Book Beginnings + Friday 56: Dark Intercept (The Shepherds #1) by Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two. I'm also linking up with Carrie at Reading is My Superpower for First Line Friday.

This week I'm featuring Dark Intercept (The Shepherds #1) by Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson. 

I haven't been able to read very much this week because we got a new puppy. She's an adorable 14 week old Lab/German Shepherd mix. She seems sweet and very smart. Our other two dogs seem to be adjusting to her okay. Jack, our Yorkie-Poo, seems indifferent to her, while Max, our Xolo, has been a little more leery of her. It's obvious that he wants to be her friend, but she's so enthusiastic (and already pretty much the same size as him), that I think she kinda intimidates him. I'm hoping they'll be best buddies in no time though. They've already made a lot of progress. 

About the Book

When dark forces rise, are faith and firepower enough?

On the eve of his medical retirement, Navy SEAL Jedidiah Johnson receives a frantic call from his estranged childhood best friend David Yarnell. David's daughter has been kidnapped off the streets of Nashville in broad daylight. The police have no suspects and no leads. The only clue: the body of a dead priest left behind at the scene. With the clock ticking, David is growing desperate, as is his wife, Rachel . . . Jed's first love.

Despite his painful history with David and Rachel, Jed agrees to help. But he's spent his career as a door-kicking Navy SEAL, not an investigator. His presence immediately draws unwanted attention, creates friction with the local police, and triggers a mysterious attempt on his life. Just when he thinks things can't get worse, it starts to happen again--the voices in his head, the nightmares, the visions. Dark memories and strange abilities, things he believed he'd left behind when he fled Nashville for the Navy at eighteen, begin to resurface.

Jed realizes that to save the missing girl, he must take a leap of faith and embrace the gifts he's denied for all these years. To foil this dark intercept, he'll need more than just his years as a SEAL operator, because he has no choice now but to take up arms and join the battle in the unseen spiritual warfare raging all around him. And there is far more at stake than just a missing girl: the world is not the place he thought it was--and he is not alone.

Book Beginnings / First Line Friday

Tactical superiority, courage under fire, and unbreakable brotherhood - these were the traits that defined Naval Special Warfare.

Friday 56

Her footfalls were noisy—dead leaves crunching and twigs breaking with every step—and her hard panting seemed to echo in the forest. She was so very, very loud. Somewhere in her mind she recognized this was a problem, but fear drove her heedlessly, like a pack of wolves nipping at her heels. She tired quickly and desperately wanted to stop and rest, but the voice in her head wouldn’t let her.

What have you been reading lately?