Unexpected Witness by Penny Zeller

Unexpected Witness by Penny Zeller
Book 1 of 3 Mountain Justice
Publisher: Maplebrook Publishing, October 22, 2024

REVIEW BY GWEN M. PLANO

In this Christian Suspense novel, nurse Mila Casey completes her shift at the local hospital and walks to her car in the employee parking lot. She notices some peculiar behavior, draws closer, and then witnesses a deadly attack. The murderer catches sight of her and tries to kill her as well.

Mila calls for help, but her actions put her in greater danger. She gets into her car, heads away from the scene, only to realize that she is being chased. In this terrifying predicament, she drives to the sheriff’s department. Once the sheriff understands the situation, he deploys the police and puts Mila in Witness Protection. But even with this protective action, the murderer and his buddies repeatedly locate her. The young nurse lives in constant fear for her life, unable to trust friends or officials. The tension mounts as the evidence slowly reveals a dangerous web of connections. Mila is finally hidden away on the sheriff’s family ranch, and slowly a relationship develops between her and the sheriff’s brother, Roarke. This love interest continues to play an important role throughout the story.

“Mom would remind him he could make all the plans he wanted, but the Lord directed his steps.”

“…serving others and being there for them are two ways we can show the love of Christ.”

Unexpected Witness, Penny Zeller

I liked the characters in this novel. They were relatable and enduring. Similarly, the setting was one I could easily envision. Both of these points underscore Zeller’s writing skill. The faith elements were scattered throughout the novel and included whispered prayers and occasional references to scripture. More than anything, the actions of the characters reflected their faith, as they were rooted in trust in God.

There were a few situations that I found to be a bit of a stretch, and the romantic elements were predictable. But this was fiction, and frankly, I appreciated the evolution of the story – expected or not.

I give Unexpected Witness four and a half well-deserved fish.

I purchased the Kindle version of Unexpected Witness through Amazon.