Tyler Anne Snell

Intense story that kept me hooked from start to finish. The book opens with a scene from Lily and Anthony's past - the abduction of Anthony's sister, Ida. Both teens witnessed the abduction but could not stop it, and each carries the guilt from it to this day.

Fourteen years later, Lily has returned to Kelby Creek as a detective, hired to work on the town's cold cases. Ida's kidnapping is one of those cases, and when she discovers a new lead, the first person she calls is Ant. Though they haven't seen each other during that time, they have stayed in touch. As soon as he hears the news, Ant quits his job in North Carolina and heads back to Kelby Creek, determined to find the truth. Lily was not happy to have Ant show up on her doorstep. She had expected him to wait until she followed up on the new information, while Ant made it clear that wasn't happening. There were some harsh words exchanged before she sent him off.

Meanwhile, Lily gets a call about a puzzling scene she and the sheriff had seen earlier that day. Ant follows her as she rushes off to follow up on the call. A terrifying time follows as she and Ant hear a woman's voice screaming from beneath the ground. As they attempt to dig her out, Lily is attacked by a shovel-wielding man who seems determined to stop them. It's a tense few minutes until Ant subdues the man, and they can get back to the digging. The situation turns odd when the woman turns out to be a recording.

This begins a convoluted and interconnected investigation that links two missing-person cold cases with one current case. Attempting to locate a person of interest gets Ant and Lily almost blown up. Every time a new piece of information is uncovered, it creates a new twist in the investigation. A carnival clown, a missing roommate, and a married lover led to a confrontation at the local fair. I was on the edge of my seat as Lily found herself in the crosshairs of a desperate man while racing to rescue a woman buried alive. The final confrontation was intense, with a full-circle moment for Lily and Ant. I loved the unpacking of the timeline when it was all over, with the last pieces of the puzzle coming from a surprising source.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Lily and Ant. They hadn't seen each other since they were teens, so their first face-to-face meeting was a bit of a shock. The boy Lily had crushed on had grown into a big, sexy man, and the girl who was his friend was now a beautiful woman. Their first meeting was somewhat contentious, partly because of Lily's reaction to him. Under the antagonism that flared between them was an attraction they each tried to deny. But Ant can't deny the protectiveness he feels when Lily is hurt and is determined to keep her safe. Lily's independence makes it difficult to accept his help, but she can't help admitting she feels safer with him around.

Ant and Lily still feel immense guilt over their inability to stop Ida's kidnapping. I liked that they finally had an honest conversation about those feelings and realized that neither was at fault. With that out of the way, their attraction and bond continue to grow. But it took nearly losing each other for them to realize the depth of their feelings. The epilogue was great, and I loved seeing couples from the other books and catching up on their lives. Ant was sweet with the surprise he had for Lily.… (mais)

Terrific book and conclusion to the series. I loved the opening prologue of the book. Jones never expected to be back in Kelby Creek five years after the death of his wife Helen, much less to be asked to run for sheriff. He takes himself off to a hotel for a distraction-free place to decide. While in the hotel bar, he meets Cassandra, who is there for a teachers' conference. She's having a rough day too. She and Jones start talking. I laughed at her idea to help him decide, but it worked. He took her to dinner to thank her, and matters progressed from there.

Fast forward several months. Jones has been asked to reinvestigate the town's notorious Annie McHale case. He knows that feathers will be ruffled when it becomes public knowledge. The town has come a long way since the exposure of the deep corruption in the town government and law enforcement communities, but trust is still a fragile commodity.

The action in the book gets off to a quick start. Cassandra is a kindergarten teacher at Kelby Creek's elementary school. She foils a kidnapping attempt at the school involving Jones's daughter and another student. When Jones arrives at the school, he's stunned to find Cassandra, the woman he couldn't forget and obviously pregnant. Later that evening, when they meet to talk about it, Jones is called away on an emergency that turns out to be a setup. He's run off the road and into a creek. Lucky for him, Cassandra happens along right after and saves his life.

This puts Cassandra right in the middle of Jones's investigation. She is more than a little stubborn and insists on helping Jones when he has to interview a couple of her students' parents. Her involvement makes her a target of those unhappy about Jones's investigation. Having read all of the previous books in the series, it is easy to see there are mixed feelings about the events of that time. I was glued to the pages because I wanted to know what had really happened. Jones and Cassandra uncover a web of lies that shed new light on the actions of those involved, and each new piece of information leads to more questions. Puzzling abductions and escapes, glimpses of a new player and his motivations, and a stunning revelation lead to a gripping conclusion. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as a trap was set for the bad guy. The resolution was well done, and I loved how it turned out.

I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Jones and Cassandra develop. After losing his wife as he did, Jones has no intention of risking his heart again. He didn't count on being unable to forget Cassandra. When he reconnects with her, he makes it clear that he wants to be involved in his child's life, but a relationship between him and Cassandra is out of the question. However, with the time they spend together, it doesn't take long for their initial attraction to grow into something more. Jones realizes that he feels more than protectiveness toward her, though it takes him a while to admit it. Cassandra was somewhat wary herself. She lost her fiancé in a tragic accident and is hesitant to get involved with a man who has a dangerous job. But the heart wants what it wants, and they realize they belong together.

I loved the book's last section and seeing the series' couples four years later. Kelby Creek is healing, and its population is growing.… (mais)

Terrific second chance romance. The small town of Kelby Creek still suffers from the aftereffects of The Flood - the revelation of the rampant corruption in their law enforcement and local government. Five years have passed, but the memories are long. Mel and Sterling were no exception.

Mel still feels a lot of guilt over the discovery of her ex-husband's part in the scandal. She knew nothing of his horrific crimes until after the fact, but the town's people didn't believe it. After divorcing her husband, she tried to move on with the help of childhood friends Sam and Sterling Costner. She and Sterling became more than friends until the day she left Kelby Creek without a word of explanation.

Sterling has his own guilt to deal with. After the investigations were done and he was cleared of wrong-doing, he left Kelby Creek. Desperate to escape the memories and unable to find work in law enforcement, he spent a couple of years doing construction before going back to police work. After some time doing so in Georgia, he heard about the revitalization of Kelby Creek's department and went back to help. He feels guilty about abandoning his hometown and is now determined to help its rehabilitation.

Mel never planned to return to Kelby Creek, much less in the back of an ambulance with no memory of how she got there. Nor did she expect Sterling to be one of the first people she saw. It quickly became evident that their attraction was as strong as ever, though each tried to ignore it. But when strange things began happening to Mel, Sterling's protective instincts kicked in. As they spend time together trying to figure out what is going on, their feelings continue to grow. But they can't move on until they address the past, and Mel fears what will happen if she tells the truth. Things look increasingly bad for Mel, but Sterling never stops believing in her innocence. I loved the ending as they fought for each other and came out with their love even stronger.

The suspense of the story kept me hooked from beginning to end. From the car accident to the dead body in her house to kidnappings, it becomes increasingly apparent that someone has it in for Mel. The question is who and why. I ached for Mel and the suspicion she faced and the accusations she endured. By the time the final confrontation came, I was glued to the pages waiting for the explanation. The plan's twists, turns, and utter evil took my breath away when the bad guy bragged about what he'd done. I loved that his arrogance was part of what brought him down. The resolution was a nail-biter as Mel fought to save those she loved against terrible odds.… (mais)

This is the third book in the series but can easily be read as a standalone. The books' common denominator is the town's recovery from "The Flood," a massive corruption scandal involving the town's leaders and law enforcement. In this book, Detective Kenneth Gray has returned to the sheriff's department to help sort out cases that may have been affected by the corruption, including going over cold cases. One of those cases was the murder of his wife several years earlier.

Willa Tate works for a construction company. One evening she discovered a partially buried box on one of their sites. After opening it, she believed that it contained evidence of an old crime, but investigating on her own got nowhere. So she took it to the newly formed cold case task force - Kenneth.

The first meeting between Kenneth and Willa did not go as she'd hoped. After showing him the box and its contents and explaining her theory, Kenneth remained skeptical of her claims but promised to check into them. After a conversation with the sheriff, he had more questions for Willa. He quickly becomes less skeptical when Willa's home is ransacked, and she is attacked by someone clearly searching for something. Willa had some tense moments as she wondered if she would survive the encounter. I was glued to the pages as they investigated each item they found in the box and drew closer to the person responsible. There were also brief sections from the killer's viewpoint showing his determination to keep his secret. The final confrontation was a nail-biter with an unexpected twist that put Willa in his crosshairs. I loved how Willa kept her head and played a big part in her rescue and solving the mystery. I liked the ending and seeing how everything was intertwined.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Willa and Kenneth. Willa's sunshiny nature made an impression on him from the start, and he had difficulty getting her off his mind. His wife's murder still haunts Kenneth and Willa lights up the dark corners of his life. Willa is equally attracted to Kenneth, who is different from the men she's been involved with before. Kenneth's protectiveness kicked in when Willa was attacked. Their forced proximity gave them a chance to get to know each other and their attraction the opportunity to grow. I liked how Kenneth opened up to Willa about his wife's death, and Willa's compassion was beautifully shown. There were some sweet scenes of them together as their feelings deepened. I liked the ending, and the peace Kenneth found so that he could move on with Willa.… (mais)