Three years ago, the unthinkable happened. Three armed men walked into our house and held us at gunpoint. Things quickly escalated and in a matter of minutes, my entire, safe world changed forever. They tied up myself, my husband and my daughter—gave me two black eyes and a mild concussion in the process—and robbed us, including my wedding ring off my finger.
It’s crazy how I can remember so many details from that night, but there is one that stands out. I managed to untie myself and help our daughter get free, but as I ran through the house, I couldn’t find my husband who’d been drug into another room. I started to panic, but was dizzy from repeated blows to the head and struggling to think straight. They’d told us they were going to take our vehicle, so all I could think of was that they must have taken him with them. I quickly locked the security gates in case the men decided to return, and then remember sliding down against the wall and onto the floor in the hallway. It’s the one detail I will never forget. I knew at the point my husband was dead.
That moment will be impressed in my mind forever.
Even when I found out he was alive, and that instead he’d managed to escape, run for help, and save us by scaring away the men, I still couldn’t shake that moment. The response from friends and family over the following days and weeks was overwhelming, and so were the dozens of ways in which we realized God had answered our prayers in a situation that could have ended very differently.
But what if it had ended differently?
I write romantic suspense. I write about situations like this. Situations that force my characters to wrestle with the evil in the world and that reality that we live in a fallen world. Stories where God’s redemption and grace shine through. But this wasn’t a book where I could guarantee a happy ending. And I couldn’t shake that moment when I’d been so convinced my husband was dead.
I spent the next year or so asking myself how I would have responded if they really had killed my husband. And while I’m not sure why, it was a question I had to ask. And it was a question I had to write about. How would his death have changed me? And even more importantly, would his death have shattered my faith? As crazy as it might seem, that’s the question I decided to answer in my latest book, Deadly Intentions, and why this book is so personal. I needed to know what would happen if things didn’t end happily-ever-after.
Sometimes the trauma sometimes still comes to the forefront of my mind, but God has continued to show me His faithfulness and His goodness. I know that because I’ve seen the good that He continues to bring out of this very difficult situation. I’ve felt a strength and determination grow and seek God in a deeper level, that yes, still questions and falters at times, but also manages to thrive.
Deadly Intentions doesn’t necessarily wrap up everything in a pretty bow—because it couldn’t. Some hurts never go away—but that is true in life as well. I do promise, though, that it has a happy and satisfying ending despite the characters wrestling through the same questions I have faced.
Deadly Intentions releases August 6th and is available for pre-order now.
Research scientist Caitlyn Lindsey is convinced that someone is taking out her team one by one. First, a friend and research partner was killed in a home invasion. Three months ago, her boss died in a suspicious car accident. Four days ago, another partner supposedly committed suicide. And now Caitlyn herself has miraculously survived a hit-and-run. Afraid for her life with nowhere to turn, she reaches out to one of the victim's husbands, Detective Josh Solomon.
Though initially skeptical about Caitlyn's theory, Josh soon realizes that the attack that took his wife's life was anything but random. Now the two of them must discover the truth about who is after Caitlyn's team--and what their end game is--before it's too late.
In this nail-biting thriller, award-winning author Lisa Harris will have you believing that there's no such thing as random.
Though initially skeptical about Caitlyn's theory, Josh soon realizes that the attack that took his wife's life was anything but random. Now the two of them must discover the truth about who is after Caitlyn's team--and what their end game is--before it's too late.
In this nail-biting thriller, award-winning author Lisa Harris will have you believing that there's no such thing as random.
