The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci


The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci
Publisher: Pan Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Every day without fail, Travis Devine puts on a cheap suit, grabs his faux-leather briefcase, and boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan, where he works as an entry-level analyst at the city’s most prestigious investment firm. In the mornings, he gazes out the train window at the lavish homes of the uberwealthy, dreaming about joining their ranks. In the evenings, he listens to the fiscal news on his phone, already preparing for the next grueling day in the cutthroat realm of finance. Then one morning Devine’s tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous email: She is dead.

Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend, has been found hanging in a storage room of his office building—presumably a suicide, at least for now—prompting the NYPD to come calling on him. If that wasn’t enough, before the day is out, Devine receives another ominous visit, a confrontation that threatens to dredge up grim secrets from his past in the army unless he participates in a clandestine investigation into his firm. This treacherous role will take him from the impossibly glittering lives he once saw only through a train window, to the darkest corners of the country’s economic halls of power . . . where something rotten lurks. And apart from this high-stakes conspiracy, there’s a killer out there with their own agenda, and Devine is the bull’s-eye.

Travis Devine catches the 6.20 am train to Manhattan six days a week with a whole stack of other – mostly much younger – struggling professionals. The one good part of his dull routine is when the train slows and frequently, he – and the other commuters – get an eyeful of a particularly gorgeous young woman having an early morning by her poolside. Yet Travis’ life is about to get a whole lot more complicated. His boring civilian life gets blown apart when shadows from his Army past come knocking, and soon the bodies start falling. Can Travis sort out who he can trust and who wants him dead?

I’m a big fan of David Baldacci and in many ways this book reminds me of many of his much earlier books. There is a lot about corporate America in this story – along with the power, money and greed that is rife in society as a whole now. I also really enjoyed that this book was clearly rooted in the very modern era – that of a global market and with the bad guys using a number of tools and financial scams that get used all too frequently in this day and age.

This is quite a long book at well over 500 pages and I was pleased the plot was complicated enough – and twisty enough – to justify this page length. It certainly kept me guessing. A few of the twists I could see coming, but plenty of them I didn’t, and a number of the twists unearthed whole different sides to the story that took me quite by surprise and delight. I feel the plot and complexities should appeal to most readers and for sure it maintained my attention throughout the read.

There is a decent cast of characters – I was pleased that there was a solid cast of primary characters and a good number of secondary. I felt the author balanced this just right. There were enough characters that the world felt properly populated, but there wasn’t so many I couldn’t keep track of everyone. There were also enough characters I couldn’t immediately rule people in or out as being good or bad. So, I felt this was handled really well by the author.

Readers who enjoy thrillers – especially espionage/corporation/power themed plotlines should find this book really suits their tastes. If you have enjoyed previous books written by Baldacci and if you enjoy his style, you should definitely give this one a go. Currently it’s a stand-alone though I think there might be a second novel coming down the track later on too which makes me happy. I’ll definitely be giving it a try.

A solidly written mystery/thriller with interesting characters and a really meaty, complicated plot. This was a book I’ll enjoy again in the future.

The Marriage Hearse by Kate Ellis


The Marriage Hearse by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus Books
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A young woman is found strangled hours before her wedding. DI Wesley Peterson discovers that Kirsten Harbourn was being pursued by an obsessed stalker and had dark secrets her fiancé knew nothing about.

But Kirsten’s wasn’t the only wedding planned to take place that day in South Devon. A couple made their wedding vows at Morbary registry office and a few days later the groom is found dead in a seaside hotel.

As Wesley examines the links between the cases, the skeleton of a young bride is discovered in a field once owned by the family of an Elizabethan playwright. Ralph Strong’s play, The Fair Wife of Padua, is soon to be performed for the first time in four hundred years.

Is the bloodthirsty drama a confession to the historic murder? And can it reveal anything about the recent killings Wesley must solve?

When a young woman is found brutally strangled on the morning of her wedding day, DI Wesley Peterson and his team immediately begin to investigate the tragic crime. But soon a link is found between the victim and another murder – but is it the same murderer or is something else linking these crimes? Can Wesley and his team solve how these puzzles are connected.

I found this to be an interesting and well written British police procedural. As always there is a strong link to Wes’ best friend – archaeologist Dr Neil Watson – but I was pleased that this time the bones they had uncovered were hundreds of years old. I really enjoyed how the two modern crimes were clearly linked but it wasn’t a simple matter to work out how or why, this gave the puzzles a depth of complexity that I quite enjoyed without making it seem impossible.

There is quite a bit of character development in this book. For the last two or three books there has been a brewing situation with Wesley’s wife, Pam, that I haven’t been enjoying and that has finally come to a head in this book. I admit the development has really seriously soured me on Pam’s character – but it has been brewing and forecast for such a long time now I can’t really feel it should come as a surprise to any of the readers. That didn’t make me like the development – nor do I feel even a small bit of empathy for Pam at all. I have a feeling for the rest of the series it will be difficult for me to enjoy her character like I used to – regardless of how the consequences of this action play out. Other readers might be a lot more forgiving and empathetic, but speaking personally I’m not sure I’ll be able to overlook this from her character.

Aside from that development, the rest of the cast continue along their merry way. I am delighted that Neil is finally maturing a little bit but still managing to keep his slightly rootless wanderings. I also am cautiously optimistic about DCI Heffernan dipping a toe back into the dating pool once again.

I feel readers who pick this up fresh should thoroughly enjoy the murder mystery as well as the historical/archaeological parts to the plot. I do feel that some of the finer elements of the various character developments and interactions might not have as much meaning to readers who haven’t read a few of the previous books in this series – but I do strongly feel the book can still be greatly enjoyed even without any prior knowledge of the characters.

A well plotted and interesting British police procedural book with a strong dollop of archaeology to it.

The Manor House by Author: Gilly Macmillan


The Manor House by Author: Gilly Macmillan
(Narrators: Ethan Reid, Nathalie Buscombe, Clare Corbett, Fenella Woogler, Josh Dylan, Ben Allen, Sian Thomas)
Publisher: Harper Audio
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Be careful what you wish for…

Childhood sweethearts Nicole and Tom are a normal, loving couple—until a massive lottery win changes their lives overnight.

Soon they’ve moved into a custom-built state-of-the-art Glass Barn on the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. They have fancy cars, expensive hobbies, and an exclusive lifestyle they never could have imagined.

But this dream world quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool. Was Tom’s death a tragic accident, or was it something worse?

Nicole is devastated. Tom was her rock. And their beautiful barn —with all its smart features that never seem to work for her—is beginning to feel very lonely. But she’s not entirely by herself out there in the country. There’s a nice young couple who live in the Manor itself along with their middle-aged housekeeper who has the Coach House. And an old friend of Tom’s from school has turned up to help her get through her grief.

But big money can bring big problems and big threats. And is Nicole’s life in danger as well?

Nicole’s beginning to feel like a little fish in a big glass bowl.

Surrounded by piranhas.

Nicole and Tom thought that their lives were perfect. They’d won the lottery and had moved into a beautiful home of their own design. The neighbors seemed pleasant, and all was looking up for them. And then Tom turns up dead. What will become of Nicole now that her soulmate is gone?

There are a lot of points of view in this book. Nicole, the widow, Ollie and Sasha, the neighbors, Kitty, the housekeeper, Anna, via a journal, and Hal and Jen, the police officers. You even get Tom’s perspective the morning of his death, which was probably my favorite of all the views we got. Nicole was another favorite character of mine, seeing everything unfold in front of her while she’s dealing with her grief was both exciting and heartbreaking.

I chose the audio version of this novel and was happy with the narration. There are different narrators for each point of view, which makes it easier for me to follow the story. Each narrator brought their character to life, giving them a distinctive perspective and voice. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and I honestly prefer those with more than one narrator, and this is the reason why. It feels more like an audio production than simply someone reading a novel to you.

I’ve read a couple of books by this author and have enjoyed them both. However, The Manor House exceeded expectations by a long shot. There are several red herrings weaved into the story, things that had me pointing my finger at a suspect, only to be surprised later. As with all thrillers, there are a couple of unexpected twists that caught me by surprise. The ending left me both satisfied and unhappy at the same time. Overall, it’s still the best book of hers that I’ve read to date and makes me eager to pick up more by her.

The Lighthouse Back Home by Jodi L. Auborn


The Lighthouse Back Home by Jodi L. Auborn
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It’s been a year since 11-year-old Dylan and his family moved to the lighthouse his father had inherited in Maine. After finding a human skeleton in the woods one day, Dylan and his friend, Alex, are astonished when a mysterious artifact sends them back in time to the year 1893.

Stranded in the past, with Dylan’s sailboat as their only way home and Alex posing as a boy, Dylan seeks help from his old friend Matthias, the town lighthouse keeper. Despite Matthias’s reluctance, they settle into his seaside cottage where they make a new friend, face a deadly storm, and try to blend into their confusing new world. But when a sinister local family discovers their secret, they find themselves held captive by a cruel and remorseless old sailor with secrets of his own. Can Dylan and Alex find their way home and uncover the facts about an unsolved crime involving murder and stolen treasure?

Time travel is a wild ride.

The mystery was slow to unfold but satisfying once Dylan and Alex began to figure out possible reasons why they’d been thrown back in time. I had no problem waiting patiently for them to begin piecing the clues together. Honestly, I liked the fact that the author allowed more pressing matters to be resolved like where the kids were going to sleep at night and how they’d find food before they turned their attention to figuring out why they were in the late 1800s to begin with. That was definitely the most sensible thing to do, and it gave this reader plenty of opportunities to come up with my own theories along the way.

I struggled with the slow pacing at times. As much as I appreciated having extra time with the characters, I think this tale would have been stronger if it had been closer to the length of “Matthias: The Ghost of Salvation Point” which was about 100 pages shorter. There were multiple scenes that, while interesting to read, slowed down the plot and character developments enough that I couldn’t justify giving this a higher rating even though I was initially thrilled to have another chance to see what Dylan had been up to.

With that being said, I did enjoy the many comparisons the characters made between life in 2014 and 1893. Imagine explaining a cell phone, a Spider-Man t-shirt, or an airplane to someone who has never seen anything like that stuff and who has no cultural context for what they mean! Ms. Auborn did a great job of highlighting the social difficulties of adjusting to life in another century and explaining just how much the world can change in roughly 120 years.

This is the second book in a series that does not have to be read in order. If you like this one, though, do be sure to check out Dylan’s first adventure as well.

The Lighthouse Back Home was an adventurous read.

Hidden In Snow by Viveca Sten


Hidden In Snow by Viveca Sten
Publisher: Amazon Crossing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The splendor of the Swedish mountains becomes the backdrop for a bone-chilling crime.

On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander’s personal and professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister’s lodge in the Swedish ski resort paradise of Åre. But it’s a brief comfort. The entire village is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can’t help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. Their only lead: a scarf in the snow.

As subzero temperatures drop even further, a treacherous blizzard sweeps toward Åre. Hanna and Daniel’s investigation is getting more desperate by the hour. Lost or abducted, either way time is running out for the missing girl. Each new clue closes in on something far more sinister than either Hanna or Daniel imagined. In this devious novel by the bestselling author of the Sandhamn Murders series, discover what it will take to solve a case when the truth can be so easily hidden in the coming storm.

When her private life and professional career both explode on the same day, Sweedish police officer Hanna Ahlander finds herself at a complete loss with no home, no partner and no job. Thankfully, her sister offers to let Hanna stay at her winter home at the small ski resort town of Are. After wallowing for a few days, her interest – both personal and professional – is piqued when a teenage girl suddenly goes missing. To sate her curiosity and help pass the time, Hanna joins with the other locals and helps search for the missing girl. When more tragedy strikes, Hanna offers her assistance to local forces, and joins with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog. Can they find out what’s really going on in the idyllic skiing town?

I’ve been a big fan of this author’s Sandhamn Island series and so was happy to give this first new book a try. I’m pretty pleased that I did as it’s a very well written and well woven murder mystery book set in the icy cold ski ton of Lare Are. While some of the atmosphere and the Sweedish culture and the writer’s style is very similar, I did like the fact the characters are quite different. I liked that Hanna was a modern and strong woman but had a lot of vulnerability and baggage. I think she will be quite relatable to many people. I also very much liked Daniel’s character and how he was learning to be a new father and how even though he loves his partner Ida, their relationship is quite new and with their baby daughter there are a number of changes they are both undergoing.

I felt this all meshed together to make a very interesting and complex story that kept me turning the pages. The murder mystery itself was also quite gripping. While a missing teenage girl might not appear too complicated – especially one who is eighteen and was last seen drunk and walking home after a party at her bff’s – the fact it’s icy cold with miles of snow everywhere makes everyone pay attention from the beginning. Then as Hanna and Daniel look further into everything it quickly became clear there were a number of other layers to this missing young woman and in particular it became clear to the reader a lot was going on under the surface at Lake Are.

I really enjoyed this – both the complexities and realism of what goes on in a small community, but also how it didn’t shy away from some of the modern realities we all need to accept and learn from. I also very much like the Scandinavian crime genre and it’s slightly grittier, different tone to much of the British and American styles. I’m very glad this is another series I can hopefully sink my teeth into.

A well written book with a complicated but realistic plot and some modern characters that really appealed to me. This is a great new book and an author I am very fond of. Recommended.

Caution Death At Work by Rhys Dylan


Caution Death At Work by Rhys Dylan
Publisher: Wyrmwood Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A dark past casts a deep shadow.

Evan Warlow is back in the saddle as a DCI, though he isn’t yet sure he deserves to be, and there are others who share his doubts.

When a brutal attack on two mountain bikers in the vast solitude of the Brechfa forest leaves one dead and the other badly injured, the hunt is on for the killer. And though the evidence points firmly in one direction, an open and shut case soon becomes murky and unclear.

It’s not the first time bad things have happened in these woods. Things that some have tried desperately to forget. But for the killer, it’s more a matter of unfinished business.

Unless Evan and the team can outwit a vengeful and clever murderer, someone else is going to die.

When two friends are brutally attacked while they camp in the woods overnight one manages to escape, but help comes for his friend too late. DCI Evan Warlow is back in the saddle, but still has a weight over him, wondering if it’s the right decision. But he can’t back out now, he and his team need to sort out the reason behind the savage attack and try to correct some wrongs that stem back to many years ago.

This is the second book in this Welsh series, and I am finding that I enjoy them. In many respects this is a standard British police procedural and highly enjoyable. I do like the small Welsh touches though – the occasional Welsh word thrown into casual conversation with a brief explanation or the slightly darker than usual feel to the story and setting. I enjoy the way this team works together and am getting used to their characters – as well as a new addition to the team. I feel they are meshing very well together and learning about each other’s working styles as we the reader come to know them all.

I definitely feel this book can be read as a standalone. As only the second in the series not much has been missed and there isn’t that massive amount of history and/or backstory that you often get deeper within a series. I feel readers who enjoy British police procedural style mysteries or crime novels should absolutely feel at home with this and enjoy the slightly different flavour the Wales setting gives the story as a whole.

I also really enjoyed the plot. What seemed quite straightforward in the beginning had some layers to it that the investigation unearthed and while not incredibly complicated I did enjoy that it wasn’t as simple as I had assumed at first. I also liked there were a few mild twists to the story that kept me interested and eagerly turning the pages.

An atmospheric and slightly creepy Welsh read – this was a great mystery book and a series I am quickly becoming addicted to. A good read and one I can recommend.

A Soupçon of Poison by Jennifer Ashley


A Soupçon of Poison by Jennifer Ashley
Publisher: Self-published, Amazon Kindle
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Rating: 3 stars
Review by: Fern

London, 1880
Kat Holloway, highly sought-after young cook to the wealthy of London, finds herself embroiled in murder when she’s accused of poisoning her employer, the loathsome Sir Lionel Leigh-Bradbury. Her only help as she works to clear her name comes from the mysterious Daniel McAdam, a handsome man-of-all-work who seems to know everyone and always happens to be in the right place at the right time.

Kat and Daniel investigate the crime, but the mystery of Daniel’s background might be just as elusive and dangerous as the poisoner bent on framing Kat for murder. Prequel to the Kat Holloway Below Stairs Mysteries.

Kat Holloway might be young for her position as Chef of Sir Lionel Leigh-Bradbury’s household, but she knows her way around a kitchen and has spent years honing her skills. After strongly knocking back Sir Lionel’s amorous advances, she finds his requests for outlandish meals with only a few hours warning growing increasingly difficult – to the point where she turns to a little known friend – Daniel McAdams for help. At her wit’s end, Kat is determined to have it out with Sir Lionel and she is almost ready to leave, only to be woken in the middle of the night by the maid to find Sir Lionel has been murdered – and Kat is the prime suspect as murderess. Can Kat and Daniel uncover what really went on that fateful evening?

I picked up this short story on a whim and by the second chapter found myself engrossed in both the setting and characters. I enjoyed that Kat was a strong and fairly independent young woman and there was quite the mystery surrounding Daniel as well. There was clear chemistry between the two characters but I was also glad this didn’t turn into more of a romance novel but rather kept it’s main focus on the murder mystery and unraveling this aspect to the plot.

I do admit this was a fairly light book – readers looking for deep intrigue or a vastly complex plot might not find this fits the bill, but readers more interested in a light mystery with a strong historical context and a strong female lead character should enjoy this as much as I did. I was glad this book is definitely a stand alone style of novel. There is a whole series based around Kat and Daniel but that appears to be completely separate from this short story so readers should definitely feel able to just pick this up on a whim – as I did – and delve right in. I admit that I enjoyed it enough I plan to purchase the second short story – which appears in a similar vein as this one and to stand equally well alone – and I am also eyeing off the connected seven book series with these characters as the main protagonists as well.

This book ticks a number of boxes for me being a historical novel with strongly written characters as well as a good murder mystery at its heart and just a flutter of romantic chemistry, I feel it should appeal to a wider range of readers and I’m eager to try more by this author around these characters. Enjoyable.

Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins


Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins
Publisher: G. P. Putman’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In the latest thriller featuring the legendary Boston PI, Spenser and his young protégé Mattie Sullivan take on billionaire money manager running a network of underaged girls for his rich and powerful clients.

Ten years ago, Spenser helped a teenage girl named Mattie Sullivan find her mother’s killer and take down an infamous Southie crime boss. Now Mattie–a college student with a side job working for the tough but tender private eye–dreams of being an investigator herself. Her first big case involves a fifteen-year-old girl assaulted by a much older man at one of Boston’s most prestigious private clubs. The girl, Chloe Turner, only wants the safe return of her laptop and backpack. But like her mentor and boss, Mattie has a knack for asking the right questions of the wrong people.

Soon Spenser and Mattie find ties between the exploitation of dozens of other girls from working class families to an eccentric billionaire and his sadistic henchwoman with a mansion on Commonwealth Avenue. The mystery man’s wealth, power and connections extend well beyond Massachusetts – maybe even beyond the United States. Spenser and trusted ally Hawk must again watch out for Mattie as she unravels a massive sex-trafficking ring that will take them from Boston to Boca Raton to the Bahamas, crossing paths with local toughs, a highly-trained security company, and an old enemy of Spenser’s–the Gray Man–for a final epic showdown.

Mattie Sullivan is approached to help a teenaged friend to recover the backpack and laptop that she left when she fled a “massage” appointment that turned into more than the kid expected. After being escorted off the premises by security and realizing she was in over her head, Mattie turns to Spenser for a hand in recovering her friend’s property. What began as a creep hiring teenage girls to massage him quickly snowballs into sex trafficking and some real heavyweights putting pressure on Spenser, Mattie, and those whom they hold dear.

In many ways this reminds me of the much earlier Spenser novels. A seemingly straight forward case and an interesting set of characters looking to Spenser for some help. The case gets deeper and more complicated, but Spenser manages to rise above it all and keep plugging away. This is the heart of soul of the Spenser novels that I absolutely adore and thoroughly enjoy.

While I understand many readers lost a lot of the appeal when Ace Atkins took over, I have to admit this is one of my favourite Spenser novels – particularly out of the last half dozen or so. I admit quite a bit of reality needs to be suspended – Spenser first appeared around 1973 so he’d be seriously past his prime now in the mid 2020s, yet Spenser has not aged very much at all in the book world. Add on the fact he’s just got Pearl the third in puppy form – another factor in just how much time has progressed – yet Spenser seemingly hasn’t aged very much either with his physical stamina or with his mental sharpness. All this needs to be carefully overlooked and not thought about. But I have to admit with such an interesting plot and a really good pace I still found myself highly enjoying this book.

Readers who are new to this series don’t really need to read much – if any – of the previous books to my mind. While yes there are a number of recurring characters, I feel the author does a good job of highlighting the friendships and camaraderie between them and I feel the book can be thoroughly enjoyed just by itself and not in conjunction with any of the previous stories.

Readers looking for an American style hardboiled detective story with a fair bit of lighthearted banter and a solid plot should find this a good read.

If the Sun Spares Us by Brenda Marie Smith


If the Sun Spares Us by Brenda Marie Smith
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: post-apocalyptic thriller
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose

Two years ago, a solar pulse destroyed modern life. Bea Crenshaw organized her starving, suburban neighbors into a farming community. But now Bea’s gone, and her grandchildren must carry her legacy forward.

In the post-apocalyptic pressure cooker of Austin, Texas, 19-year-old Keno and his younger cousins struggle to ensure their community’s survival even as they’re forced to relocate to safer grounds. Northern Lights that don’t belong this far south grow increasingly intense, making Keno fear what harm the sun will cause next.

Even worse, a marauding militia called the Raiders is closing in, led by a deranged woman who preys on teenage boys. Despite Keno’s debilitating flashbacks from a firefight, he and his wife have a new baby to protect. Though Bea is dead, her spirit desperately searches for ways to shield her grandkids. When Raiders target two neighborhood members, the only hope lies in the community’s strength, Keno’s ingenuity, and the family’s fierce love for one another.

This is the third book in the Braving the Light series and picks up after the death of Bea, the family’s grandmother and matriarch who so ably prepared her family for an apocalypse she is sure is coming, even though she does not know how or when. You can read our five-star review of the second book here.

This third, and final, book of the trilogy does not disappoint. Once again, Ms. Smith presents us with a multi-generational story, told from the POVs of Keno, Milo, Mazie, and Bea. They are trying to relocate to a safer location, a move which causes dissension in the original camp. Add to that, they run into a paramilitary group which calls itself Raiders and is run by a deranged woman with a special affinity for luring in teenage boys.

Once again, it’s the characters and their relationships that really make this book. The characters come across as real people, with all their faults and foibles. They are mostly people who would want to sit down and have a cup of tea with.

The situations, also, ring true and is a future I could see all too well coming our way. The whole range of human emotions and human reactions are seen in the books, both good and bad.

I really recommend this series.

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All the Little Truths by Debra Webb


All the Little Truths by Debra Webb
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

Legal investigator Finley O’Sullivan has dealt with her share of shady characters, but the firm’s latest client has an even darker past than most. In fact, Nashville Metro Police seems to think he’s a murderer.

Finley isn’t so sure. Her investigation into Ray Johnson’s history focuses on the unsolved murder of a teenager who died thirteen years earlier. The case went cold, but questions remain. After the girl’s death, people close to her started disappearing—Ray’s brother first, then the girl’s mother. But why?

As Finley races to solve a decade-old murder, she uncovers new clues and long-buried secrets that could blow the case wide open. But whoever killed the girl all those years ago may still be a threat—and now the chase is on.

Secrets can be dangerous and even the smallest truths might make a difference if they are revealed.

This book had me engrossed from the first page. “All the Little Truths” follows Finley O’Sullivan with her unusual skill set for finding out the truth; it does not matter if her client’s innocence or guilt is discovered in the outcome. This is book three of the Finley O’Sullivan series and Finley is tasked with solving a high-profile cold case murder that happened thirteen years ago.

The book is part of a series however I was able to follow along and understand the events that took place in the previous book. How thoughtful of the author to give a refreshing overview of what happened in the series previously to those that read the earlier books. I am sure new readers will appreciate the recap as I did, it helped to give some insight into what happened to Finley previously. The tide bits about what happened to Finley’s husband piqued my interest, and now I want to go back to read the previous books in the series.

The author’s writing is always enjoyable to read and easy to follow. The plot is suspenseful although I did figure out early on who the killer was, finding out how all the other parts fit into the story kept me reading. The story did not lag at any point, however there were times when I felt the story was taking too long to get to its full truth. There was not a dull moment in this book, the multilayered plot made sure of that. Not only is Finley working on solving the Lucy Cagle murder, she is working to find out what happened to Ian Johnson, Finley is also mentally dealing with the aftermath of what happened to her and her husband. She discovered her neighbor Helen Roberts passed out in the backyard and takes the time to visit her in the hospital, and she makes the decision to run for District Attorney all the while a stalker is following her. See what I mean? A lot happening, but the author did not miss a beat in keeping each plot point moving with sufficient details and making sure all had closure. I could not even think of one question. Skillful writing and editing make for wonderful reading pleasure.

Finley’s drive and determination is evident, she holds true to only caring about finding out the truth even when it looks like her father may have some involvement in what happened to Lucy. Finley is juggling a lot, but she does it well. She is a character to be admired and one I want to read more about.

The novel’s end was very unexpected for me, this astonishing twist was unsettling and unusual. The author’s craft in mystery writing is intense and descriptive and it is evident that her goal is to keep the readers interested. That goal was achieved. The places and details mentioned show that she does her research into the structure of her novels. This is characteristic for a Debra Webb book, and her well-structured suspenseful plot will surely ignite enough curiosity to keep readers reading in one session. Recommended.