cover image The Weaver’s Needle

The Weaver’s Needle

Robin Caroll. Shiloh Run, $14.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-63409-994-3

Nickolai Baptiste and Landry Parker, competing recovery specialists who make their living finding valuable lost or stolen items, have been offered the job of a lifetime: find a map of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. When wealthy widow Winifred Winslet calls them both to her stately home in uptown New Orleans to discuss her husband’s recent murder and the task of recovering the map, Landry is immediately intrigued by mysterious Nickolai. The two set out as a team to recover the document, but someone doesn’t want them to succeed, which puts them (and their budding romance) in danger. This fast-paced faith-based thriller comes with unique elements not normally covered by Christian fiction, particularly the in-depth discussions of mental issues and caregiving. Caroll does a fine job of weaving Native American spiritual elements into the story, but the settings of New Orleans and Arizona are frustratingly underdeveloped. And Nickolai, a former police officer and savvy recovery specialist, draws readers in, but Landry, a former army MP now in charge of a struggling business, feels static throughout. While book begins quickly with high stakes, the plot drags in the middle as Nickolai and Landry go about their investigation surrounded by secondary characters who are never fully fleshed-out. However, despite some uneven plotting, Caroll’s novel will go down easy for fans of romantic suspense. (June)