Nine By Rachelle Dekker

Nine
by Rachelle Dekker
Publisher: Revell
ISBN: 9780800735968

When you see the name Dekker, do you shiver like I do? lol Even if it's not Ted Dekker? I decided to head out of my comfort zone by reading Nine thanks to Revell with the offer to review it. Having not read her books before I wasn't sure what to expect and if it were anything like her dad, I'd be reading through split fingers. HA!

Summary:

Some secrets can't stay hidden
Zoe Johnson has spent most of her life living in the shadows, never drawing attention to herself, never investing in people or places. But when a wide-eyed, bedraggled teenager with no memory walks into the diner where Zoe works, everything changes. 

Against her better judgment, Zoe, who has been trying to outrun her own painful memories of the past, finds herself attempting to help a girl who doesn't seem to have any past at all. With little warning, they must follow the only sure thing they know: a woman hundreds of miles away, will either save them . . . or be the last person to see them alive.

My Review:

Whew, this was nothing like I expected! I figured it would be suspenseful, but I was so much more. Have you seen the Amazon series Hannah or seen the big screen movie Lucy? Nine is a combination of both of those in my estimation. Kind of funny since one of the main characters name is Lucy.

Since this was my first foray into Rachelle's writing I was a bit nervous. HA! I can see she received the gift of writing from her dad as it comes through in this book! By chapter 9 I had chewed 2 fingernails down to nubbins.

From the first sentence the reader is off with Lucy in a race against time and the government! Let's just say people drop left and right through this story. It's action packed from the get-go. When Lucy shows up at the restaurant Zoe's waitresses at, their lives become entwined and neither of them knows what they're up against.

I really loved the writing because I was gripped to each word from the start. I was up until almost 1am finishing the last couple of chapters. Along the way I kept trying to predict who would live and who would die. Don't say you don't do the very same thing. "Is Zoe or Lucy going to get it in the end?" "Maybe both of them will make it and they'll end up on a sandy beach building sand castles."

Rachelle Dekker did a fantastic job of creating people readers will absolutely despise. Director Hamman is a piece of work. He was easy to dislike. Dr. Loveless... let's just say the name is absolutely fitting. Talk about hoping someone gets it in the end. hahahaha

I was a little confused about the role of someone in Zoe's past. It was someone who caused a lot of pain for her and her family, but I never quite understood what the person actually did. They said a lot of things that they thought were for the best, but I was still confused about her extended family.

There isn't a faith element in the story, but there's definitely a humanity element. What are we willing to do to protect our country, our world? Are we willing to forgo our own humanity to be on top? And are we willing to love sacrificially? How far will we go to protect another person?

About the Author:

Rachelle Dekker is the Christy Award-winning author of The Choosing, The Calling, and The Returning in the Seer series. The oldest daughter of New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker and coauthor with him of The Girl behind the Red Rope, Rachelle was inspired early on to discover truth through the avenue of storytelling. She writes full-time from her home in Nashville, where she lives with her husband, Daniel, and their son, Jack. Connect with Rachelle at www.rachelledekker.com.