Twisted Truth by Melinda Leigh (Rogue Justice #1)
Romantic Suspense
Novella 110 pages
October 31, 2017
Montlake

Reviewed by Helyce

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a romantic suspense and this novella length story was a good choice to revisit the genre. The story takes place in a very small town called Solitude. It’s one of those towns where everyone knows everyone and is likely related. Such is the case with Twisted Truth.

The author sets the tone of the story with a horrific double murder. Detective Seth Harding responds to a ‘shots fired’ call one night and enters a home to find a man and a woman, shot at close range. The man is dead and while the woman appears to be alive, she dies en route to the hospital. The scene they find seems odd to say the least. The couple had been asleep, but their bed was just a mattress on the floor. There were few clothes and very little personalization to the home. It was not homey in any way. Seth continues to explore the home trying to piece things together and that’s when he finds a young boy chained to the furnace in the basement.

Seth has no choice but to call his wife, Carly, who works for Child Protective Services. Carly is very good at what she does, but it is clear that she is suffering some PTSD from a previous case where a child had died in her arms after being physically abused. This child is alive, though, and she powers through those memories to help. Once the child, who refuses to speak, has been removed from the scene and taken to the hospital to get checked out, Seth returns to the investigation.

Seth takes point with the case and speaks with the neighbors who paint a picture of a young couple who kept to themselves. No one had ever seen the child, had no idea that he was there. When one of the neighbors reports that he’d seen a dark SUV driving slowly back and forth down the street with a broken tail light, Seth has his first solid clue.

Twisted Truth sets up a mystery that is centered around the child that is found. Clues point them toward an additional murder, a missing CFO as well as a missing $10 million dollars. While all this is going on, Seth is trying to keep his family safe. A difficult thing when you’ve taken the child at the heart of this crime into your home.

I enjoyed this first book in what appears to be a serial where each installment will be written by a different author. Leigh introduces the main characters and sets the scene to what I believe will be an ongoing case. She gives us just a little bit of background into Seth and Carly’s lives and introduces other characters by name, though we do not actually meet them. I like the small town set up where everyone knows everyone and the sense of community is strong. At the same time, the author shows that even in a small knit community like this, horrible things happen. Though short, the story is well-rounded and easy to follow as hints and clues are revealed to explain how that young boy ended up chained in a basement.

While Goodreads marks this as a Romantic Suspense, there is no real romance in this story. Carly and Seth are married and have an 8 year old daughter. It’s inferred that they have had some issues in their marriage but are back together and stronger for it. So, if you like a little sexy time alongside your suspense, you won’t find it here. While the story ends on a very positive note, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. The next book, Truth Be Told, is written by Kendra Elliot and releases November 7 according to Goodreads. Also a novella, the blurb infers that this case is far from concluded.

Rating: C+

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