Jules Belleno awakes in a dark room to find her hands tied to the bedposts. The last thing she remembers is being at the grocery store. When light begins to fill the room, she reads words on the ceiling that she had just written on her blog about her favorite author's latest best seller. "Don't tell me it's terrifying. Terrify me." She is indeed terrified. Patrick Reagan enters the room and Jules is even more terrified. He's the author she penned those words about. Has he kidnapped her because he was unhappy with her review of his book?

Jules' father, Lt. Col. Jim Franklin, calls Chris Downey the minute he can't find Jules. Chris agrees to help him find Jules, but it is too early to file a missing person's report. Chris is a police officer with the Wissberry, Maine PD, where he was a partner to Jules' late husband. Chris was there the night Jason was gunned down. Chris's search for Jules leads him to information that Jason uncovered indicating something corrupt going on within the Wissberry PD, and that Jason was set up that night. The investigation had been closed and declared a cold case way too quickly. Is Jules' disappearance and this new information somehow related? Chris is determined to find out. He owes it to Jason.

Rene Gutteridge has written an inspirational thriller that is fast-paced and heart-pounding. Jules' kidnapper doesn't always have lucid moments. Patrick Reagan has a Jekyll/Hyde personality that leaves Jules uncertain of what he is thinking or going to do. Gutteridge's main characters are strong and play their parts well. Secondary characters lend just the right amount of support to carry the plot along and keep the reader totally engaged. The characters struggle with tough questions about life, death and God's will. There are several nuggets of truth about life buried beneath the murder and mayhem in this wonderful novel.

MISERY LOVES COMPANY encompasses kidnapping, corruption and alcoholism, as well as being a story about hope and relying on God instead of yourself. Although Jason is dead before the story begins his strong faith and the testimony of how he lived his life lives on in each of the characters whose lives he touched. That faith and testimony carry them through the terrifying times and help them hold on to the end. This is truly a unique story line about the world of authors, writers and readers. If this is your genre, MISERY LOVES COMPANY will both thrill and terrify you.