Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBree's drawn back into her past
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2021
This was a really great addition to this series - I'd rate it 4.5. When two bodies are found in a shallow grave at her childhood house where her parents' murder-suicide occurred, the past comes knocking for our favourite Sheriff. Remembering how violent and cruel her father could be, Bree's left wondering if he could have been involved or responsible for the thirty year old cold case, or is something (or someone) more sinister at play? As memories she thought were long buried start resurfacing, Bree is forced to face her past and reconcile it with her future.
While the murder wasn't overly graphic, I found the case held my attention for the entire book. There wasn't a huge pool of suspects so the who dunnit wasn't exactly groundbreaking (and a couple of the suspects just seemed to disappear and be non-issues as you didn't hear about them again), but the lead up to finding out had just the right amount of suspense and action to keep me turning the pages. I found it was more luck that seemed to solve the case in this one, but like I said, it was still entertaining. There's the usual goings-on with Bree trying to manage her sheriff responsibilities with next to no funding and having to juggle the desire to micro-manage and be involved in every aspect of of her county's station with the dreaded politics and diplomacy that comes with the job. Her family unit in the form of Dana, Adam, Luke and Kayla helped to keep Bree human and this side of her is drawn out a bit more in Book 4. I especially liked her connection to her brother in this story.
While the romance side of things continues to lean on the slow burn side of things, her relationship with Matt finally takes a jump in the right direction. Speaking of Matt, I love his character and he didn't disappoint in this book. Hopefully the big steps taken sparsely in this story will continue to be built on in Book 5. Right Behind Her, like the others in this series, is an easy read without there being too many complicated plot threads or details. The case is accompanied by a good smattering of other issues such as the continuing legacy of the former corrupt sheriff and Bree struggling with raising her niece and nephew that the plot stays mostly realistic. Quick note, if you haven't read the other books in this series you can get away with starting here, but I'd recommend starting from the beginning, particularly since this novel has a big focus on her childhood, particularly her father. Ghosts from the past crop up building a bigger picture of what kind of man her dad was and the people he was involved with.
There was a tiny bit of repetition, e.g. how strong Bree is as a person, problems at the station with the same old guard police officers that seem to continue to get second chances, but it wasn't tedious, nor did it distract from the overall plot (although I'll be interested to know if any of the issues with officers crop up in future books). A couple of aspects of the plot were pretty predictable and while this might annoy some readers, fans of the series should be fine with it because these books fall into more of the 'easy read' mystery/crime trope that they should be used to if they've come this far with the author. There's a quick crossover to the Morgan Dane series when Lincoln Sharp has a brief cameo when they're looking into the cold case of the two missing victims. Alas, there was no Lance or Morgan. Maybe next time :)
Overall, this ended up being one of my favourite books so far in this series because we got to see a more human side of Bree that managed to balance really well with her on the job and taking on the challenge of the cold case. There were threats to her family, prominent citizens throwing their weight around
and blocking her attempts at progress and danger just around the corner. The author used the investigation to build on Bree's character as she was forced to delve into her family's violent past to solve a double murder and tie up a couple of cases that were decades old. I'm already looking forward to the next book. And more Matt lol.
