Published: November 13, 2018

Creative Magnolia

I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Melinda Woodhall is the author of the page-turning Mercy Harbor Thriller series. After leaving a career in corporate software sales to focus on writing, Melinda now spends her time writing romantic thrillers and police procedurals. She also writes women’s contemporary fiction as M.M. Arvin.

“But when you face down death, you start saying all the things you always wanted to say but were too scared to say.”

Eden is trying to process the murder of her little sister as she raises her niece and nephew and runs a very elaborate series of shelters designed to help women escape abusive situations. Nessa is worried about her partner, major heart surgery is no joke, and she wants to do an excellent job in his absence. As paths cross, lies get exposed, and girls end up dead- Willow Bay May never recover.

One aspect I loved with this novel is meeting Nessa and her fellow officers earlier in the Willow Bay universe. It was awesome getting a glimpse into Frankie Dawson as a struggling character and seeing Nessa and Barker before the Veronica Lee series.

This read much like a Veronica Lee novel, only replace Veronica with Eden. The storyline was fast-paced, and the characters were well done, safely expected with a Woodhall novel.

The twist was unexpected, though I saw it coming after something another character said in passing. The lead-up was well played, and the suspicion bounced from character to character until the big reveal.

Overall I enjoyed the storyline, characters and found the book entertaining. After reading all the Veronica Lee books (to date), I enjoyed this flashback.