Broken Trust Mystery Romance
The Wild Rose Press, Inc
March 5, 2018
350
After five years of hell with an abusive husband, Natasha Hartford vows never to trust another man. Then she stumbles onto a murder scene and meets sexy, stubborn Homicide Detective Chase Brandon, a take-no-prisoners tough guy who’ll settle for nothing less than the truth. Sparks fly, but Chase’s suspicions and Natasha’s innate distrust block the way to happiness.
The detective struggles with his own troubled past and is determined to find the truth behind the shadows dimming Natasha's eyes. As more murders occur and a possible connection to her ex-husband appears, Chase fears her life is in danger.
Natasha and Chase race to find the killer before he strikes again. Their survival depends on their willingness to overcome their mistrust of one another. Will they overcome their fears and find love again?
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Natasha Hartford’s dream of being the illustrator for Jonas Waverly’s company’s best selling childrens book series might come true but her dream will turn into a nightmare. While waiting for Waverly to meet with her she can’t resist his open door and all the antiquities he has collected. When she broke one she assumed that was the end of her dream but that was nothing compared to a homicide detective appearing and questioning her about the murder of the man she was to interview with.
Chase Brandon finds Natasha under suspicious circumstances, searching Waverly’s office and her explanation of just waiting for him to interview her falls on suspicious ears. It seems that Waverly was murdered two days ago so was Natasha in his office to find anything she might have left behind after the murder or was she telling the truth. He hoped that she was telling the truth because he was instantly taken by her.
Researching Natasha’s past reveals that she was married for five years to Darien McCabe who she divorced two years ago. Darien is known for dealing with questionable people and her file is filled with the abuse she suffered at his hands, broken nose, a beating that put her in the hospital for weeks until she finally found the strength to leave him. Although Chase is sympathetic to what she went through he still has to wonder if she is somehow involved in the murder.
Natasha lived in total fear while married to Darien and in spite of the restraining order she took out on him he is at her door and she lets him in. It seems old habits die hard and she knows that denying him would just lead to pain for her. He wants her to hide a briefcase and threatens her if she talks to the police. She tries hard to be strong but sometimes after years of being brutalized it’s hard to get over the fear.
Waverly is only one of the people murdered and some of the dead people actually work for Natasha’s ex-husband. She is also shot at and Chase is determined to protect her even though he still is not totally sure about her innocence. Together Natasha and Chase work to find the killer and what Darien’s involvement is. Their relationship grows from suspect and cop to much more but there is a lot standing in the way of that relationship, murder, Darien and her possible involvement.
This was an amazing mystery and the author took me step by step in solving it. The book was filled with secrets, surprises and edge of the seat suspense and the horror of abuse . I read this book in a few hours because I couldn’t put it down so who cared if my husband had to wait for his dinner, I didn’t lol.
