The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle
Romantic Suspense/Thriller
E book
July 28, 2015
Mira
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “The truth always come out eventually.”
One man will do anything to discover the truth behind his brother’s death.
One man will do anything to keep it buried.
The answer lies in the hands of one woman who will be forced to choose which is more important…loyalty or truth.
Abigail Wolff, an investigative journalist, turned in her press pass and resignation when a high profile story she wrote resulted in tragedy. Left bereft and guilt stricken over her actions in the affair, she is now works as a content curator for a health website. When she anonymously receives a packet of unclassified documents in the mail, alleging a military cover up in the death of a soldier, she finds herself poised on the edge of an abyss where she may be forced to betray the people she loves the most in order to find closure for a family she feels deserves the truth.
Kimberly Belle has proven she is no one trick pony with this latest release. As strong and heartbreakingly poignant as her debut, The Last Breathe, The Ones We Trust is a complex and thought-provoking drama that delivers a power filled story built on family and filled with grief, love, trust, betrayal. It asks you how far will you go and how much are you willing to give up in order discover the truth. Well researched and smoothly revealed, Belle expertly pulls all your emotions to the surface as you watch two families deal with the tragedy of losing someone they loved and trying valiantly to discover the reasons why.
The story reveals itself slowly, introducing these dynamic characters and their backstories while laying the groundwork for what’s to come. Two stories intertwine in here-one that serves to reminds Abigail of her past mistakes and one that gives her a chance to redeem herself-if only in her own eyes. One aspect I enjoy in Belle’s writing is the honesty she forces from her characters. While everyone would love to be hero and act above the board, we can’t negate the everyday emotions that make up our humanity. Love, lust, fear, anger, and selfishness exist and will always be a prevalent force no matter the situation we are in. Belle addresses these issues, showing us that it is very easy to be both the hero and villain of our own story.
Abigail is a strong, intelligent, forthright woman whose sense of loyalty and honesty are hardwired in her. An army brat, her father, a three star general, instilled strong values in her from day one of her life. Her determination to find out what happened to the slain soldier, Zach Armstrong, leads her to locate the Armstrong family and show them what she received. Unbeknownst to the family, Abigail not only knew Zach and interviewed him once upon a time, but she knows his brother Gabe as well. Mrs. Armstrong begs Abigail to write Zach’s story and bring the truth out in the open even though Abigail has repeatedly told her she is no longer a journalist. When Gabe comes to her, also asking for her help, Abigail is helpless to fight the tide of curiosity and begins her investigation. Unfortunately, her investigation leads her to her father and signs that he not only knows what really happened to Zach Armstrong…but had a hand in covering it up.
As Abigail works frantically to wipe away the darkness that surrounds Zach’s death, Belle uses her investigation to examine all of Abigail’s relationships and the effects her actions are having on them. How do you co-exist with your family whose goals are at odds with yours? How do you maintain loyalty? Should loyalty to family supersede all? How much is trust freely given and how much is painstakingly earned? Each person in here is forced to examine the motivations behind their actions and answer for them.
While the romance isn’t the main focus, it is a strong, sweetly defiant undercurrent that flows through the story. Family takes on new definitions as Abigail begins to form a romantic attachment to Gabe Armstrong. Grief stricken by the loss his brother and the toll it is taking on his family and himself, Gabe is distrustful of Abigail and is unsure if she is truly here to help or hinder his family’s investigation. His growing attraction to her becomes a source of confusion for him that sharpens under the growing evidence that the military wasn’t honest about his brother’s death.
As the mystery swirls around, drawing in tighter and tighter towards the finale, feelings of sorrow and relief overtakes the reader as we learn exactly what happened and why. The ending is bittersweet but hopeful as Abigail and Gabe learn that the truth is often layered in shades of gray and doesn’t always give us the answers we wanted to hear.
RATING: B+
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