ABOUT THE BOOK

The truth can set you free – or bury you.

When FBI Agent Sydney Merlot returns to her home town in northern California to wind down her late father’s PI business, she soon finds herself on the wrong side of the aftermath of a high school shooting.

Sydney’s childhood friend – who is now county sheriff – plus the local PD, the mayor’s office, and most of the town’s inhabitants, are convinced the horror ended when the gunman was killed. Now they just want to be left alone to mourn. But Sydney has other ideas – and she is not alone.

While having to work through her own personal grief, Sydney is openly intimidated and receives anonymous threats. After discovering she is under surveillance, she begins to fear for her life. During her investigation, she gains several allies, but as the days pass, Sydney doesn’t know who to trust, and which new friends might actually turn out to be foes…

MY REVIEW

A school shooting. 15 dead including the shooter. Case closed. Or is it?

FBI Agent Sydney Merlot is back in her home town to settle up her dad’s private investigator business. His death is a hard blow considering he was killed by a hit and run and the killer wasn’t found. A killer she was determined to find.  Until Dexter Muller steps into her dad’s office and drops a bomb of a theory about his son Kevin, the school shooter. Was his son set up? Could the police have been wrong in ignoring Mr. Muller’s pleas to look into the case? Sydney believes there is something to Mr. Muller’s theory and she has opened a can of worms for herself and her best friend Sheriff Benton Lowe.

Sydney is a compassionate and thorough individual who is determined to find the truth.  I admire her search for justice at the request of a grieving father who everyone in town has written off even at the risk of losing her friends, the respect of her childhood community, and quite possibly her life.

What an extraordinary mystery thriller surrounding a tragic and delicate event that had me holding my breath until the end. The tension builds as shocking secrets are revealed and clues start to unravel in an incredible plot that had me reading well into the night. 

I have yet another fabulous author to add to my TBR list and look forward to reading more about Sydney Merlot.

Thank you to Mr. Forder for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tony J Forder is the author of the bestselling DI Bliss crime thriller series. The first seven books, Bad to the Bone, The Scent of Guilt, If Fear Wins, The Reach of Shadows, The Death of Justice, Endless Silent Scream, and Slow Slicing, were joined in December 2020 by a prequel novella, Bliss Uncovered.
Tony’s other series – two action-adventure novels featuring Mike Lynch – comprises both Scream Blue Murder, and Cold Winter Sun.

In addition, Tony has written two standalone novels: a dark, psychological crime thriller, Degrees of Darkness, and a suspense thriller set in California, called Fifteen Coffins which was released just last November.

Tony lives with his wife in Peterborough, UK, and is now a full-time author. He is currently working on Bliss #8, The Autumn Tree.

Follow Tony on his website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Goodreads, Fantastic Fiction, and Instagram.

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