Canyon of Deceit by DiAnn Mills
Publisher:  Tyndale Fiction
Release Date: September 9, 2025
Genre:  Romantic Mystery & Suspense

A rescue team searches for a missing young girl and suspects all is not as it seems in this high-stakes romantic suspense novel from the author of Lethal Standoff and Facing the Enemy.

When wilderness survival expert Therese Palmer receives a frantic phone call from former colleague Professor Rurik Ivanov, she is shocked by the news that his young daughter, Alina, is missing—and that Rurik wants Therese’s help finding her. She’s sure Rurik hasn’t given her the whole story . . . especially since he refuses to report the kidnapping to the police. Yet with a child’s life hanging in the balance, Therese can’t turn down this mission. She knows the clock is ticking and she can’t do this alone.

Therese reaches out to Texas Ranger Blane Gardner, whom she met seven months ago during one of her training courses in wilderness survival skills. Blane’s specialized training and background with the Crisis Negotiation Unit make him uniquely prepared for this search-and-rescue mission. He agrees to help Therese and to accept Rurik’s terms to keep Alina’s disappearance quiet, and as the two begin working together, Therese is determined the spark growing between them won’t distract from their mission to save Alina.

Traversing deep into the desert of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Alina’s last known location, Therese and Blane struggle to separate truth from lies within the mix of intel they’re receiving. As they close in on answers that suggest the involvement of Russian organized crime and a high-profile international assassination attempt, they must fight to rescue Alina before she becomes an innocent casualty of a much bigger plot—no matter the risk to their own lives

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My Review and Reflections

Have you ever read a book and thought…movie? This is one of those books. Actually, as I got further in, I really felt like a mini-series would be the best choice. Does Hollywood make clean action movies with a strong Christian message? I’ll have to look into this.

The premise of the story is exciting, and the reasons Professor Rurik Ivanov gave to Therese Palmer about involving her instead of the police seemed valid. As with most kidnapping stories, Rurik was told not to involve the police. Asking Therese, a wilderness survival expert, seemed a little odd. I mean, doesn’t this guy know former military or someone like that? Here’s the thing: Therese knows this isn’t her area of expertise, so she reaches out to Texas Ranger Blane Gardner to get his help. While she knows that she can trust him, it immediately goes into what Rurik didn’t want to happen—to involve law enforcement. But that is for the best; we’re talking about a kidnapped child. However, Therese staying involved at all seemed off because she isn’t law enforcement. Hence, the whole mini-series vibe.

Therese’s wilderness skills and determination were inspiring to me—as was Blane’s. I liked the fact that they were both single people because it made it more realistic as the plot unfolded that they were doing the things they were. Especially Therese. She was risking her life for what is really more of an acquaintance, and the fact that she had no one to return to (yes, that’s a little sad in and of itself) made it more believable.

The Rurik character had me thrown the entire time. I really wasn’t sure where this was going when it came to him, his secrecy, and really the overall complexity of the story. This is great. After all, I really didn’t have any guesses about what was going on the entire time, because I couldn’t get a handle on him or the secondary characters. He really was a surprising character.

Therese and Blane’s love story worked well with the suspense because it was a slow development, and they had previously gone out on three dates. Plus, Therese met Blane when she was teaching the Texas Rangers about wilderness survival. So the immediate attraction, their thoughts, and actions made sense despite the traumatic experience they were going through.

This story provided vivid elements and a lot of adventure and action. Despite that, the story development was a little slow for me. Overall, the balance of suspense and romance was just right. The Christian themes were strong, which is always a favorite of mine. Overall, I think that if you enjoy romantic suspense, you will not be disappointed.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from the author.
All opinions are my own.

About the Author

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels with threads of romance. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure?

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards, the Selah Award, and the Golden Scroll; and been finalists for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award and the Carol Award.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and an active member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and International Thriller Writers. DiAnn continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on social media or her website, diannmills.com