George Washington Township, New Jersey has seen its fair share of crime and tragedy. Most recently, a young boy is missing from his home and the tenacious Detective Claire Goodnite is eager to find him.But the case is stirring up old memories best left forgotten. When a blast from her own past, FBI Special Agent Wesley O’Connell, turns up, Claire finds it hard to keep old ghosts at rest. And even … rest. And even harder to keep the sexy SAIC out of her case and her bed.
Claire Goodnite is the best damn detective in the state of New Jersey and you better believe she’s coming for you.
more
See my full review of the series with my review for book 3, Say a Sweet Prayer!
~4.5 Stars~
Tell Me A Story by Jennifer Rebecca was a wonderful combination of romance and mystery.
Claire Goodnite is a detective for George Washington Township in New Jersey, and she is good at her job. To say she is a complicated and complex character would be putting it mildly. As a child, Claire lived a horrible nightmare. She was kidnapped, but she survived. She has tried to live a normal life as possible despite the nightmares she sometimes has. Now, a young boy has disappeared, and she will do whatever it takes to bring him home to his family. The case is bringing up horrible memories for her, and her nightmares are becoming more frequent. Now, the only man she ever loved and who shattered her is back to help with the case…FBI Special Agent, Wesley O’Connell.
I was drawn to Claire from the beginning. My heart broke for her through her flashbacks. Her tenacity and will to survive was AMAZING! She was a strong child, and she is an even stronger adult. She doesn’t lean on others too much because when Wesley saw her at her worst, he left her. Now, he and her brother, Liam, who is the chief of police and Wesley’s best friend, don’t want her working on the case. I could understand their concern. They are trying to protect her, and they felt like they failed her as a child. They both somewhat blame themselves for her kidnapping.
As stubborn as Claire is, so is Wesley. He is unwilling to allow her to do this on her own. He is determined to win her back. He did not leave her for the reason that she thought he did. He thought he wasn’t enough for her, not that she was damaged. He will do whatever it takes to make her understand that and prove to her that he loves her and won’t leave her again.
The plot and mystery of the book was as good as the romance was. The author kept me guessing which kept me turning the pages with all the twists and turns.
Jennifer Rebecca is a new writer to me, and I am looking forward to reading more in the series.
***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***
I am not sure how I feel about this book, to be honest. I thought the writing was well done. The pace was excellent. The mystery aspect of the story was engaging. What brought my rating down was the romance aspect of the story. I just didn’t like Wes or Claire as a couple (I didn’t particularly like them individually either). Wes just seemed like a huge a$$hole that couldn’t keep it in his pants, and Claire just kept throwing their past in his face and acting like a three-year-old most of the time. Throw in a bunch of over the top cliché OW drama (because apparently, we needed to hear (and see) over and over and over again how much of a whore Wes was during their twelve years apart AND every single female they ran across threw themselves at him…sigh.) and this author destroyed any connection I might have felt for them as a couple.
So yea, I dunno. I am not sure what this author was trying to do with this book. Was it supposed to be a romance? A thriller? A romantic suspense?? I kind of feel like this book suffered from an identity crisis. But as I said, I did like the writing and the mystery aspect, so I may give book two a read just to see where the author is headed with these characters.
I’m struggling with this review. I started this book thinking it was a second chance romance. It was, but it was more the story of Claire’s history and how it is affecting her job, her love life, and her everyday life.
I struggled to connect to the characters. Claire was a hot headed, whiny, poor me but don’t pity me officer. Wes was a this is how life is and I don’t care what you think FBI Agent. Liam, Claire’s brother and her boss, was over bearing, rude, and not very professional. Together they all got on my nerves. I feel like none of them were professional in their job, none were respectful of each other in their personal lives, and they all thought there were something special when they were just as regular as the next person.
This story has potential, a lot of potential. I wish it focused more on the romance, less on the history. I wish the characters were more relatable. I did read the entire book. I needed to know if Wes would ever grow up and be a man to win over Claire. I wanted to know who took the little boy who was kidnapped.
Note: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This story was a decent story, I’d like to say.
It had all the usual elements I needed in a suspense story: the mystery, the tension, the ever grounded backstories of characters fighting for said case, and of course some interesting dialogue about how it all started.
But the romance aspect (Which I took a star out of): Fell flat, I didn’t feel the connection, the romance, the swoon, the energy, the tension between them. Rather I thought they just worked better as a professional team than anything personal. And even then I sometimes struggled with their personalities individually, sometimes they just came off odd. But the professionalism they did put in, I was there for, completely.
Although this book had plenty of wit, dry humor, excellent dialogues, mystery, tension, suspense, it may disappoint you in the romance end, so be warned.
But otherwise, an intriguing book and I certainly hope to read more by Rebecca.
Until the next read,
-JB