The Portland, Oregon police especially Detective Ebony Hamilton take seriously any visions that high school student Samantha McGregor has as the teen has helped on recent cases (see BAD CONNECTION, PLAYING WITH FIRE and BEYOND REACH). Ebony, who was her late dads partner, and Sam believe her visions are a gift from God to help people.-----------However, recently she has had three seemingly separate sets of visions. The first involves her mothers new boyfriend Steven, whom Sam does not like; the second entails a terrorist act at a gala that she thinks is a prom; the other line of visions is the bullying of a teem by his peers. Sam talks with Ebony about all three. The cops and Sam attend local proms hoping to avoid a disaster. Meanwhile her mom complains about missing money from her accounts while Steven apparently has vanished. The three sets of visions will soon become clear hopefully not too late; as Sam requires the patience of Job with the understanding that faith in God even when she does not comprehend why the Lord does what he does is the key to life.-----------The fourth Secret Life of Samantha McGregor is an entertaining inspirational paranormal crime caper. Readers will appreciate Sams dedication and caring as she tries to prevent harm to people as her three visions indicate. Although in real life one cannot thank the Lord too much, in a novel it becomes irritating as readers know of Sams strong belief and gratitude. Still, this is a fine entry with a fabulous final twist and filled with moral issues like dealing with teen bullying, identity theft, turning the other cheek, failing to save a soul, and throughout the series the belief that Gods way is the only way.-----Harriet Klausner

Finally, the fourth and final book in Melody Carlsons The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor series is available! In Payback, Samantha faces her toughest challenges yet. Sam has a dream of a brutal massacre at a high school. Because shes in high school and is the only one who can recognize the students in her dream, Detective Ebony Hamilton has Samantha go undercover to discover the shooter. As more details arise, she must uncover if the massacre is related to a terrorist threat.Samantha also deals with major family issues. Zach is back in rehab and their mom has a new boyfriend. Sam feels pushed aside, plus shes getting weird vibes about her moms boyfriend, like hes after her money and not her heart. Sams assumptions turn out to be true; in fact, her moms boyfriend is not at all who he says he is. If that werent enough, Samantha keeps having visions about a kid getting bullied. Who is he? How can Samantha help him? Samantha finds herself with more questions than answers and uncertain about what to do. She must put total faith and trust in God to keep her life safe, as well as the lives of many people around her. This book is gripping; I stayed up all night to read it. Samantha seems like such a real person, someone Id love to be friends with. This book wraps everything up, but that didnt keep me from wishing for a fifth book. I could keep hanging out with Samantha and being a part of her life. I highly recommend this!