"I thoroughly enjoyed Hart's Ridge by Kay Brat, the first book in this new series. Hart's Ridge is a small Georgia town. Taylor Gray is a deputy with the sheriff's department, the only woman on the team. Not an easy task in an area where chauvinism and misogyny abound, yet Taylor loves her job. Despite coming from a dysfunctional family and being in and out of foster care, Taylor is dedicated, determined and strong-willed. She does have a temper that she struggles to keep under control. Taylor is pleased when the sheriff assigns her the responsibility of following-up on a case where a child was found alone and disheveled at a convenience store miles from town. Molly is the little girl's name, and Taylor is committed to helping her and locating her family or caregiver. From that point on, hold on because the story is filled with potential scenarios and possibilities. The story is very well written, and the characters quite belivable- some very likeable, some not at all. The only reason I gave Hart's Ridge 4.5 stars rather than five is that I was a bit disappointed with the ending as I wanted more resolution. The good news is there is a second book forthcoming, and I'm very excited to read it. Harts' Ridge is definitely an entertaining and worthwhile read; I recommend it."

"A good read with some flaws

Twenty Years Later centers around two crimes: one from the past that holds an eerie link to 9/11 and another surrounding a fugitive on the run. A TV reporter finds herself investigating one crime and playing a starring role in the other.

Avery is a TV reporter with a large fanbase. With a contract extension on the line, she is looking to grow her ratings. When she hears about new technology that can identify DNA from 9/11 victims, she jumps on the opportunity to highlight the latest victim identification on her show. But what makes the story even juicer is that the newly confirmed victim was an accused murderer. At the same time Avery launches an investigation into the DNA 9/11 identification program, Avery is desperately trying to keep a secret from her past from being exposed to her viewers.

This book moves in many different directions--too many directions IMHO. In the beginning, it seems like the plot is going focus on the murder from 20 years ago, but it is more about the present. Donlea covers everything imaginable, which muddles the plot, including flashbacks to the murder 20 years ago, flashbacks of those involved in the murder, flashbacks of the detective who solved the murder, and flashbacks to Avery’s past. In addition to all of the flashbacks, much takes place in the present. I didn’t care about any of the storylines until the last 10% of the book, which is when things get very interesting.

Avery is the primary narrator--it took me a while to warm to her. It’s not that she is unlikeable, I just didn’t find her all that compelling. Walt is the other main narrator. I liked him from the start, but I was left with a lot of questions about his past. There are some additional perspectives woven in.

This book is slow in the beginning. I didn’t care much about the case or Avery, but my interest grew as I continued to read. There is a lot of repetition, which made me groan. However, things eventually smooth out. The ending was exciting and a little surprising. The epilogue was fun and added another spin to the events.

Twenty Years Later was a solid 3 star for me, but the ending bumped it up a notch to a 3.5 rating.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review."

"Another totally absorbing police procedural in my favourite series. I found his one extra interesting in that the reader is basically offered two options for the murderer - Eve herself cannot choose so there was no chance that I could! Of course she sorts it all out, persuades the murderer to confess and all is good in the In Death world.

Robb provides plenty of humour and amusing banter to lighten what is a very dark story. The murder was nasty and one of Eve's nightmares was very scary. At the same time we visited the house in progress, there was a mention of the Candy Thief, and Galahad scored a forbidden treat at breakfast time at last. And it was maybe even better than bacon.

I read it all in one day and now have the long wait to February and the publication of book number 60."