Dee Henderson: Traces of Guilt

By Kelly Bridgewater

Evie Blackwell loves her life as an Illinois State Police Detective . . . mostly. She's very skilled at investigations and has steadily moved up through the ranks. She would like to find Mr. Right, but she has a hard time imagining how marriage could work, considering the demands of her job.

Gabriel Thane is a lifetime resident of Carin County and now its sheriff, a job he loves. Gabe is committed to upholding the law and cares deeply for the residents he's sworn to protect. He too would like to find a lifetime companion, a marriage like his parents have.

When Evie arrives in Carin, Illinois, it's to help launch a new task force dedicated to reexamining unsolved crimes across the state. Spearheading this trial run, Evie will work with the sheriff's department on a couple of its most troubling missing-persons cases. As she reexamines old evidence to pull out a few tenuous new leads, she unearths a surprising connection . . . possibly to a third cold case. Evie's determined to solve the cases before she leaves Carin County, and Sheriff Thane, along with his family, will be key to those answers.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I LOVE Dee Henderson's O'Malley's series. It was my introduction to Christian mysteries. Not only have I jumped at the chance to read any book she writes, I own every single copy in physical and digital form. But . . . with the last couple of books she has written like Taken, Full Disclosure, Unspoken, and Undetected, I haven't been as interested in her writing. They were not mysteries, in my humble opinion, at all. They were more contemporary romances with hints of a passed mystery. With her latest release Traces of Guilt, the subtitle for the series, An Evie Blackwell Cold Case, I prayed that Henderson returns to her mystery background in writing.

When I first started reading Traces of Guilt, it started out like Taken and the other books that I didn't enjoy. I got about fifteen percent in and put it down, chalking it up to another disappointing book. Knowing I needed to finish it, so I could give it a full and honest review, I picked it up one evening after my boys went to sleep. I was surprised that the story started to get interesting.

I enjoy the three mysteries that Evie wanted to solve. After a while of studying these cold cases, Evie believed they were connected. Even thought the story didn't flow like a suspense book that I'm used to, it did capture my attention and had a plot that kept me enthralled in the story. I finished the book in a the next two evenings.

The story does bring back Ann and Paul from Full Disclosure and Rachel from the Healer in the popular O'Malley series. I enjoyed getting to know Evie and see her heart to solve these cold cases even after twelve years and bring some sense of closure to the families involved. I, also, enjoyed getting to know the Thane brothers. I hope they come back in future novels.

In conclusion, Traces of Guilt read like a continuing mystery with interesting characters in a novel I couldn't put down after I really dove into the plot. If you skipped out on Henderson because of her latest books, don't skip over this one. It is worth the time.

I received a complimentary copy of Traces of Guilt from Bethany House publishers and my opinions are completely my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase Traces of Guilt

What author have you loved, but then their writing didn't grab your attention anymore? Did you ever try another book by the author later in their writing career? Why or Why not?