Lethal Standoff

Lethal Standoff is a gripping story from the unusual perspective of a hostage negotiator. Told in wonderful detail from the mind of spiritual and renowned author DiAnn Mills, this story will make the reader creep toward the edge of a seat before reaching its compelling conclusion.

Armed with value and skill sets quite different from law enforcement, hostage negotiator Carrington Reed is called to the scene of a standoff between an armed man and Border Patrol, with the lives of a group of undocumented immigrants hanging in the balance. When reporter Levi Ehrlich arrives on the scene, whom Carrington had developed a friendship with over the years, she allows him to remain next to her during the negotiation process.

After Levi inserts himself in the standoff to help save a life, the two of them start down a path seeking the truth of why the negotiation ended badly, with a woman and her two children remaining to pick up the pieces. As the duo seeks the truth, they find themselves embattled in a number of dangerous situations, and they have the injuries to prove it.

Before going further, I feel compelled to say that even before reading this book, I was a DiAnn Mills fan. I’ve read a number of her books, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each one.

“Unless we are willing to have our hearts cut raw, we’ll never know the true meaning of love.”

—Carrington’s Grandmother

Told completely in the first person narrative, alternating between the perspectives of Carrington and Levi, Mills provides the reader with the thoughts and emotions of the two main characters as they traverse a number of obstacles in search of the truth. What seems to set this story apart from the other books I’ve read (of hers) is that the two main characters are not law enforcement. Actually, I don’t even think they qualify as first responders. I don’t mean that as a bad thing—just different.

Mills digs pretty deep into the effects an event like this can have on the families of both the perpetrators and the victims. This is where DiAnn Mills really shines, in my opinion. I think this also adds to the realism of all her stories. Her mantra is, “Expect An Adventure,” and she really delivers.

All her stories involve some concept of faith and religion, but I think this particular story goes further in that regard than the others I’ve read. Also, since Levi is a Messianic Jew, I learned a number of things that I never knew about that faith. Further, the Jewish sayings that appear in the story really tickled me. I think my favorite was, “Rejoice not at thine enemy’s fall— but don’t rush to pick him up either.”

The main characters develop a deep relationship with one another throughout the telling of this story. In fact, I’d call their character arcs quite beautiful, particularly Carrington’s. Although both of them are broken in some way, Carrington is the most broken; she blames herself for the deaths of two people that occurred years earlier, and she inwardly wears that blame like a ball and chain.

“Have we only known each other a lifetime?”

—Carrington to Levi

I must confess, as I was reading the story, I was a bit surprised with the pacing. It seemed slower than what I’ve come to expect from Mills. However, an event occurs in the latter part of the story that catapults the story forward and begins the race to the climax. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite that sudden and unexpected. (You won’t see it coming!)

I’d have a hard time deciding which storyline I liked the most, the search for truth after the main event or the developing relationship between Carrington and Levi. Thankfully, I absolutely don’t have to decide. I loved them both!

My biggest gripe about this story—just like the other books I’ve read by DiAnn Mills—is that the story had to come to an end.

If you have a love of stories, I implore you to read this one.