I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this novel. Well written with an engaging, and harrowing, plot. The romance was well done as well.

This is the first book I have read by Ms. Blackburn. This suspense-filled story is engaging and entertaining! This is a modern day romantic suspense novel that focuses on two characters, Leigh and Ryan. Leigh is a nurse practitioner at a local hospital who someone is trying to kill. Ryan is a cop that investigates what is occurring in Leigh’s life. As you read, you will wonder who is guilty and what will occur next. If you are looking for a new book and/or author to read in the suspense genre, this would be a great selection for you. Her books remind me of Lynette Eason’s thrilling books. I highly recommend you read this book! After reading this book, I will be reading her other books.
***I was given a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher. This is my honest opinion. Even though I received this copy free, this is my own opinion.

Lynn Blackburn is a new author to me, but after reading Beneath the Surface, I'm definitely going to be signing up for more. This book gripped me from beginning to end, containing all the twists and tension that make a suspense book a success.
With the perfect balance of light banter and dangerous tension, Blackburn creates a mystery complete with unforgettable characters. I genuinely enjoyed the hero and heroine, along with the supporting cast of criminal investigators that I certainly hope will appear in future books. The plot pacing was spot on, with consistent action that captured my attention until the end. Quite frankly, this story filled my imagination every step of the way.
Blackburn is an author to watch! After reading this book, my appetite is whetted for more.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Love this book, never read her books but this is going to be a new author for me. It was action pact with little romance. Can't wait for the next one

Such a sweet book! (well as sweet as you can for a christian suspense novel)
Leigh has moved to Carrington after escaping a stalker and grieving the death of her mother. When a body is found in front of her lake house she unwittingly gets pulled into the investigation. Ryan is one of the lead detectives, who takes it upon himself to protect and look out for her after it appears that the killer is wanting Leigh dead.
This book is filled with awesome, likeable characters which make for a very suspenseful and fun read. Looking forward to reading more of this series in the future.
P.S I love Sabrinas character. Hoping very much that she will be the main star in one of the other books to come!

This is the first Blackburn book I’ve read and it was so good, I added her to my “Authors to watch for” list. Before I even wrote this review, I went and bought another book of hers to read. The suspense and danger were intense. It just never stopped. Once I thought I had the villain figured out but thankfully I was wrong. I love it when I don’t see all the twists and turns coming.
You know you’re having a rough week when a “good day” is that nobody has tried to kill you in the past 24 hours. While Leigh struggles with how God can allow hard things to happen, she also sees His hand at work although she doesn’t really know if it’s God or just circumstance. Having Ryan back in her life is a definite blessing and the banter between the two of them is fun.
I really enjoyed the characters on the Dive Team. While they’re all quite unique, they worked together well and I can’t wait to read more about Adam, his grandpa, and Sabrina in the next story. I sense Sabrina has her own mystery that drives her and I want to know more.
Thank you to Revell for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Dive Team Investigations Book 1

Review of Beneath the Surface by Lynn Blackburn. It’s the first book in a new series of dive team investigations. Leigh is a wonderful character. She’s got the perfect balance of strong but also needing help. I loved her struggle with the fact that if God‘s in control then why are these bad things happening. Why does he allow them? She is a nurse who has survived a stalker. The relationship between her and Ryan is adorable. And the addition of the secondary character of Mr. Cook was a fabulous addition to the story. He adds so much to the story from both the mystery standpoint and the faith aspect.
They mystery takes some turns and becomes intriguing. The author balances the personal relationships and the mystery well. Her descriptions are so vivid and accurate that you can see the scenes playing out before you. It has all the romance, suspense, wit and surprises that we love.

I hope the characters continue throughout the series. I was only halfway into the book and I was already interested in Gabe, Anissa, Sabrina and Adams back stories. Lynn is definitely going to be a great new author to follow. This is just another reason why we should make it a challenge to read new authors.

I had never read any books by Lynn Blackburn before. I was interested in reading Beneath the Surface and I was not disappointed. It was a great romance/suspense novel. It has likable characters and a good plot.

Leigh Weston is a nurse practitioner living in her deceased parents home. She is recovering from a terrifying experience involving a stalker that turned out to be a former patient. When her stalker passes away from cancer, she is hopeful for the future. One day, homicide inspector Ryan Parker appears on her doorstep asking for assistance. A body has been found in the lake bordering Leigh's home and the homicide unit would like to use her dock for further searches.

Dangerous things begin happening to Leigh. Ryan feels that the first murder and Leigh are connected somehow. First someone cuts the brakes in her car. While in the hospital, someone poisons her hospital food. Then someone in the emergency room is hired to choke her. Ryan is trying his best to protect her, but the murderer seems to be one step ahead of them.

I think Lynn Blackburn is a very good writer, and I will be reading any other books she writes in the future. The only thing I didn't like was I don't feel the villain got their just punishment. Dying is the easy way out, and the perfect ending would have been justice served. But still a great story!

Lynn Blackburn’s book “Beneath the Surface” will have you hooked from the first page! I know it did me. I had a hard time putting this book down. It really seemed to draw me in.

This book starts out with the dive team finding a body. This starts a string of murders they are investigating. There were a few twists and turns throughout the novel and also a little romance thrown in.

This is the first book I’ve read by Lynn Blackburn, but it won’t be my last. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, and I’m hoping I can find some more books by her. I highly recommend this book, if you like good, clean romantic suspense novels. You won’t be disappointed!

I received this from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

"Beneath the Surface" is a Christian romantic suspense novel. The cops find the body while doing a training dive session. The rest of the investigation occurs above water. The hero asked the heroine if he can use her dock to access the lake. Though the victims of the serial killer are middle-aged men, the heroine is suddenly the target of someone and it seems connected with the search for the serial killer.

The suspense comes from the the repeated attacks on the heroine and some exciting scenes in the hospital, where the heroine worked in the emergency department. The main characters were caring people who reacted realistically to the situations. I cared about what happened to them. The hero and heroine had been attracted to each other since they were young, but the situation brought them together romantically.

The hero and heroine struggled with the question of why God allowed bad things to happen to one person but not another. The hero was a Christian, but the heroine wasn't sure if she trusted God even though her adoptive parents had. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I would recommend this enjoyable, exciting suspense novel.

A good start to a new series even though diving did not seem to play a prominent role in the book. The mystery kept me guessing, the suspense was believable and the romance was good (but not great). I would definitely read the next to the series.

I am always on the lookout for new and exciting inspirational suspense novels, and Beneath The Surface did not disappoint. Lynn Blackburn delivers a novel that balances action with fantastic interpersonal interactions, careful criminal investigation with plenty of tension, and a light-hearted joy despite the depravity of the crimes. Beneath The Surface was a very enjoyable novel to read and with it Lynn H. Blackburn earns her way onto my list of favourite romantic suspense authors.

Leigh Weston has returned to her hometown, eager to escape the memories of a patient who turned stalker. But what was supposed to bring peace and security only brings more chaos when the local dive team investigation unit discovers a dead body in the water just off Leigh’s lakeside home. Homicide Investigator Ryan Parker didn’t enjoy discovering a body on one of his team’s routine training sessions, but he is glad for the excuse to spend more time with his childhood crush (and his best-friend’s sister), Leigh. But the case becomes personal when Leigh finds herself targeted by a dangerous killer.

The thing I loved most about Beneath The Surface was the way it mixes intense suspense and investigation with lighthearted banter between friends and the growing relationship between Ryan and Leigh. While some romantic suspense novels seem to focus solely on the investigation details and other stretch believability for the sake of romance, Lynn Blackburn gets the balance just right. As the events unfolded, I felt like I really had time to get to know the characters. From Ryan’s teammates to Leigh’s colleagues at the hospital, all the characters were richly detailed and add multiple layers to this story. I particularly enjoyed hanging with the dive investigation team. Their camaraderie shines through the small squabbles, idea-sharing sessions, and the way in which they have each other’s backs. I look forward to continuing the series with this team, watching as other members fall in love and catch some bad guys.

The mystery in Beneath The Surface was compelling and kept me guessing. I thought I caught some of the clues but even towards the end I was still making wild conclusions trying to figure it out. I really loved the ending, loved Leigh’s strength and determination, loved how the team pull together. There is a constant spread of action throughout the book, but the story still incorporates long periods of data crunching and waiting, which feel more realistic of true crimes.

The romance between Ryan and Leigh really is terribly sweet and very swoony. Based on a childhood friendship, Ryan and Leigh’s relationship never felt rushed or contrived, but genuine and totally natural. They have some amazing chemistry and watching them fall in love and finally share those feelings was awesome.

Beneath The Surface was an exciting novel. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy compelling suspense and beautiful romance, as well as a nice balance of friendship, criminal investigation details, and faith. I can’t wait to read book two in what promises to be an amazing series.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

I haven't read anything by Lynn Blackburn, but she has written a number of romantic suspenses for the Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense line. I do enjoy a good mystery that grips my attention and keeps me focused on the story. With Blackburn's first full length novel Beneath the Surface, I expected to receive a military or FBI type character who is working to solve a case while the woman either works with him or he or she is trying to protect the member of the opposite sex. I expect the suspense to be non-stop with some explaining of the thought process to solve the case. With Beneath the Surface, I did receive all these things.
The writing is clear and concise. When the police officers got together to discuss the case, I trusted that Blackburn was actually writing what would have occurred in a police meeting as they discussed what they have and what they still needed to solve the mystery. No head hopping. Pretty good descriptions to keep me cemented in the mystery.
When I approach a mystery, I expect that the mystery I first encounter either in the first chapter or the prologue is the mystery for the entire book. Not in Beneath the Surface. It occurs, and I was drawn into the story, wondering about the body with no head, feet, or hands. But the next chapter focusing on Leigh, the heroine, and stays focused on her for the next fifty-five percent of the novel. Rarely, did it go back to the body in the water. Leigh had things happen to her, and the detectives, Ryan especially, wanted to know why. I wondered why Blackburn made us focus so much on Leigh when the opening chapter had nothing to do with her, or I was led to believe.
Another issue I had with the plot was that the series is called the Dive Team Investigators. The first chapter features the detectives under the water, but the rest of the novel occurs on land. They didn't even go back under to hunt for more clues. I thought the detectives would have spent more time diving for clues than hunting on land.
When another detective brings up the idea of the same killer hunting Leigh and murdered the body in the lake around sixty percent into the novel, then the novel becomes what I thought it should have been since the beginning. The novel becomes exciting, and I can't put the novel down. I finished the rest of the book in a little under two hours. Lots of actions and thought processes to solve the mystery.
The romance, in my taste, was a little rushed. So Leigh and Ryan liked each other when they were little. Do they honestly know the adult version of each other without someone hunting down Leigh? They want to jump into a forever relationship because of the crush they used to have on each other. If this was reality, I believe their romance wouldn't last.
Overall, Beneath the Surface by Lynn Blackburn is different romantic suspense with a hurried romance but a hunt for the killer that kicked off around sixty percent, but dragged for the first part of the novel. There is a second book and probably a third, so I definitely will be giving Blackburn another try. Fans of Lynette Eason, Irene Hannon, DiAnn Mills, and Terri Blackstock might, I believe, enjoy this romantic suspense story.
I received a complimentary copy of Beneath the Surface by Lynn Blackburn from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.