Three Steps Behind is the third book in the Jeopardy Falls series, continuing the story of the MacLeod brothers and their friends at Second Chances Ranch. Harper is the heroine, as she navigates personal trauma while trying to solve the mystery surrounding her close friend’s suspicious death.
Main Themes
There’s two main storylines: Deckard and Harper working to solve Taylor’s murder and Bristol trying to figure out how to find a new life apart from being a professional con artist. Bristol’s only chance of getting out of jail early and getting her life back on the straight and narrow is partnering with the FBI to take down her boyfriend. But there’s no way the kind and amazing man Bristol loves is actually guilty of all the crimes the FBI claims. Bristol isn’t sure who to believe, but she’s desperate for another chance at freedom.
Harper has enough traumatic memories to last a lifetime and she’s scared to trust anyone. She thought she left the danger behind on her disastrous humanitarian aid trip, but even her place on the ranch feels compromised. Deckard is willing to go slowly until she learns to relax around people again, but she wonders if he’s in love with her or just being kind. Either way, there’s no time to explore a relationship. There’s the mystery of her friend’s untimely death to solve.
There’s main themes of trust and how complete healing only comes from God. This is definitely not a stand-alone novel–I haven’t read the first two books in the series and was completely lost. The characters and plot felt slightly incomplete. I’m not sure whether that was because of all the context clues I missed or if there was just too much action to work through, not leaving enough time for meaningful character development.
Favorite Scenes
I enjoy the chapters were Harper and Deckard are looking for clues and evidence; I just wish there had been more of those scenes.
Faith Elements
Deckard routinely prays for healing and works hard to trust God with the baggage from the past. Harper isn’t sure she can ever trust God again after all the pain she endured. And Bristol is hesitant to explore faith at all, unsure if her criminal activities are too much for God to forgive. The theme of God being a healer and restorer is present all throughout the novel.
Family Friendly Considerations
For a romantic suspense novel, it’s pretty clean. None of the scenes are particularly dirty, graphic, or violent. It’s a good option for adults.
Interested in Similar Reads?
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