Book Review: Echo Road by Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh

 

ECHO ROAD by Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh

Publisher: Montlake Publishing

Release Date: July 2^nd, 2024

Genre: Crime Fiction, Contemporary, Suspense, Fiction

Available at Amazon

My Rating: 4 Stars

Two coasts and murder connect them both. For Sherriff Bree Taggert and FBI Agent Mercy Kilpatrick, joining forces to solve a crime that encompasses East and West Coasts and will challenge these two women with everything they got. For if they don’t solve the case, the danger to Mercy, Bree and the woman missing from the West Coast.

 My Review of Echo Road:

Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh bring their respective characters (Ms. Elliot’s Bree Taggert and Ms. Leigh’s Mercy Kilpatrick) together in a story that will keep you glued to the very end of the book. I know I couldn’t put this one down as the twists and turns the authors threw in the storyline kept me guessing till the very last chapter. I know I am not the only one when I heard that two of my favorite authors were bringing two of their characters together in a book, I was thrilled and curious to see how they would combine them in a cohesive way. ECHO ROAD delivers all the wonderful ways these two authors singularly deliver in their characters series books and makes it a double fun ride for readers.

 

Mercy and Bree are staring at a crime that spans East and West Coast, with a ton of twists I sure didn’t see coming. We start out with Bree Taggert’s double murder she is investigating while simultaneously Mercy is trying to figure out the missing daughter case of a sitting Senator. When both cases collide in New York, well things take an interesting turn. Ms. Elliot and Ms. Leigh deliver a pulse pounding ride from start to finish with a devious killer that will stop at nothing to safeguard their secret as ‘The Master’ even as they manipulate the case in ways that make both women try to figure out what the heck is going on.

 

With nothing to lose and time running out, The Master delivers a climatic ending that will have both women in danger even as they try to solve the case and save the victim. But what gives me happy feels is how Mercy and Bree worked together to help one another solve their respective cases amid adversity and other issues that will test both Bree and Mercy to their core. I always loved these two authors singularly in their respective books but with ECHO ROAD, they deliver a tour de force that makes me want more collaborations between Bree and Mercy in the future.

This is an Objective Review and Not an Endorsement.

Find more about Bree Taggert Series by Kendra Elliot HERE

Find more about the Mercy Kilpatrick Series by Melinda Leigh HERE

Book Review: Cross Her Heart by Melinda Leigh

Be introduced to Detective Bree Taggert as she faces her hometown, the memories there and tries to find justice for her sister who was murdered.

My rating for Cross Her Heart: 4.5 Stars

Find Cross Her Heart at Amazon

For Detective Bree Taggert, her life growing up was been rough as her parents’ deaths in a murder-suicide left a lasting impact on her and her two siblings. Now an adult, she finds herself back Grey’s Hollow and the memories there. Finding out her sister was murdered, her estranged husband missing, and considered a person of interest has Bree joining forces wit former deputy Matt Flynn to get to the bottom of the mystery. But as their investigation unfolds, Bree and Matt discover that danger lurks closer than they think as they close in on the murderer and this time the danger hits closer to home for Bree as her family is caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous individual determined to close all loose ends regardless the cost.

CROSS HER HEART is an amazing introduction to the new series by Melinda Leigh that is full of twists and turns that will leave the reader on the edge of their seat right up till the last page is turned. It is full of captivating characters, a mystery that will leave you guessing and a potential romance between Bree and Matt that will keep the reader glued to the pages. The story just flows smoothly and kept me glued to the pages, wondering what would happen next. I didn’t know who the bad guy was until almost to the end and was shocked by it. The twists and turns the author throws in the story were perfect and had me hanging on the edge wondering what would happen next.

Meet Philadelphia detective Bree Taggert. She left Grey’s Hollow after her parent’s murder-suicide as a child and hasn’t been back in years. Now with a desperate call from her sister Erin, Bree is back and determined to find her sister’s killer. I love, love, love Bree. She’s strong, relatable, and quite determined. Her vulnerabilities are mentioned several times and as the reader gets to know more about Bree and her family, you can’t help but find yourself sympathizing and rooting for them all. The characters are where the author shines the most in my opinion. Ms. Leigh creates strong characters who can stand on their own but also are able to accept a helping hand as well. They are complex, multidimensional, and relatable. I found all the main players in this first book of Bree’s series wonderful and unique in their own way.

CROSS HER HEART is a perfect introduction to the new series by Melinda Leigh and captured my interest right off the bat. I could not put this book down and can not wait for book two to get here. I see a winner in her new series and look forward to seeing where the author goes with this one. If you enjoyed past series like Morgan Dane or her Widow’s Island series she co-writes with Kendra Elliott, then you will definitely have to check CROSS HER HEART out and settle in, the story will leave you breathless till the very end.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

 The Bree Taggert Series is as follows:

Book 1: Cross Her Heart

Book 2: See Her Die (Coming September 17th, 2020)

Book Review: Whisper of Bones by Melinda Leigh

A killer is determined to not get caught in the next installment of the Widow's Island series.

My Rating for Whisper of Bones: 3 Stars

Find Whisper of Bones at Amazon

Dark secrets abound as a body washes up on the island’s state park beach and for Deputy Tessa Black, another murder has occurred and it’s a race against the clock to find out what happened as well as who the killer is…before they set their sights on Tessa.

I was mixed about starting the third book in the Widow’s Island series after the meh I got reading books one and two. I gave book three, WHISPER OF BONES, a chance and it was interesting if a tad bit short. What hampers these stories is the length of it. The resolution seems to pat with the page count, and I found it not as satisfying as I would have liked after finishing this quick read. Melinda Leigh is an author I highly enjoy, and she keeps the suspense up in her second Widow’s Island story (the other books are written by author Kendra Elliot) and I enjoyed Tessa Black immensely. The story is enjoyable if a bit rushed. I found myself already figuring out things by midway and was a tad disappointed that the author couldn’t keep the suspense going longer but overall it is a good quick read if you are looking for a thriller to pass a few hours away with. I enjoyed reading more about the characters we met in books one and two (Close to the Bone and A Bone to Pick). I am going to try to see where the authors go in these and hope that they will eventually go longer in length to keep the suspense moving.

In WHISPER OF BONES, Tessa Black has another murder on her hands-on Widow’s Island and the victim is one who had a ton of enemies. The key is to see which enemy was the one who killed them. With a killer determined not to be caught, arson and more, Tessa needs all her wits to keep one step ahead of a killer and to bring justice to the victim. I really enjoyed Tessa in this book. She was capable, strong and quite enjoyable. It took a little bit to warm up to her and I enjoyed reading about her family and love life to break apart the mystery a little.  The characters are enjoyable and intriguing if at times a little flat just due to the novella length of the series. I look forward to seeing where the author(s) go in this series now that the third book kept my attention better than the first two.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

Widow's Island Series:

Book 1: Close to the Bone by Kendra Elliot

Book 2: A Bone to Pick by Melinda Leigh

Book 3: Whisper of Bones by Melinda Leigh

Book 4: Bred to the Bone by Kendra Elliot

Book 5: Below the Bones by Kendra Elliot (Out in October 2020)

Book 6: A Broken Bone by Melinda Leigh (Out in October 2020)