There’s no place like home for a homicide. Midwest restaurateur Sydney Richardson finds herself chasing a prodigal daughter’s secrets in this twisty thriller. She seemed to be the perfect woman—rich, sexy, and willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. Unfortunately, someone else wanted her dead. . . . Sydney Richardson already has her hands full running two successful Madison, … hands full running two successful Madison, Wisconsin, eateries and enjoying the company of handsome blues bar owner Clay Hawthorne. She doesn’t have the time or patience for his ex’s homecoming. Two decades ago, Miranda Greer abandoned Clay with their infant child. Now she claims she wants to make amends, reconnect with her son, and settle down. None of which is to Sydney’s liking, because behind Miranda’s chic, saccharine façade, Sydney senses something very bad.
Bad quickly turns to worse when Miranda is found brutally murdered, with hard evidence pointing to Clay as the killer. Determined to clear him, Sydney launches her own investigation. But as Sydney digs into Miranda’s past, she soon runs afoul of an enigmatic corporation that’s part church, part business, and all-powerful when it comes to keeping its secrets buried—and its enemies silent.
Don’t miss any of the gripping Hush Money mysteries from T. E. Woods:
HUSH MONEY | BAD GIRL | PRIVATE LIES
And look for the Justice series:
THE FIXER | THE RED HOT FIX | THE UNFORGIVABLE FIX | FIXED IN BLOOD | FIXED IN FEAR | DEAD END FIX
more
Successful restaurateur Sydney Richardson is back in the second book in the “Hush Money Series.” She has recovered nicely from her last brush with trouble; she’s looking forward to spending the holidays with her family and close friends in the picturesque snow-covered Madison, WI. Clay Hawthorne, her boyfriend who owns the blue club down the street from her to restaurants, are finding themselves getting closer and closer. He fits right in with her mother and her cop family; they have all accepted him into their group. Sydney battles from relationship issues as a result of being given up for adoption as an infant. She’s still a bit nervous regarding their relationship. Clay’s adult son, Steel who has been traveling abroad makes an appearance one night at Clay’s home when Sydney was staying over.
Clay raised Steel on his own, his high school sweetheart, Miranda Greer from Montana couldn’t deal with having a baby or being tied down when Clay offered to marry her. She dumped the baby on Clay, and he hasn’t heard from her since. Fast forward twenty years, it seems Miranda has made quite a change in her life, she’s a very wealthy, polished, beautiful woman who thinks nothing of coming back to into Clay and Steel’s life to claim them both. Clay want’s nothing to do with Miranda her appearance still shakes him after all these years. He can’t deny Steel for wanting to get to know his mother, but he also knows something isn’t quite right with her, she’s an entirely different woman. Sydney doesn’t take this to well at all. Miranda makes no bones that she not only wants Steel but his father as well.
Things get worse for the couple after Miranda’s body is found in an abandoned barn out in the country after a particularly loud confrontation between her and Clay. The same detective and officers who he has gotten close too are accusing him of murder. Sydney, of course, doesn’t believe he would be capable of this crime and she goes to Ann Arbor to figure out what exactly Miranda has been up to these past twenty years.
I have to admit I didn’t see the ending coming; it took me by surprise. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment in this series. Disclosure: I would like to the thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. The opinion I expressed above are my own.
This one started out with a creepy, edge of your seat scene, and I was all ready to dig in to a compelling mystery. That was chapter one. I quickly found myself disappointed from that point. Other than that first chapter, the first half of the book was drawn out and rather boring, and with the exception of a couple of characters, most weren’t particularly likable. That fist half of the book is everything that happened in the couple of months leading up to the murder and while there were a few pertinent details about the victim, most things were neither particularly interesting nor relevant. The story does pick up in the second half, but it’s a mish-mash of possible suspects and Sydney striding headlong into trouble. We finally do get to the conclusion and the murderer is revealed, but after the lackluster first half of the book, it was too little – too late. The ending is rather open-ended, but I don’t feel enough investment in the characters to follow up with future books in the series.