust and have faith in other people, and learning to trust God. Although the plot isn’t heavy on religious theming until the end of the book, Kate must learn the valuable lesson that nothing is impossible with God.
A favorite non-biblical quote from the book? “A creepy feeling like the pitter-patter of a hundred spider feet chilled the back of Kate’s neck.” Too cool! And on a minor note, I must say I love the covers in this series. I normally don’t care for covers with “stock” photos of real people, but these covers are dark, mysterious and eye-catching!
I would highly recommend reading the first two books in the series before reading this book, as it is definitely not a standalone book. You may be confused and bogged down at times with the plot and characters if you have to read the first two installments.
And for that reason, I give “Desperate Measures” a four and a half out of five stars.
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.
“Desperate Measures” (Port Aster Secrets, #3) by Sandra Orchard