{"id":3100,"date":"2025-06-08T17:10:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T21:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/?p=3100"},"modified":"2025-06-08T17:10:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T21:10:37","slug":"review-of-smoky-mountain-escape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/review-of-smoky-mountain-escape\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of Smoky Mountain Escape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Smoky Mountain Escape<\/em> starts off with a bang, and the suspense doesn\u2019t let up until the end. Sheriff Heath Dalton is hiking through the woods in the pouring rain, returning from a solo five-day camping trip where he\u2019d tested gear for his brother\u2019s adventure camping supply store. With only four miles to go before reaching his truck, he\u2019s wet and miserable, but things quickly go from bad to worse when he comes upon two men burying a body. Unable to call for backup due to no cell signal, but unwilling to let the killers get away, Heath draws his weapon and commands them to put down their shovels and back away from the body. One man complies, but the other suddenly spins and throws his shovel like a javelin, while the first picks up his rifle and fires, hitting Heath in his gun arm and causing him to drop his weapon. He staggers backwards and rolls down a steep embankment.<\/p>\n

Traveling nurse Kayla Eldridge is on her way back to Barton Creek in Eastern Tennessee, for a one-month nursing assignment. If it weren\u2019t for her brother, sister-in-law and baby nephew living there, she would never have accepted it. After being engaged to a serial killer there and almost becoming his next victim, driving through the region that torments her dreams sends her anxiety rising. When a man bursts from the woods and into the road in front of her to wave her down, she slams on her brakes, goes into a skid and lands in the ditch. Kayla and Heath spend the next two days running from bad guys with guns before making it to safety. But are they really safe? (Spoiler alert\u2014no!)<\/p>\n

Starnes does a great job of realistically portraying a character who has experienced severe trauma, the things that trigger panic and coping mechanisms that help her manage it. I enjoyed watching Kayla make this journey to find healing, as well as love. Heath is a very likable character\u2014brave, protective, caring\u2014everything you want in a hero.<\/p>\n

With characters you can\u2019t help but love, great family dynamics and lots of nail-biting suspense, Smoky Mountain Escape<\/em> is a real page turner. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Two killers on the loose
\nand threats around every corner\u2026<\/p>\n

Sheriff Heath Dalton accidentally stumbles upon two gunmen trying to hide a body in the Smoky Mountains and barely escapes with his life. And when traveling nurse Kayla Eldridge finds herself stranded in the stormy wilderness with Heath, she now has a target on her back. They must work together to navigate the treacherous terrain and evade the criminals who are tracking their every move. Can they outrun their merciless hunters before they both lose their lives?<\/p>\n

Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Barnes and Noble<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Harlequin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smoky Mountain Escape starts off with a bang, and the suspense doesn\u2019t let up until the end. Sheriff Heath Dalton is hiking through the woods in the pouring rain, returning from a solo five-day camping trip where he\u2019d tested gear for his brother\u2019s adventure camping supply store. With only four miles to go before reaching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-recommendations"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3100"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3103,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3100\/revisions\/3103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}