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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
medium-paced
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
I have enjoyed two other series by Debra Webb and was excited to read this one which I got for free from Amazon First Reads. I enjoyed the book though some of it was repetitive. I'm not sure how I feel about the main character. In many ways I enjoy the character, but she does something that is inconsistent with characters I generally like. The story is about family and secrets. The relationships between the three sisters is well done and interesting. The relationship between the sisters, their father and respective mothers is also well written. Vera's relationship with the Sheriff poses interesting future possibilities. Not everything was tied up in the book. It will be interesting to see where the next book takes readers. I will definitely read the next book in the series.
slow-paced
”There are folks who will do anything to keep their secrets”.
This is the sixth book I have read from Debra Webb. As a fan of her Finlay O’Sullivan series, I have discovered I much prefer her later work over her earlier work. It is my opinion that her writing has drastically improved over time as she has become a better and more seasoned author. I’ll leave it at that.
Having just read a story about a couple of families with a lot of secrets in their “family closets”, I was curious what kind crazy stuff I would be finding in Vera Boyett’s closet. I’m not usually a fan of domestic dramas; I find so much of it boring and poorly written. However, I really enjoyed the story of Vera and the skeletons (literally) in her “familycloset cave”.
As the book summary states, one of the skeletons is Vera’s stepmother, Sheree, that was believed to have run off with another man more than 22yrs ago. What the book summary doesn’t say is that Vera and her sister Eve were the ones that stuffed Sheree’s body in the cave 22yrs ago, when Vera was 17 and Eve was 12. This after Eve found Sheree trying to drown baby Luna (toddler) in the bathtub and in the process of saving Luna from Sheree, Eve pushed Sheree and she hit her head on the ceramic sink and then the tile floor that killed her instantly.
Having just been relieved of her position as Deputy Chief for the Memphis PD because of an incident with her team that resulted in the death of two teammates, Vera heads back home to Fayetteville to try and keep the secret that she and Eve have kept for 22yrs from coming to light. There is a secondary storyline of the new Sheriff, Bent, and Vera and their complicated affair 22yrs ago; Vera is still as attracted to Bent now as she was then. However, Bent is obsessed with finding out how the bodies got in the cave and who put them there and is convinced that Vera and Eve are not being completely honest and are definitely hiding something.
Most of the story revolves around the investigation of discovering Sheree’s body along with three other skeletons discovered in another part of the cave. While Vera and Eve knew about Sheree’s body (this was revealed really early in the story), they have no idea who the other three are or who put them there. It wasn’t until well into the second half before I had the slightest clue as to who the killer of the three other bodies could be. I missed the mark on that one.
This was not the fast-paced action-packed kind of story that I typically read. However, the storyline was interesting and definitely kept me engaged. The character development of the MC’s was pretty good although I would have liked to know a little more about Bent and his time from leaving Fayetteville for the Marines, to when he came back 20yrs later. I’m sure future installments will go more into that. I really liked the ending too! Very satisfying. Webb definitely wove a really good story here about a family with a lot of secrets and a town willing to do anything to hide its own secrets. I look forward to more of Vera Boyett and her hometown and all its secrets. I’m looking at an overall score of 4.2 that I will be rounding up to a 4.25star rating
I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #Thomas&Mercer #DeeperThantheDead
This is the sixth book I have read from Debra Webb. As a fan of her Finlay O’Sullivan series, I have discovered I much prefer her later work over her earlier work. It is my opinion that her writing has drastically improved over time as she has become a better and more seasoned author. I’ll leave it at that.
Having just read a story about a couple of families with a lot of secrets in their “family closets”, I was curious what kind crazy stuff I would be finding in Vera Boyett’s closet. I’m not usually a fan of domestic dramas; I find so much of it boring and poorly written. However, I really enjoyed the story of Vera and the skeletons (literally) in her “family
As the book summary states, one of the skeletons is Vera’s stepmother, Sheree, that was believed to have run off with another man more than 22yrs ago. What the book summary doesn’t say is that Vera and her sister Eve were the ones that stuffed Sheree’s body in the cave 22yrs ago, when Vera was 17 and Eve was 12. This after Eve found Sheree trying to drown baby Luna (toddler) in the bathtub and in the process of saving Luna from Sheree, Eve pushed Sheree and she hit her head on the ceramic sink and then the tile floor that killed her instantly.
Having just been relieved of her position as Deputy Chief for the Memphis PD because of an incident with her team that resulted in the death of two teammates, Vera heads back home to Fayetteville to try and keep the secret that she and Eve have kept for 22yrs from coming to light. There is a secondary storyline of the new Sheriff, Bent, and Vera and their complicated affair 22yrs ago; Vera is still as attracted to Bent now as she was then. However, Bent is obsessed with finding out how the bodies got in the cave and who put them there and is convinced that Vera and Eve are not being completely honest and are definitely hiding something.
Most of the story revolves around the investigation of discovering Sheree’s body along with three other skeletons discovered in another part of the cave. While Vera and Eve knew about Sheree’s body (this was revealed really early in the story), they have no idea who the other three are or who put them there. It wasn’t until well into the second half before I had the slightest clue as to who the killer of the three other bodies could be. I missed the mark on that one.
This was not the fast-paced action-packed kind of story that I typically read. However, the storyline was interesting and definitely kept me engaged. The character development of the MC’s was pretty good although I would have liked to know a little more about Bent and his time from leaving Fayetteville for the Marines, to when he came back 20yrs later. I’m sure future installments will go more into that. I really liked the ending too! Very satisfying. Webb definitely wove a really good story here about a family with a lot of secrets and a town willing to do anything to hide its own secrets. I look forward to more of Vera Boyett and her hometown and all its secrets. I’m looking at an overall score of 4.2 that I will be rounding up to a 4.25star rating
I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #Thomas&Mercer #DeeperThantheDead
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was an excellent romantic suspense/thriller. I absolutely loved Vera’s character and cant wait to see more of her in book 2. The writing kept me interested and the twists were slightly predictable, it was still a very enjoyable read. Looking forward to more of Bent!!
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm always a fan of Debra Webbs books and this is one of her best! Lost .25 for some minor plot holes at the end and I would've liked to see Lunas character develop a bit more but all in all was a great book!