Kathie Herman’s book The Real Enemy deals with several pretty heavy topics.  The heroine, Brill Jessup, is a police chief.  The hero, Kurt Jessup, had an affair.  Their young daughter has to deal with the hurt her parents are going through.  The new town they moved to is very supersitious.  People are being kidnapped daily, and the town is also doing it’s best to stay gang free.

Brill Jessup just became the first female police chief in Sophie Trace, Tennessee, and is riding on the credentials of a stellar eighteen-year career on the Memphis police force. She may be a pro at finding clues, but she tends to ignore the obvious in her personal life. And she would rather work than deal with the bitterness she feels about her husband Kurt’s infidelity. Kurt, is weighed down by her unrelenting anger as he struggles to let God redeem the stupidest mistake he ever made. He is genuinely contrite and making every effort to show his commitment to Brill. But she hides behind her badge and her bitterness, deciding that moving her family away from Memphis is the only change she needs to make. So why can’t Brill get over this anger?Before she ever has time to unpack her boxes, people start disappearing. Lots of them. Seven people in seven days To complicate matters, a local legend has many residents believing that the cause is unearthly?tied to the “red shadows,” or spirits of the departed Cherokee who once inhabited the land. 

I have pretty neutral feelings about this story.  It was interesting, but not riveting.  It was good to read a story with a unique plot.  I liked the faith portrayed by Kurt Jessup, but wished that Brill would have regained her fellowship with God a bit sooner. The kindness, concern, and testimony of Tessa, the Jessup’s neighbor made her my favorite character.