Savannah Secrets by Alan Chaput

I wasn't familiar with this author or series before I read "Savannah Secrets," but the description sounded interesting, and I've always been fascinated by Savannah and its rich history. I actually wish the city played a bit bigger role in the story, but there is plenty of action without it. The heroine of the book, Patricia Falcon, and her lawyer husband Trey have an enviable marriage, a college-age daughter, and lots of danger surrounding them thanks to Trey's underground involvement in efforts to keep organized crime from invading Savannah. His disappearance early in the book triggers lots of cloak-and-dagger activity aimed at rescuing him while locating a mysterious religious relic that his captors seek. Overall, I liked this book -- it has elements that are reminiscent of books by Robert Ludlum and Dan Brown, but having a strong woman as the main protagonist is a welcome twist. So many different factors come into play: the Catholic church and its focus on securing the relic (perhaps at Trey's expense?); the mystic whose insight into the relic's potential power intrigues a young journalist; the Russian mafia who show their muscle in frightening ways. I especially enjoyed the various technology and gadgetry employed to protect Patricia and her daughter while spying on various characters and trying to secure Trey's release; I find that kind of thing fascinating. I don't know how much of it is real, but it's certainly cool. One thing that bothered me, however, was some mistakes made by Patricia's stoic bodyguard, Simon -- given his training and what was at stake in the story, they seemed somewhat implausible. But the way Patricia and her daughter finally solve the mystery is pretty ingenious. If you want a page-turning suspense story and don't mind the somewhat dark tone and need to suspend disbelief in a few places, this well-written book is worth your time.