I received this novel as an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a book that I really wanted to finish back in January … but I fell behind. However, I made it one of my top priorities for this month and got on this book as soon as possible! Here is my review:
Synopsis (Goodreads): Noah Marshall has known a privileged and comfortable life thanks to his mother, the highly decorated chief of the Austin Police Department. But all that changes the night she reveals a skeleton that’s been rattling in her closet for years, and succumbs to the guilt of destroying an innocent family’s life. Reeling with grief, Noah is forced to carry the burden of this shocking secret.
Gracie Richards wasn’t born in a trailer park, but after fourteen years of learning how to survive in The Hollow, it’s all she knows anymore. At least here people don’t care that her dad was a corrupt Austin cop, murdered in a drug deal gone wrong. Here, she and her mother are just another family struggling to survive…until a man who clearly doesn’t belong shows up on her doorstep.
Despite their differences, Noah and Gracie are searching for answers to the same questions, and together, they set out to uncover the truth about the Austin Police Department’s dark and messy past. But the scandal that emerges is bigger than they bargained for, and goes far higher up than they ever imagined.
Review: There are two aspects to this story: the actual mystery and the romance. I greatly preferred the mystery to the romance.
I was automatically drawn to the secret that Noah’s mother revealed to him. It promised to be the start of a complex tale – and it was! I loved all of the different twists and turns that the story took, making every single character a suspect. The author also did a great job highlighting important issues like corruption and human trafficking. However, I found the story to be quite long and I don’t think every part of it was necessary.
While I didn’t realize this novel had a romantic suspense angle, I didn’t quite love it. I liked Noah’s character just fine but I didn’t really like Grace. She was far too stubborn and pigheaded and there were moments where I really wish she had used some common sense. I have no problem reading about fiery female protagonists but when they act in an unintelligent way, it really annoys me. I also didn’t really find the development of the relationship between Noah and Grace believable. The beginning of it was a little too forced and fast-paced, but it eventually worked out as the story progressed.
I went into this novel with very high hopes because of a lot of positive reviews, however I didn’t love it as much as I wanted. It had a good plot and interesting twists, but I didn’t like all of the characters and I thought the romance aspect developed a little too quickly for my liking. I would give this a 2/5 star rating!
Happy reading ~
I rated this a 3 on GR. I also didn’t realize it was a romance! I enjoyed the mystery (although it was predictable, for me). Nice review!
Thanks so much! I feel like we have the same reading styles because I had the exact same feeling as you did about this book!