When Bree was young, she witnessed her father killing her mother, and then he shot himself. Bree was there to protect her sister Erin and her brother Adam. Now, years later, Bree is a detective, along with her partner Dana. Dana is going to retire soon, and Bree is not looking forward to a new partner. One day Bree gets a call from her sister Erin and something is not right. Bree takes some time off of work to go to the farm and see what is going on. As soon as Bree pulls up, she knows something is wrong. Erin has been murdered, the police think it could be her husband Justin, who she is separated from.
Bree knows she has to keep everything together for Erin’s two children, Luke and Kayla. Bree meets Matt who has been friends with Justin his whole life, Matt used to be a policeman, until he was injured on the job, and can no longer be a policeman. Matt knows that there is no way that Justin would have killed her because he loved her. The kids are with her brother Adam, who is a recluse painter. Bree and Matt decide to team up to try and find out what happened. There are several suspects they have in mind; one is a drug dealer Nico because Justin did have a problem with drugs. Another is Erin’s boss as he was always making a pass at her. Or maybe it could be Erin’s old boyfriend Craig, the father of the children, but has not been in their lives.
They interview everyone they can think of including Stephanie, who worked with Erin. Stephanie had left her husband Zake as he was accusing her of cheating on him and he was very abusive to her. Craig comes back into the picture because he knows the kids would be getting money and he tells Erin that he is going to sue her for custody of the kids. So now, not only is Erin trying to find her sister’s killer but also has to deal with not losing the kids.
Will Bree and Matt find the answers to all the questions that have come up? Who is the real killer, will Craig get the gets, and what about the romance that is starting to bloom between them.
I really did enjoy this book by Melinda Leigh. Leigh had me going as I couldn’t figure out who the real killer was. I was pretty surprised at the end when all is revealed. I also liked the way that Erin overcame so many obstacles. Don't miss reading CROSS HER HEART.
A homicide detective’s violent family history repeats itself in #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s novel of murder, secrets, and retribution.
For more than twenty-five years, Philadelphia homicide detective Bree Taggert has tucked away the nightmarish childhood memories of her parents’ murder-suicide…Until her younger sister, Erin, is killed in a crime that echoes that tragic night: innocent witnesses and a stormy marriage that ended in gunfire. There’s just one chilling difference. Erin’s husband, Justin, has vanished.
Bree knows how explosive the line between love and hate can be, yet the evidence against her troubled brother-in-law isn’t adding up. Teaming up with Justin’s old friend, former sheriff’s investigator and K-9 handler Matt Flynn, Bree vows to uncover the secrets of her sister’s life and death, as she promised Erin’s children. But as her investigation unfolds, the danger hits close to home. Once again, Bree’s family is caught in a death grip. And this time, it could be fatal for her.