If you’re like me, your TBR pile is constantly growing. Mine is to the point where I’m not sure if I will ever read all the books on my Kindle. And just about every day I see another book I want to read. I don’t always buy them, but I want them.

Reading has always seemed to be a part of who I am. When I was younger, I spent hours in my room reading everything from the Little House series to Nancy Drew—even biographies. Pretty much anything I could put my hands on I devoured. Reading was an adventure as a child, and it fueled my imagination and sent me on the path to become a writer. Nowadays, I get to create those adventures myself and pass them on to readers who I hope will enjoy my stories as much as I do by creating them.Mary Alford spills the beans on her burgeoning. TBR pile in this edition of My Reading Life. @maryalford13 Share on X

In recent years, I’ve noticed a pattern emerging in my TBR pile and I think it’s because the Christian suspense genre itself is changing. The newest suspense stories have become edgier, dealing with real-life struggles that are part of the world we live in now. Topics like human trafficking, serial killers, drug, and weapon crimes to name a few are front and center in the Christian suspense genre, reflecting the fallen world we live in. Life is hard and bad things happen to us all, even as Christians. While in most Christian suspense there is a happy ending, the road to get there can be difficult and the hero and heroine are left with scars that can only heal through God’s help.

If you’re a fan of suspense, do you have a favorite author or type of suspense that you gravitate toward? How edgy is too edgy for you?

One of my favorites series that I discovered recently and I’m currently reading is the If I Run Series by Terri Blackstock. I’m still on book one, If I Run, but it’s a page-turner and an unusual tale about the choices we make when something unimaginable happens. What would you do if your DNA was found at a murder scene? Would you trust the justice system to set you free or would you run.

If I Run is a tale filled with twists and turns and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Meet Mary…

Mary Alford is the USA Today, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of over fifty books including the Courage Under Fire series, the Cost of Redemption series, the Bitter Creek series, the Scorpion Team series, and the Amish romantic Suspense series about the Shetler Brothers of Montana. Mary writes for Revell, Love Inspired Suspense, Annie’s Publishing and Winged Publishing. She also is an Indie published author.

Mary is an avid reader. She loves to cook, can’t face the day with-out coffee, and her three granddaughters are the apple of her eye. She and her husband live in the heart of Texas in the middle of 70 acres with two very spoiled cats and a sweet rescue dog named Cody.

Learn more about Mary and check out her books at her BRRC author page…