Her Deadly Truth by L.A. Larkin

Publisher's Synopsis

For weeks, Carolyn Tate’s suspicions that her husband is trying to kill her have been ignored—by her neighbors, her friends and even her family. But just two hours after her last attempt to make someone listen, her body is discovered.

Carolyn’s neighbor, ex-police officer Sally Fairburn, is determined to seek justice for her friend’s death. But although Carolyn suspected her husband, Sally finds no evidence he was involved. And Carolyn’s best friends are strangely quick to defend him…

Sally knows one of Carolyn’s friends, Lauren, is hiding something. She can see it in her tear-stained cheeks, averted eyes and tense shoulders: Fear. But just as Lauren’s finally ready to come clean, she is murdered in a brutal hit and run. Reeling from Lauren’s death, Sally is horrified to receive a series of dropped calls and anonymous flowers, leaving her with the unsettled feeling that she, too, is being followed…

Then, on edge but feeling closer than ever to the truth, Sally watches a stranger threaten her teenage son—a finger drawn across his throat. Her world stops. It’s not just Sally at risk—everyone she loves is in danger unless she finds the truth… Can Sally stop a brutal killer before more innocent lives are lost?

My Review of Her Deadly Truth by L.A. Larkin 

The second book featuring Sally Fairburn follows on around a year after the events in Next Girl Missing and finds Sally in a situation where she has left behind her job as a victim advocate. She now works in a bookstore, but her notoriety from solving the crimes chronicled in Next Girl Missing has prompted a visit from her next door neighbour, Carolyn.

The meeting reveals that Carolyn believes her husband is trying to kill her. She wants to hire Sally to investigate the possibility that she is being poisoned. But this is not the life that Sally wants to lead, she’s no investigator and refuses to take the job, a decision she almost immediately regrets when Carolyn dies of apparent heart failure only a few days later.

In the meantime, a man with whom she was instrumental in sending to prison, Richard Foster, has been making contact with her by sending flowers and making phone calls. This is a deeply disturbing turn of events, him knowing her new address as well as her cell phone number. He’s been locked away but somehow he’s able to reach out to her, making it known that he wants her to visit him. He has information for her. The question is: Does she want to hear it?

In this second book in the series, we discover that Sally is continuing to recover after her marriage to a lying, domineering husband who nearly ground her down to nothing. The road has been long but over the intervening time since he left, she has become a far more confident and competent woman who has taken to the role of amateur investigator very well. Between her and her son Paul as well as good friend Margie a strong bond has been formed and they each display great strength of character.

This murder mystery quickly becomes a multiple murder mystery and there’s little doubt that the killer is starting to take a strong interest in Sally herself. The result is a gripping race to uncover the truth in a tension-filled drama involving not only Sally but her family and friends too.

If there is a weakness in the story it would lie at the feet of Sally herself and the inconsistency in her nature. On the one hand she is often paralysed by doubts and insecurities, allowing others to walk over her on minor details. In the other, she rushes into extremely dangerous situations - life threatening altercations - without giving any thought to her own or her son’s welfare. Perhaps this is part of her continuing development and we’re about to see another radical change in what I can only anticipate will be another book in the series.

Overall, Her Deadly Truth is a solid thriller that, for the second time (make sure you read Next Girl Missing first), effectively drew me into the small Washington state community and the dangers that seem to seek Sally out.