Dark Truth

Truth #3

by Mariah Stewart

From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes a novel of sexy romantic suspense for fans of Nora Roberts, Catherine Coulter, and Karen Robards.

WILL THE TRUTH SET HER FREE–OR SET A TRAP?

Murder didn’t end Nina Madden’s life–it destroyed it. When her father was charged with the serial killings of several college students, Nina and her mother became pariahs in their small Maryland town. Though Nina never believed the hideous accusations, evidence led to her father’s conviction and guaranteed the death penalty. After the execution, Nina left Stone River to escape the hatred and persecution . . . but she couldn’t shake the lingering doubts.

More than twenty years later, those doubts are stirred to grim life. A new series of murders is plaguing Stone River: a killing spree that bears a striking resemblance to the one that sent Nina’s father to the death chamber. And Nina isn’ t the only one disturbed enough by the gruesome events to take notice. Wes Powell, the cop who pursued the original case, can’t ignore the eerie similarities between the crimes . . . nor their harrowing implications. Drawn back into a mystery that refuses to die, Nina and Wes will cross paths on their dangerous quest–and find themselves in the crosshairs of a bloodthirsty predator.

In matters of crime, there are many versions of the truth.

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Mariah Stewart's Final Truth.

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Romance, Audiobook, Fiction

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 25, 2005

About the author

Mariah Stewart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of forty-one novels and three novellas and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. She is a RITA finalist in romantic suspense and the recipient of the Award of Excellence for contemporary romance, a RIO Award for excellence in women's fiction, and a Reviewers Choice Award from Romantic Times Magazine. A three-time winner of the Golden Leaf Award presented by the New Jersey Romance Writers, Stewart was recently awarded their Lifetime Achievement Award (which placed her in their Hall of Fame along with former recipients Nora Roberts and Mary Jo Putney — very excellent company, indeed!)

After having written seven contemporary romance novels, Stewart found true happiness writing murder and mayhem. She considers herself one lucky son of a gun to have landed the best job in the world: getting paid for making up stories. At home. In sweats and J. Crew flip flops. Could life be sweeter?

Reviews

[Shae Petersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story as it was unique in the series in that there was someone convicted of a crime that came about they didn’t do. But I found the ending predictable and I had guessed one of the criminals early on (Kyle) so that made it less of a reveal for me. I do enjoy these stories as I feel like they aren’t too crazy that they scare me, but the mystery is good enough for me to keep reading. Will continue with the series :)

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I added a half a star just for this small paragraph:

The night was split by an ungodly scream.

Jesus God, Wes prayed, what is he doing to her?

He increased his speed, the screams echoing in his ears. When he reached the boat, he pulled himself up onto the narrow diving platform that ran across the back and lifted himself onto the deck.

Nina stood in the doorway to the cabin, wearing a short tight skirt and high heels, a gun in her right hand, and the microphone for the boat’s radio in the other. On the deck, Kyle Stillman sobbed and writhed, blood pouring from between his hands, which were held to his face.

“What took you so long?” she said without turning around.

Without waiting for a response, she pointed to the radio. “You know how to use one of these? I’m trying to call the Coast Guard . . . “

THAT is how I like my heroines.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book it was pretty good. The series always seems to keep me wanting more, and this one was no different. We follow Nina who's that was convicted of rape and murder of four girls when she was 19. Sixteen years later her stepmom dies, and everything blows up again. A priest hands Nina a box full of stuff from her father before he passed away. In this box is evidence that proves that Nina's dad was innocent. We also get more of Mitch and Landry and this book which is always nice. I wouldn't be surprised if Nina and detective Powell get together either. I will definitely be finishing the series off.

[Karen Syed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third book in the series isn't my favorite, but it was a pretty good read/listen.

Mariah Stewart always does a good job of sucking you in to the story and making you want to stick around until everything is resolved. Being a fan of series books, I love that we get new characters with news stories, but get to visit with old friends. Stewart is excellent at maintaining the ongoing story lines and I really enjoy that aspect of her writing.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new favorite author. Her series are really quite good!

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Truth by Mariah Stewart Like this series and like the authors' ease in spinning a good plot with a interesting cast. Performed by Anna Fields - which alone makes it worth the read. Text 2005/audio 2006. Recommended.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Sushmita Chowdhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Fairly predictable, and no real plot twists. The romantic aspect was lacking and inorganic. Regardless, I did like the author’s writing style and the characters, which is why it got an extra 1.5 star.

[Jenny Delandro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had cops investigating murders and writers investigating possible story lines for a new book.
It had editors getting more involved with their authors then ever before and tantellising hints at other story which threads its way through the storyline.

Nina is the editor
Regean is the writer
Was is the cop

I like their story -

Nina comes to bury a stepmother whom she never truely related to and the meets the step-brother she barely knows.
Her father was convicted of rape and murder and died in prison.
Her latest author lives not too far away so she decides to visit her too.
A priest who was a family friend gives Nina a box containing her father affects from Prison.....why would he have kept these things for so long (16 years).. inside there are two letters. One addressed to my step-mother and one addressed to her.

SHe was never really close to her father - and even less after her mother dies.
When he is arrested - she leaves town and lives with her aunt.
now she is back in town and when she read the letter she decides the best person to discuss it with is her writer friend Regean.

Regean has an FBI 'friend' called Mitch (romantic solid character but not in this book)Nina asks the police for all the information on her father trial and finds that there was minimal investigations.

Her father was guilty of having affairs with these girls but he maintained his innocense about their murders.
the police never realised that another professor was having an affair with his wife and was strangely attracted to everything that Nina's father had in his life.

the story is rich and lively and filled with warm fuzzy feelings and Nina's quest for the truth. the characters really come to life and there is never a time in the book when I thought I knew what would happen.

Wes initially is antagonistic towards Nina but gradually he finds that he wants to spend more time with her and that she is asking intelligent questions and making him question what was his first investigation as a police officer.

The real killer is caught.. the latest killer is also caught and both these men have ties to the dead step mother who was more evil than Nina had originally thought. She organised for her lover to kill her husbands lovers and her son framed her husband for their murders, by planting a book in the room of one of the victims. She wanted him to go to prison for not loving her.

step-brother tries to kill Nina by dropping her in the sea (Nina can not swim)and she attacks him from pruning shears (she had in her pocket and everyone is safe.

Backstory is a thread of Regean following up on a report card she found in her fathers papers. Her father was an investigative reporter who also wrote fantasically successfully true crime novels.
Eddie Kroll is the kid and she does not know why her dad would have his school report cards...
Turns out this boy was involved (with two others) in the killing of a class mate who always boasted about having a lot of money.
kid only had twenty bucks on him before he was bashed to death...
Eddie was under age and released before the other two but he disappears. no-one can find him... Regean puts a ad in the home town newspaper and someone named Dolly answers but her story seems to change everytime Regean asks her questions. She meets Carl (eddie's brother) and it turns out that Dolly is Eddie's sister.... Carl's wife gives Regean some family photos

And there is a shocker

Eddie had another sister and she looked just like REGEAN.....

What can it mean....????!!!!!

Got to read the next book thats' what!!

[Dotti Elrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this third book in the "Truth" series. It wasn't my favorite, but it kept my interest as I read.
Nina Madden is returning to her once hometown of Stone River Maryland for the funeral of her step mother Olivia. Nina left Stone River 16 years earlier when her father, a respected professor at the local college was arrested for the rape and murder of four college students. Four women he was secretly having affairs with.
After her father's conviction, she has had no contact with her imprisoned father, step mother or her step brother Kyle.
As Nina is preparing to return to her home in New York, the family priest presents her with a box of her father's belongings. He died while in prison. The box contains the contents of his cell. The priest tells Nina that there are letters in the box for her and for her step mother. Nina puts the box away and forgets about it, at least until Kyle wants to know what was in his mother's letter.
What Nina discovers when reading the letter is about to open up a whole new can of worms. And point the finger of suspicion at someone else. Now all she needs to do is find someone to listen to her and to take her seriously. Her first thought is of her friend and author Regan Landry. Nina is Regan's editor, and knows she likes to dig into old cases and see what she can find.
When Regan and Nina approach the local police about getting information about her father's case, she is met with nothing but scorn and doubt.
Detective Wes Powell, was a rookie when Nina's father was arrested, it was his first murder. He has his doubts about the letter, and is less than happy to have her poking into one of his old cases. But when another student at the college turns up dead, and is posed exactly like the bodies in the original case, Wes has no choice but to accept the help of Nina, Regan and Regan's FBI boyfriend Mitch.
In a side story, one that started in the first book, Cold Truth, Regan with Mitch's help is still searching for the mysterious Eddie Kroll. A man who turned up in one of her father's old files. We learn a little more about Eddie and who he may have been in this book. I love following Regan and Mitch through the books.
As with the other Mariah Stewart books that I've read, this one is a bit slower paced than most thriller/mysteries. But I think her story ideas, all the twists and turns, along with her character development makes up for it. She has her characters pop in and out of the books, there are references to past storylines as well. It's like revisiting old friends. I look forward to reading the last book in the series.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This romantic suspense from 2005 was fairly predictable but I liked it despite that. The romance part was almost non-existent until the last few pages.

Nina's father, an American literature professor in Stone River, Maryland, was convicted of raping and murdering 4 college students. He admitted having affairs but denied the murders. He died in prison.

Sixteen years later, Nina works as a book editor in New York City. She has never told anyone about her father. Nina's stepmother died and Nina is headed back to Stone River for the funeral. The local priest gives her an unopened box of her father's belongings. A letter in there blows the case wide open.

I liked seeing Nina work with true crime author Regan Landry. Nina seemed like an amateur where crime is concerned so she needed Regan's expertise. I figured out who the killer was pretty early on. Well, I was partly right, emphasis on partly. The ending sets up the next book but that was fine because this particular case was finished.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love mystery/suspense, thriller/horror books. And this one really hit the spot after not reading one for awhile.
This is the first book by Mariah Stewart I have read. I thought it was excellent. I was engrossed in this book. While it was a quick read for me, I was still into it and felt like I was her lead character, Nina. It had some romance, but not until towards the end.I did not realize it until I finished, but this is number 3 in a series of 4 or 5. I am very excited now to read the others.

[Ada Iaboni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I knew who done it long before it was revealed, it was another good story.
I enjoyed the series.

[Tracy Stackhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Cannot Wait

For the next one! This one was good and suspenseful and the next one is going to be even better but isn't going to have a surprise . That's my bet !

[Kathy Blanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nina Madden went to her step-mothers funeral. She left Stone Ridge after her father was arrested and convicted of being a serial killer. Fr. Whelan gives Nina a box from her step-mother, who had it from the prison when her father was killed in an accident. There was a letter in the box for her and her step-mother, Olivia. She opened the letter to Olivia, her father told Olivia that he would take the blame for killing those four girls because of his cheating with them, but he knew the truth that Olivia was responsible for killing them. Nina is an editor for a book company, her best author is Regan Landry. She writes true crime stories. Nina shares the letter with Regan and they begin to investigate the conviction. She encounters the detective that worked the case, so he gets her copies of the case. He begins to see Nina's point that her father was innocent. Three people could be the real killer: her step-brother Kyle, Dr. Overbeck, and Fr. Whelan. Fr. Whelan knew something but couldn't say because of it was told to him in confession. Which one was it?

[River Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet again, why did the cop and female mc fall in love? *just give me a reason plays* It seems Stewart is a romance writer, so why isn't she better at this part? I need more than proximity to buy people falling for each other? Am I spoiled by gay romance? Do I just find it harder to believe a woman would fall in love with a man just because he's there? (spoiler: almost certainly. sorry) Also, maybe just because I was reading book 2 and book 3 the same day? but WHY WERE THE HEROINES SO CLUELESS AS TO TRUST THE CLEAR BADDIE IN BOTH BOOKS? also, Reagan, darling, I knew the answer to your side quest in BOOK ONE. why are you still so clueless? again, though, good mystery.

[Anita Quelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nina Madden went to live her father and stepmother after her mother died. When her father was arrested for the rape and murder of 4 of his college students she left town. Her father died in jail. When Nina’s stepmother passed away she returned to the town she left so many years ago to attend her funeral. Her stepmother had left a box containing 2 letters from Nina’s father that she never opened. When Nina read the letter from her father to her stepmother Nina suspected that her father may have not been completely guilty. Excellent read. Kept me in suspense.

[Linda Fast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nina Madden has returned to Stone River to attend her stepmom's funeral. She has not been back since her dad was sentenced for the brutal murders of four college girls.
Shortly after she returns to Stone River 2 college girls are murdered. The murders are very similar to those 16 years prior. Nina and a local cop are also drawn into the mystery of who committed the present day crimes as well as the past murders.

[Christie Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Truth

Nina Madden finds evidence sixteen years after the fact, that her father, who was found guilty of being a serial killer, was possibly innocent. So with the help of Regan Landry and her friend Mitch Peyton they set out to find the truth and eventually win over the detective that had been on the scene all those years ago. Wes Powell. Sparks fly between Nina and Wes as they discover the truth.

[Veronica-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third in the Truth series. I really enjoy this writer. She brings things together in such a way as to keep you guessing right to the end. She cleverly twists and muddies the waters just enough for it to be a great crime mystery and connects you once more with previous characters from the series. I look forward to reading the last novel, Final Truth. Highly recommended.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read! Nina's father dies in prison. She receives a letter that he wanted her to have. In the letter, he maintains his innocence. Nina must decide whether to pursue her father's truth or believe like everyone else that her dad committed multiple murders. The background for the detective work in this novel is very well done. All in all an enjoyable read to listen to while I walked.

[Jaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable episode in the Truth series. The mystery was interesting, and I enjoyed watching the plot unfold. The romantic part of this romantic suspense was predictable, but didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. The resolution of the mystery was an unexpected bright spot in the story. It was well written and made me smile while reading.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick fast paced mystery novel. Continues to build off of characters introduced earlier in the series, however it's not required to read them in order. Probably the best so far in the Truth series.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read - good story till the end!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7 - enjoying the characters but this story a little too predictable.

[Annette Keaton McFarland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m loving this series. I’ll definitely be listening to more books by this author!!🥰

[Kristy Zane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable ending but still a fun read.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cleary 5 Stars on too the 4th and final Chapter *****

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. Interesting plot.

[Yogamom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good easy read for traveling. One week and done

[Betsy]

Truth Series, Book 3