Reading and #Reviews (Winters, Womack)

I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. Each month, I'll share with you reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read is limited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook at night for the last hour of my day. 

I tend to read what I write, but not exclusively. Besides Romantic Suspense, I read crime and law novels, once in a while a true story, WWII historicals, mysteries, and mainstream character driven books.

Here are some of the books I've read recently or in the not-too-distant past. Maybe you'll discover a new book or author.

 

Grave Testimony by Larry A. Winters 

When a drug dealer reaches out to assistant district attorney Jessica Black with information about a case that has gone unsolved for over a decade—the brutal murder of a little boy—Jessie sees an opportunity to bring long-delayed justice to the murdered child’s family. But convicting the boy’s killer won’t be easy. Much of the evidence is old or lost, the detective who originally investigated the crime seems to have secrets of his own, and someone is willing to kill to ensure that what happened fourteen years ago remains an unsolved mystery forever. 

Jessie’s not the type to give up easily, though. Especially when she’s seeking justice for a child and his family. 

AMAZON BUY LINK

Review:

This book, a prequel, has so much more going on than the blurb above from Amazon—a daughter who believes her mother killed her brother, ripping the family apart. An assistant district attorney whose one night of indiscretion is causing her a heap of trouble, and the search for the real murderer in the cold case. It’s a short, fast read, and the author crams an exciting story into a few pages.  

 

Nobody’s Chain Lays Straight by Steven Womack 

Nashville P.I. Harry James Denton always suspected there was a seamy, dark underbelly to the bright lights and rhinestone glitz of Music City. But until he's hired by an aristocratic, old-monied Belle Meade family to find their runaway daughter, he had no idea of just how sleazy and smarmy the It City could be...

Stacey Jameson is troubled, drug-addled, and haunted by a history of family abuse and secrets. To say she's hooked in with the wrong crowd is an understatement of deadly proportions. When Harry goes after her, the pursuit takes them both into darker places than either of them have ever seen.

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First off, isn’t that a great title? It caught my attention. The cover caught my eye also. The characters are intriguing and quirky, which I love in a story. His search for drug-addled rich girl keeps you reading. The relationship between Denton and his girlfriend Marsha hit me as a little off. Doesn’t read true on the page, and is the only problem I had with the story. There is lots of sleaze in the story. The ends and outs of the strip clubs and who owned what and who is a bit convoluted. Or maybe I just had trouble keeping up. But it’s a decent story, with a unique voice. I’ll probably try another book in the series.