Patricia Bradley: Justice Betrayed

By Kelly Bridgewater

It's Elvis Week in Memphis, and homicide Detective Rachel Sloan isn't sure her day could get any stranger when aging Elvis impersonator Vic Vegas asks to see her. But when he produces a photo of her murdered mother with four Elvis impersonators--one of whom had also been murdered soon after the photo was taken--she's forced to reevaluate. Is there some connection between the two unsolved cases? And could the recent break-in at Vic's home be tied to his obsession with finding his friend's killer?

When yet another person in the photo is murdered, Rachel suddenly has her hands full investigating three cases. Lieutenant Boone Callahan offers his help, but their checkered romantic past threatens to get in the way. Can they solve the cases before the murderer makes Rachel victim number four?

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I have read all of Patricia Bradley's romantic suspense novel, so I am pretty familiar with how she handles a story. She tends to favor the suspense over the romance, which is my preference too. In her latest and, I believe, final installment in her Memphis Cold Case series, Justice Betrayed, she does exactly that. I had a good time following the mystery and wanting to know who killed Rachel's mom and some Elvis tribute artists. The discovery of the bad guy was solved pretty early on for me. The romance wasn't really that important, but the story, of course, ends in a happily-ever-after. I liked Rachel as a heroine. She knew what she wanted and was willing to seek after clues that could hurt her in the long run.

As for the character of Erin, I really didn't see much about her that showed she was a young child stuck in an older's womans body. Having a sister-in-law who is 32 with a mind of two-year-old, I have a pretty good idea how they act. Erin for the most part acted like a regular adult. Her speech wasn't different. Maybe she acted a little different with the things she says, but there was no slur to her speech, which happens with most of them. It is really hard to understand a lot of them.

Even though this bothered me reading the story, it didn't take away from the hunt for the Elvis tribute artist killers. I just glided over the concept of Erin and kept focused on the mystery.

Overall,  Justice Betrayed by Patricia Bradley was an okay mystery. It didn't really wow me like I want a mystery too. I enjoyed spending time with Rachel because she was the most interesting character.  I think fans of Colleen Coble, Irene Hannon, and Brandilyn Collins would enjoy this novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Justice Betrayed by Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars