Series: Bree Taggert Book 4
Author: Melinda Leigh
Genre: Fiction: Psycho Thriller
Publisher: Montlake Publishers
Released: Sept 14th, 2021
Available on Amazon
Reviewed by Elise Cooper
Right Behind Her by Melinda Leigh is a gripping read, just like her other books. Readers get sympathetic heroes and monstrous villains along with a plot that will keep them turning the pages.
Sherriff Bree Taggert agrees to travel to her childhood home with her brother Adam. She must confront the memories of her childhood that includes the cruelness of her father, being attacked by his dogs, the night her father murdered her mother, and then committed suicide.
There is some therapy in this story. “Bree realizes she needs to overcome her fear of dogs. She is realizing that dogs are a great companion and know when they are needed. Brody, the German Shepherd retired police dog is a hero in this story. The saying feelings run down leash applies to all the dogs in the story.”
“I also wanted to show how paint therapy helps. Bree’s brother Adam obtained solace from painting. He had been born into a family filled with grief, anger, and abuse. Like Bree, he carried that burden into adulthood. Darkness always filled his work. The book quote, ‘Dark reds, bold blues, and stormy grays dominated the canvas. Bree saw sadness and anger and lack of control in the turbulent brushstrokes. But in one corner, a shaft of light blue with just the slightest hint of pale-yellow shadow pierced the darkness… Despite being a minute portion of the overall work, the smaller sliver of brightness drew and held the eye. It was a spark of hope at the edge of overwhelming despair…that tiny ribbon of light pulled her in.’”
What she did not expect to find are human bones on the grounds of the abandoned family farm. They appear to be cruelly murdered thirty years ago. She is wondering if her father, who killed himself and her mother while she hid herself, her brother, and sister, is the culprit. Suspects begin to pile up, including someone who kidnaps her niece to warn her from further investigation. Assisting is Matt Flynn, the police investigator, who is also helping Bree realize she wants a relationship with him. She begins to feel the need for family and starts to tear down the wall she has built to protect herself.
“I wrote the relationship as first being just a friendship, but they had a connection. Her backstory affects her feelings until she allowed herself to lean on Matt a bit. She is learning she does not have to exist all by herself. Although she is there for others, to support them, there is a back and forth in relationships and she is seeing this. Bree is finally learning not to be a loner and allows Matt to support her.”
This story will keep readers captivated with plenty of emotion and suspense including wondering who committed the crime.
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