Threads of Suspicion by Dee Henderson

• Series: An Evie Blackwell Cold Case
• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (May 2, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764219979
• ISBN-13: 978-0764219979

About the Book:

Dee Henderson Pens Another Compelling Cold Case Mystery
Evie Blackwell's reputation as a top investigator for the Illinois State Police has landed her an appointment to the governor's new Missing Persons Task Force. This elite investigative team is launched with plenty of public fanfare. The governor has made this initiative a high priority, so they will have to produce results--and quickly.

Evie and her new partner, David Marshal, are assigned to a pair of unrelated cases in suburban Chicago, and while both involve persons now missing for several years, the cases couldn't be more different. While Evie opens old wounds in a close-knit neighborhood to find a missing college student, David searches for a private investigator working for a high-powered client.

With a deep conviction that "justice for all" truly matters, Evie and David are unrelenting in their search for the truth. But Evie must also find answers to the questions that lie just beneath the surface in her personal life.

My Thoughts:

I absolutely love a good criminal procedural, and a little bit of romance never hurts at all!  I enjoyed the first book in Henderson's new series (Evie Blackwell Cold Case), but I didn't enjoy "Threads of Suspicion quite as much.

First of all, the threads of the story (no pun intended) felt a little loosely woven.  I had moments when I thought I was reading a completely different story, then was dropped back rather abruptly into the actual cold case narrative.

Second, there was too much filler.  "Threads of Suspicion" read like it had to keep up with its predecessor and come in with over 400 pages.  Now, I love a really thick book, but only if the number of pages is required to convey the story properly.  In this case, I would have cut anywhere from 15-20 pages and still felt comfortable.

As for the romance, it felt flat.  Forced.  Filler.  Yeah, let's move on...

Finally, I've been a fan of Dee Henderson's work since the first printing of "The O'Malley's", and while I try my best to never compare literary children to one another, that fan favorite series tells me Henderson has written better, and she can do much better than "Threads of Suspicion".  Wow, that's difficult to say, because I didn't HATE the book.

I was just a tad disappointed.  Will I read the third if there is one?  Absolutely!  Do I have high hopes for a real winner?  Mildly.  "Traces of Guilt", the first novel, set the standard for this series...but "Threads" just didn't rise to the occasion.

I received an early copy of "Threads of Suspicion" from NetGalley with no obligation or services promised in return.  I'm going to give the "Evie Blackwell Cold Case" series my "One To Watch" award, because I do see great potential in these books.

Hopefully, the next novel will fulfill that potential better than "Threads of Suspicion".  Until then...

Mark Your Place,

Deena