Jack and Pam Crittendon are struggling financially, ever since Jack lost his job as a reporter (see Poison Town for more details). Jack is currently working part time as a security guard for EventPros, where he assists with events at the Columbus arena. Expectations are high for a packed, overflowing crowd as a potential presidential candidate, Senator Sterling, and a well-known Christian musician, Everett Lester, are appearing tonight. Unfortunately, EventPros has received information from Homeland Security that a potential terrorist threat may also be imminent. Will Jack and his friend, Brian Shakespeare, survive the night?

SKY ZONE is the third book in Creston Mapes' The Crittendon Files but can easily be read as a standalone. References to the events and characters of prior books (and even a prior series) occur but Creston Mapes provides the reader with plenty of context to understand and enjoy the current storyline. In fact, it only whets my curiosity for the earlier books all the more!

Having read Poison Town, I already love Pam and Jack so it is fascinating to see how they handle their current economic difficulties. I love how Creston Mapes weaves faith and real life hardships together, showing us how his characters handle their fears and doubts through their faith. SKY ZONE challenges Pam and Jack on every level and the depth of emotion conveyed through their battles is quite powerful.

I tend to be a bit leery of survivalist characters but Creston Mapes does a marvelous job with his depiction of Brian Shakespeare. We get several flashback chapters to interactions between Brian and Jack that give us a good overview of Brian's fanaticism about the survivalist movement. I love how Creston Mapes takes Brian's character in a completely different direction than I expected as it adds some real depth to SKY ZONE.

SKY ZONE is a fast paced, intense story that is very current with today's political environment. Creston Mapes doesn't hesitate to shake up his characters and their worldviews to show how faith can help them through any difficulty. SKY ZONE is a phenomenal thriller as Creston Mapes is quickly becoming a must-read author for me! SKY ZONE is highly recommended!