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Bodies of Evidence #3
A Grave Peril
In this paranormal mystery, a woman with the power to find corpses must find her missing FBI agent boyfriend before he becomes one.
Julie Hall's job is to find bodies. For the sake of her sanity, she's taking a much-needed break--but the dead don't wait. With bodies piling up alongside her guilt, she knows she has to dive back in, despite pushback from her FBI boyfriend, Garrett Pierce. But Garrett is working a troubling case of his own and no longer seems like the man she fell in love with.
Despite his warnings--or maybe because of them--when Garrett goes missing, Julie has no choice but to use her skills to find where the cartel buries their victims . . . before he becomes part of the body count.
Don't miss all the books in the Bodies of Evidence series by Wendy Roberts. A Grave Calling, A Grave Search, and A Grave End are available now from Carina Press!
Julie Hall's job is to find bodies. For the sake of her sanity, she's taking a much-needed break--but the dead don't wait. With bodies piling up alongside her guilt, she knows she has to dive back in, despite pushback from her FBI boyfriend, Garrett Pierce. But Garrett is working a troubling case of his own and no longer seems like the man she fell in love with.
Despite his warnings--or maybe because of them--when Garrett goes missing, Julie has no choice but to use her skills to find where the cartel buries their victims . . . before he becomes part of the body count.
Don't miss all the books in the Bodies of Evidence series by Wendy Roberts. A Grave Calling, A Grave Search, and A Grave End are available now from Carina Press!
230 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2019
46 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Roberts
30 books330 followersWendy Roberts is an armchair sleuth, fan of all things mysterious but a huge chicken at heart. Her mind is often in the secretive, cloak and dagger world of intrigue while her physical presence is usually at home or on the road in her camper van. Wendy resides in Vancouver, Canada where she happily writes about murder and is always at work on her next novel.
You can find Wendy on the web on the following sites:
Website: www.wendyroberts.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorwendy
Instagram: @wendyroberts_author
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WendyRobertsAuthor
TikTok: @wendyroberts_author
You can find Wendy on the web on the following sites:
Website: www.wendyroberts.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorwendy
Instagram: @wendyroberts_author
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WendyRobertsAuthor
TikTok: @wendyroberts_author
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
December 10, 2018
Julie Hall finds lost people ... if they are dead. She and her dowsing rods are well known for her ability to locate bodies even if they have been dead for many years.
Her last job took her back to her hometown and she's been recovering since them. She feels the time is right to jump back in and go to work. Her boyfriend, FBI Agent Garrett Pierce, doesn't agree ... but he's got his own problems with a case.
Garrett has been acting really strange .. at least for him. He doesn't stay in touch with Julie the way he always has ... doesn't return her calls or texts ... and when he's home, he's secretive and a little bit snarly. When he disappears for days on end, she really gets worried.
Julie feels she has no option available except to try to find him. What she ultimately discovers is far worse than she imagined and now there are several lives on the line ...including hers.
Although this is third in a series, A GRAVE PERIL reads well as a stand alone as it focuses more on the relationship between Julie and Garrett and not her body-finding abilities. There are just a few small references touching on her personal background and why she is the way she is. However, the reader can still enjoy the first two books.
This is well -written with credible characters. Her best friend, Tracy, is like Peter Pan .. she's a little ditzy, but she will do anything she can for Julie. Julie has a dog that Tracy is deathly afraid of and a cat named Fluffy that was Julie's mom's cat ... and Fluffy does not like Julie at all. It's all these little details that make this such an interesting read.
Many thanks to the author / Carina Press / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this paranormal mystery. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
April 30, 2019
This series is getting better with each book and that's unusual as often the contrary is true! :)
I loved how Julie grew up and matured! How she embraced her "power" and how she manages to keep her head strait! I just plain loved it!
How she solved Garrett's disappearance was on one heand too simple, but on other I loved it!
I'll be looking forward to the next book and hoping it will kee the tradition of getting better and better! :-)
I loved how Julie grew up and matured! How she embraced her "power" and how she manages to keep her head strait! I just plain loved it!
How she solved Garrett's disappearance was on one heand too simple, but on other I loved it!
I'll be looking forward to the next book and hoping it will kee the tradition of getting better and better! :-)
February 24, 2019
I've given this a B at AAR.
A Grave Peril is the third book in Wendy Roberts’ Bodies of Evidence series featuring Julie Hall, a young woman with the unusual ability to locate dead bodies using a set of dowsing rods. I’ve been meaning to dip into this series ever since I read AAR's review review of the first book, A Grave Calling, but haven’t managed to get round to it yet – so when I saw this book was available for review I decided to pick it up. A Grave Peril works fairly well as a standalone, as the author has included enough information about Julie’s backstory to fill in any gaps for a newbie, although I think I’d have benefitted from reading the earlier books in order to get a fuller picture of the events that have shaped her.
Julie Hall has been in a relationship with her FBI agent boyfriend Garrett Pierce for a couple of years, and they’ve recently bought a house together, a fixer-upper in a quiet neighbourhood near Seattle – which isn’t quiet enough for Julie’s liking, mostly because she grew up in an isolated environment and doesn’t like having neighbours. But… it’s a nice house and she’s starting to feel safe there; plus she knows her aversion to having people around is one of the many issues she needs to work on.
After the truly harrowing events of the last case she worked on (detailed in book two, A Grave Search), Julie is taking a break from her business – Divine Reunions – to recuperate, but lately has been feeling ansty about getting back to work. Her inbox is overflowing with requests for help finding the bodies of loved ones from people desperate for closure and to find and bury their dead, and Julie decides it’s time to ease herself back in. She’ll take on a request she received a few months back from a mother desperate to find the body of the son who went missing while out hiking in the forest near Spokane. Garrett – who has been away from home working a case for the last week – isn’t wild about the idea of Julie taking on this job without him there to support her, but she agrees to take a friend with her when she drives out to Hog Lake, and that eases his mind a little.
But just as Julie is starting to feel more like her old self and regain confidence in her dowsing ability, Garrett starts to act strangely. She knows he’s working a big case – although of course he can’t tell her about it – but when he makes it home, he’s snippy and distant, and although he tells her he’s been recused from the case (because he’d discovered his late wife’s brother was involved), the next day, he’s gone again and is back working it. Julie can see he’s rattled, but doesn’t want to add to his worries by asking too many questions; she agrees to take on another job – this time searching for the body of an eight-year-old girl – but becomes uneasy when she doesn’t hear from Garrett. It’s unlike him not to text or call once a day, even if it’s just a brief ‘I’m fine’ or ‘I love you’; he doesn’t answer her calls or texts, and days later, after finding a message from him telling her to “trust no-one” Julie’s worries multiply. She starts to think that he’s in over his head and decides to try to find him herself, even though it means putting herself in danger – as that’s what he’d do for her if the situation were reversed.
From reading reviews of the earlier books, I gather that this storyline is a bit of a departure because it focuses more on Julie and her relationship with Garrett than on her working on her dowsing cases. Not having read those (yet), I can’t make comparisons; but I can say that I enjoyed this book for what it was, and found it a fairly absorbing read. Julie is clearly battling some very difficult problems – alcoholism for one – and suffers PTSD as the result of an abusive upbringing; she’s a loner who struggles to form relationships, or rather, shies away from them because her past has taught her, over and over, that the only one she can rely on is herself. Falling in love with and learning to trust Garrett (who is, incidentally, over twenty years her senior) are huge steps forward for her, but she fights every day to stop herself retreating into her protective shell. Garrett’s erratic behaviour would be hurtful for anyone on the receiving end, but for Julie, it’s a knock to the fragile new reality she’s attempting to construct for herself – and it’s a testament to her strength and resilience that she doesn’t just fall apart or retreat to the bottom of a bottle.
Even though Garrett is absent for a large part of the book, the author does a good job of showing the strengths – and weaknesses – of their relationship through Julie’s thoughts and actions. The fact that she wants to save him from whatever mess he’s got into speaks to the depth of her love for him, as his desperation to keep her safe and out of it speaks to his; but Julie’s trust is shaken, especially by some of the things he says to her (out of fear and frustration it’s true, but still) near the end, and she starts to wonder if maybe love isn’t enough.
There are only a handful of secondary characters in the book, and the standout is Tracey, Julie’s only real friend – the only person she’s let get close enough to attempt a friendship anyway – a pink-haired, quirky young woman who struggles with health issues (she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) but who is there for Julie and helps buoy her up when things look bleak.
I enjoyed the book overall, although the climactic showdown was a teeny bit… well, anticlimactic, and I can’t say I found Garrett all that appealing. But then this was my first time reading about him – and he doesn’t get much page time – and judging from Lynn’s review, he makes a better showing in the earlier books. Still, A Grave Peril gets a mostly thumbs-up for its unusual premise and prickly, complex heroine – I’m definitely planning to read more in this series.
A Grave Peril is the third book in Wendy Roberts’ Bodies of Evidence series featuring Julie Hall, a young woman with the unusual ability to locate dead bodies using a set of dowsing rods. I’ve been meaning to dip into this series ever since I read AAR's review review of the first book, A Grave Calling, but haven’t managed to get round to it yet – so when I saw this book was available for review I decided to pick it up. A Grave Peril works fairly well as a standalone, as the author has included enough information about Julie’s backstory to fill in any gaps for a newbie, although I think I’d have benefitted from reading the earlier books in order to get a fuller picture of the events that have shaped her.
Julie Hall has been in a relationship with her FBI agent boyfriend Garrett Pierce for a couple of years, and they’ve recently bought a house together, a fixer-upper in a quiet neighbourhood near Seattle – which isn’t quiet enough for Julie’s liking, mostly because she grew up in an isolated environment and doesn’t like having neighbours. But… it’s a nice house and she’s starting to feel safe there; plus she knows her aversion to having people around is one of the many issues she needs to work on.
After the truly harrowing events of the last case she worked on (detailed in book two, A Grave Search), Julie is taking a break from her business – Divine Reunions – to recuperate, but lately has been feeling ansty about getting back to work. Her inbox is overflowing with requests for help finding the bodies of loved ones from people desperate for closure and to find and bury their dead, and Julie decides it’s time to ease herself back in. She’ll take on a request she received a few months back from a mother desperate to find the body of the son who went missing while out hiking in the forest near Spokane. Garrett – who has been away from home working a case for the last week – isn’t wild about the idea of Julie taking on this job without him there to support her, but she agrees to take a friend with her when she drives out to Hog Lake, and that eases his mind a little.
But just as Julie is starting to feel more like her old self and regain confidence in her dowsing ability, Garrett starts to act strangely. She knows he’s working a big case – although of course he can’t tell her about it – but when he makes it home, he’s snippy and distant, and although he tells her he’s been recused from the case (because he’d discovered his late wife’s brother was involved), the next day, he’s gone again and is back working it. Julie can see he’s rattled, but doesn’t want to add to his worries by asking too many questions; she agrees to take on another job – this time searching for the body of an eight-year-old girl – but becomes uneasy when she doesn’t hear from Garrett. It’s unlike him not to text or call once a day, even if it’s just a brief ‘I’m fine’ or ‘I love you’; he doesn’t answer her calls or texts, and days later, after finding a message from him telling her to “trust no-one” Julie’s worries multiply. She starts to think that he’s in over his head and decides to try to find him herself, even though it means putting herself in danger – as that’s what he’d do for her if the situation were reversed.
From reading reviews of the earlier books, I gather that this storyline is a bit of a departure because it focuses more on Julie and her relationship with Garrett than on her working on her dowsing cases. Not having read those (yet), I can’t make comparisons; but I can say that I enjoyed this book for what it was, and found it a fairly absorbing read. Julie is clearly battling some very difficult problems – alcoholism for one – and suffers PTSD as the result of an abusive upbringing; she’s a loner who struggles to form relationships, or rather, shies away from them because her past has taught her, over and over, that the only one she can rely on is herself. Falling in love with and learning to trust Garrett (who is, incidentally, over twenty years her senior) are huge steps forward for her, but she fights every day to stop herself retreating into her protective shell. Garrett’s erratic behaviour would be hurtful for anyone on the receiving end, but for Julie, it’s a knock to the fragile new reality she’s attempting to construct for herself – and it’s a testament to her strength and resilience that she doesn’t just fall apart or retreat to the bottom of a bottle.
Even though Garrett is absent for a large part of the book, the author does a good job of showing the strengths – and weaknesses – of their relationship through Julie’s thoughts and actions. The fact that she wants to save him from whatever mess he’s got into speaks to the depth of her love for him, as his desperation to keep her safe and out of it speaks to his; but Julie’s trust is shaken, especially by some of the things he says to her (out of fear and frustration it’s true, but still) near the end, and she starts to wonder if maybe love isn’t enough.
There are only a handful of secondary characters in the book, and the standout is Tracey, Julie’s only real friend – the only person she’s let get close enough to attempt a friendship anyway – a pink-haired, quirky young woman who struggles with health issues (she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) but who is there for Julie and helps buoy her up when things look bleak.
I enjoyed the book overall, although the climactic showdown was a teeny bit… well, anticlimactic, and I can’t say I found Garrett all that appealing. But then this was my first time reading about him – and he doesn’t get much page time – and judging from Lynn’s review, he makes a better showing in the earlier books. Still, A Grave Peril gets a mostly thumbs-up for its unusual premise and prickly, complex heroine – I’m definitely planning to read more in this series.
January 19, 2019
Julie must find her boyfriend who is missing. Where is he? Why is he not answering at her text? This is a quick and alert read.
Thanks to Netgalley for this copy.
Thanks to Netgalley for this copy.
November 7, 2018
3.5 stars
In A Grave Peril , the third title in Wendy Roberts’ Bodies of Evidence series, the author decides to focus on the relationship between Julie Hall and her twenty-years-older-boyfriend, FBI agent Garrett Pierce, rather than the mystery or Julie’s ability to find bodies with her dowsing equipment…
… and I’m not liking this path *pout*
It doesn’t mean that we don’t have Julie’s doing the dowsing – she does, several times in fact – but the big mystery surrounding this book is Garret’s unforthcoming action, in which he’s gone for days without telling Julie anything. Something to do with his latest case at the bureau.
While I can understand that maybe, sometimes, this kind of plot is needed for the couple to move forward, but it always annoys me when the hero decides to go MIA, and keeps the secret from the heroine. Especially in this case, when the reason behind Garrett’s pushing Julie back is because his ex-brother-in-law is involved.
I felt like there was still a LOT of things for Julie and Garrett to work on … their age-gap, his hints and nudges of them getting married while Julie isn’t sure about marriage at all, Garrett’s being too protective sometimes, and of course Julie’s traumatic past which influences her feeling uneasy with getting friendly with neighbors or getting close with a girl-friend. Then the author decides to thrown Garrett being tight-lipped and it bothers me a lot.
I still enjoyed it most of the times – despite her prickliness towards her friendly neighbors or towards Tracey, who wants to be her BFF, I think Julie has the potential for investigation, helped with her ability, of course. I hope Garrett realizes that Julie is not someone he should just leave in blind because of her gender or her past or because she’s not an agent.
I look forward to book #4 … and I hope by then, these two have become a stronger unit.
The ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.
In A Grave Peril , the third title in Wendy Roberts’ Bodies of Evidence series, the author decides to focus on the relationship between Julie Hall and her twenty-years-older-boyfriend, FBI agent Garrett Pierce, rather than the mystery or Julie’s ability to find bodies with her dowsing equipment…
… and I’m not liking this path *pout*
It doesn’t mean that we don’t have Julie’s doing the dowsing – she does, several times in fact – but the big mystery surrounding this book is Garret’s unforthcoming action, in which he’s gone for days without telling Julie anything. Something to do with his latest case at the bureau.
While I can understand that maybe, sometimes, this kind of plot is needed for the couple to move forward, but it always annoys me when the hero decides to go MIA, and keeps the secret from the heroine. Especially in this case, when the reason behind Garrett’s pushing Julie back is because his ex-brother-in-law is involved.
I felt like there was still a LOT of things for Julie and Garrett to work on … their age-gap, his hints and nudges of them getting married while Julie isn’t sure about marriage at all, Garrett’s being too protective sometimes, and of course Julie’s traumatic past which influences her feeling uneasy with getting friendly with neighbors or getting close with a girl-friend. Then the author decides to thrown Garrett being tight-lipped and it bothers me a lot.
I still enjoyed it most of the times – despite her prickliness towards her friendly neighbors or towards Tracey, who wants to be her BFF, I think Julie has the potential for investigation, helped with her ability, of course. I hope Garrett realizes that Julie is not someone he should just leave in blind because of her gender or her past or because she’s not an agent.
I look forward to book #4 … and I hope by then, these two have become a stronger unit.
The ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.
December 10, 2018
I'm fairly certain that I squealed when I saw that I was approved for this ARC (thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
3rd in the Bodies of Evidence series, I would recommend reading the prior installments before jumping into this one. It gives some much needed background info. I'll start with my bad first, I didn't care for the fact that this one was more so about her sleuthing on her own (trying to save her FBI agent boyfriend from a deadly drug cartel) than it was her getting tangled up in a dowsing case. There was plenty of that which was great, but I think I prefer the mysteries revolve around those as opposed to her playing her in a different sense. I also just plain don't care for her as a character. I grew up with an alcoholic, I absolutely understand the psychosis around that, I can empathize with the struggle. I'm tired of it being mentioned 50+ times in a short book. I get it, I got it. She's not a nice person, she's mean, she's bitter, she's angry, and she doesn't get enough therapy. Self help books and meditation only take you so far. She needs deep therapy. She's finally surrounded by caring people and doesn't seem to put forth the necessary effort to keep them.
The good things? It was a really good book, I finished it in a day and I didn't want to put it down. I love her gift, I love her quirky friend Tracey, I love her neighbors, her dog, and I enjoy Garret. The story was engaging, the plot moved quickly and the ending was the best. I felt like Julie truly grew in this book more than she has the entire series. That she understands her feelings and emotions better. I felt as though the ending covered all the loose threads while leaving room for the next installment. So worth picking up!!
3rd in the Bodies of Evidence series, I would recommend reading the prior installments before jumping into this one. It gives some much needed background info. I'll start with my bad first, I didn't care for the fact that this one was more so about her sleuthing on her own (trying to save her FBI agent boyfriend from a deadly drug cartel) than it was her getting tangled up in a dowsing case. There was plenty of that which was great, but I think I prefer the mysteries revolve around those as opposed to her playing her in a different sense. I also just plain don't care for her as a character. I grew up with an alcoholic, I absolutely understand the psychosis around that, I can empathize with the struggle. I'm tired of it being mentioned 50+ times in a short book. I get it, I got it. She's not a nice person, she's mean, she's bitter, she's angry, and she doesn't get enough therapy. Self help books and meditation only take you so far. She needs deep therapy. She's finally surrounded by caring people and doesn't seem to put forth the necessary effort to keep them.
The good things? It was a really good book, I finished it in a day and I didn't want to put it down. I love her gift, I love her quirky friend Tracey, I love her neighbors, her dog, and I enjoy Garret. The story was engaging, the plot moved quickly and the ending was the best. I felt like Julie truly grew in this book more than she has the entire series. That she understands her feelings and emotions better. I felt as though the ending covered all the loose threads while leaving room for the next installment. So worth picking up!!
March 30, 2019
Julie Hall has an unusual profession finding dead bodies using dowsing rods. She has been on a semi-hiatus due to some undisclosed traumatic events in the last book, but I did not feel that I enjoyed this book any less for for jumping in on #3 in the series. Her FBI agent boyfriend, Garrett, begins acting very out of character after getting involved in a new case. Julie is left to her recovery on her own, or with her best friend Tracey, while she returns to searching for missing/dead. Then Garrett goes missing and Julie attempts to find him before it's too late. A fun read.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 25, 2019
Really enjoyed this one.
January 14, 2019
Wow! This series is heating up. Julie Hall is still healing from her last brush of danger. She is starting to think it may be time to start taking in new cases. So she starts weeding through her emails and picking an easy one. A missing hiker. With Garrett out on a case she turns to Tracey to help her.
Even though her first case back went smoothly, doesn’t mean her life is back on track. She still has major trust issues and those issues are made worse as Garrett starts displaying some odd behavior. He is keeping secrets and Julie is not liking it one bit.
Things start to get worse when Garrett disappears and leaving behind cryptic messages. “Trust no one”. With no one to turn to she begins to worry and takes on her own investigation into his disappearance. Things start heating up and danger lurks around every corner. Will Julie find Garrett, before someone turns up dead?
This book really focuses on the relationship between Garrett and Julie. It dives deep into it and shows all the cracks. Some of these cracks start to break open and Julie doesn’t know if love will be enough for them. She shows her vulnerability more in this book. All the healing she has done is shown, but she still struggles with several things. Mainly TRUST. With everything that is going on with Garrett, the trust they have built is tested and on thin ice, full of several fissure cracks.
I really enjoy this series. Julie is a strong character. She has several issues and past horrors that make her the way she is, but yet she is stronger than most give her credit for. She doesn’t see this for herself, naturally. But her strength is there.
Wendy has created a unique story line with the Bodies of Evidence series. Her characters are strong and supportive. The cases are unique and full of twists to keep you guessing. I really love this series and can’t wait to see how our two lovebirds move past this.
If you love a bit of the unknown and unique paranormal with a twist of mystery and a dash of romance, then this series is for you. Please read them in order or you may not understand the characters without the back story. It is an excellent read and I guarantee you will enjoy it.
*ARC provided by Carina Press & Netgalley.
Even though her first case back went smoothly, doesn’t mean her life is back on track. She still has major trust issues and those issues are made worse as Garrett starts displaying some odd behavior. He is keeping secrets and Julie is not liking it one bit.
Things start to get worse when Garrett disappears and leaving behind cryptic messages. “Trust no one”. With no one to turn to she begins to worry and takes on her own investigation into his disappearance. Things start heating up and danger lurks around every corner. Will Julie find Garrett, before someone turns up dead?
This book really focuses on the relationship between Garrett and Julie. It dives deep into it and shows all the cracks. Some of these cracks start to break open and Julie doesn’t know if love will be enough for them. She shows her vulnerability more in this book. All the healing she has done is shown, but she still struggles with several things. Mainly TRUST. With everything that is going on with Garrett, the trust they have built is tested and on thin ice, full of several fissure cracks.
I really enjoy this series. Julie is a strong character. She has several issues and past horrors that make her the way she is, but yet she is stronger than most give her credit for. She doesn’t see this for herself, naturally. But her strength is there.
Wendy has created a unique story line with the Bodies of Evidence series. Her characters are strong and supportive. The cases are unique and full of twists to keep you guessing. I really love this series and can’t wait to see how our two lovebirds move past this.
If you love a bit of the unknown and unique paranormal with a twist of mystery and a dash of romance, then this series is for you. Please read them in order or you may not understand the characters without the back story. It is an excellent read and I guarantee you will enjoy it.
*ARC provided by Carina Press & Netgalley.
January 10, 2019
In this third outing in the series Julie Hall is adjusting to being in a full time relationship, maintaining a friendship and getting back to accepting jobs to help locate deceased missing persons with her dowsing rods.
For a normal person those seem like simple everyday things. But for a woman with Julie's abusive childhood and her daily struggle to stay sober they are stress inducing. That stress is added to when her FBI live in boyfriend Garrett Pierce starts acting out of the normal and is being very secretive about his current case and is gone more than he is around. Because of his love for Julie he is trying to keep her as far away from the case he is working on not realizing that this sets of her insecurities and makes her want to dig in and find out what he is hiding. And when he goes missing Julie wont back down on finding her man.
Julie is on her own most of the book and even though the thought of having a drink comes up every time she get stressed she resists and is growing in her recovery both mentally and in her sobriety. There are plenty of humorous moments through out along the suspense that ramps up to edge of your seat peril.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope there are many more to come.
For a normal person those seem like simple everyday things. But for a woman with Julie's abusive childhood and her daily struggle to stay sober they are stress inducing. That stress is added to when her FBI live in boyfriend Garrett Pierce starts acting out of the normal and is being very secretive about his current case and is gone more than he is around. Because of his love for Julie he is trying to keep her as far away from the case he is working on not realizing that this sets of her insecurities and makes her want to dig in and find out what he is hiding. And when he goes missing Julie wont back down on finding her man.
Julie is on her own most of the book and even though the thought of having a drink comes up every time she get stressed she resists and is growing in her recovery both mentally and in her sobriety. There are plenty of humorous moments through out along the suspense that ramps up to edge of your seat peril.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope there are many more to come.
January 17, 2019
A Grave Peril by Wendy Roberts
Bodies of Evidence #3
Julie Hall and Garrett Pierce have moved in together by book three and though it seems Garrett may be interested in tying “the knot” Julie is not so sure she ever wants to marry or have a family. They have been a couple for awhile and seem to have a good relationship but as Garrett’s job with the FBI heats up, he is put on leave and then disappears one night...well...Julie is not sure what is going on. She begins to question the relationship and just where her partner may be. Then, she begins to worry.
Wanting to get her “toes wet” and try her hand at dowsing for the dead again after a longish cut she heads out with a friend and has success. She does a bit more looking for a few other bodies in this book but she also worries about Garrett and eventually starts looking for him following what she believes are clues to his whereabouts. With her friend Tracey along to help at times, a crazy cat and Wookie her rottweiler she deals with one problem after another as she tries to find out whether or not Garrett is alright.
This is book deals more with Julie’s search for Garrett and his FBI work than it does with finding the dead...although there is a bit of that, too. It will be interesting to see where the author goes with this series next...and I am eager to read book four when it is ready.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
Bodies of Evidence #3
Julie Hall and Garrett Pierce have moved in together by book three and though it seems Garrett may be interested in tying “the knot” Julie is not so sure she ever wants to marry or have a family. They have been a couple for awhile and seem to have a good relationship but as Garrett’s job with the FBI heats up, he is put on leave and then disappears one night...well...Julie is not sure what is going on. She begins to question the relationship and just where her partner may be. Then, she begins to worry.
Wanting to get her “toes wet” and try her hand at dowsing for the dead again after a longish cut she heads out with a friend and has success. She does a bit more looking for a few other bodies in this book but she also worries about Garrett and eventually starts looking for him following what she believes are clues to his whereabouts. With her friend Tracey along to help at times, a crazy cat and Wookie her rottweiler she deals with one problem after another as she tries to find out whether or not Garrett is alright.
This is book deals more with Julie’s search for Garrett and his FBI work than it does with finding the dead...although there is a bit of that, too. It will be interesting to see where the author goes with this series next...and I am eager to read book four when it is ready.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
December 13, 2018
This one started out good for Julie, she started to get back into finding bodies, easy ones for her and the families were so grateful. Her personal life seemed to be going good, but quickly that started to spin out of control. I often found myself hating Garrett a bit. I hated how he treated Julie, how it seemed he pushed her to the side. Julie had good reason to worry about him at the start and as things went on they got worse and worse. At the end Julie managed to keep her head and save the day, yet Garrett yelled at her, which pissed me off. They did get things worked out, but it seems a little too fast and easy.
November 5, 2018
A Grave Peril is the 3rd installment in the Bodies of Evidence series. Julie and her dowsing rods are back finding bodies and looking for her missing boyfriend. This series just keeps getting better and better! Wendy Roberts hooked me on book one and hasn’t let me go. Can’t wait for more!
*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
January 4, 2019
A Grave Peril (Bodies of Evidence #3) by Wendy Roberts
4 stars
M/F Thriller
I was given this book for an honest review by Wicked Reads.
This is the third book in the series, but I don't believe it's necessary to read them in order. I somehow missed book 2, but was able to jump right in to book 3.
Julie is back at it again. But, with her boyfriend acting strange and her just getting back at finding the dead, Julie isn't quite sure which way is up.
Rather than despair too much, she knows that she has to try to help Garrett. Knowing that the cartel is part of this doesn't deter Julie at all. Plus, with her new neighbors acting strange and the clues piling up, Julie sets out to find him with the help of his dead wife.
This story sweeps you up and doesn't let you down until the end. It's a guessing game of who to trust and what's really at stake. It was very entertaining and I loved each twist and turn. Roberts kept you guessing and while I was able to figure most of the mystery out, it was still incredibly fun to read.
4 stars
M/F Thriller
I was given this book for an honest review by Wicked Reads.
This is the third book in the series, but I don't believe it's necessary to read them in order. I somehow missed book 2, but was able to jump right in to book 3.
Julie is back at it again. But, with her boyfriend acting strange and her just getting back at finding the dead, Julie isn't quite sure which way is up.
Rather than despair too much, she knows that she has to try to help Garrett. Knowing that the cartel is part of this doesn't deter Julie at all. Plus, with her new neighbors acting strange and the clues piling up, Julie sets out to find him with the help of his dead wife.
This story sweeps you up and doesn't let you down until the end. It's a guessing game of who to trust and what's really at stake. It was very entertaining and I loved each twist and turn. Roberts kept you guessing and while I was able to figure most of the mystery out, it was still incredibly fun to read.
July 29, 2020
Not what I expected for a book from Harlequin. Abuse, addiction, some paranormal activity and a woman dating a guy twenty years older than her. The beginning was slow, maybe because I haven’t read the previous books in the series. About a third of the way through the book picked up and caught my attention. I liked that the end of the mystery wasn’t the end of the story. The couple still had stuff to work out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
January 4, 2019Miniseries: Bodies of Evidence
April 27, 2020
Because I am a sucker for the word “free”, especially in conjunction with another word, “books”, I joined a book club that advertised free books every month, knowing full well that they weren’t really free, because nothing in life is actually free. It was a mystery book club, and every month they would send five or six mass market paperbacks of new release mysteries. (As I suspected, I ended up having to pay about $20 per shipment, which still wasn’t too bad, considering that was roughly $4 per book, with each book normally about $7.99 newsstand price, so I felt I was getting a deal.)
Unfortunately, after about four or five months, I had a steadily growing pile of paperbacks that I wasn’t reading fast enough. My wife (who is, admittedly, much better with money than I am) did not think that it was a wise investment to keep dishing out $20 a month for five or six paperbacks that I wasn’t going to read, especially when that money could be going towards other stuff like gas money, food, or bills. I see her point.
I stopped the book club, of course. The pile of books sat there, for months. Until recently, when my pile of library books (which was always somewhat daunting as well) had dwindled down to nothing, since all the libraries in my state were closed indefinitely. For the first time in a long time, I had to actually read books that I owned. Thankfully, I have a shit ton.
I don’t know how you do it, but when I’m between books, I’m in a real quandary. Seriously, the struggle is real, folks: I don’t know if I want to read a sci-fi or horror or mystery or that huge-ass biography of Alexander Hamilton sitting on my shelf (that I swear is staring at me rather meanly, daring me to pick it up. It’s so mean...)
This is usually when closing one’s eyes and randomly picking a book out of the pile by my bedside becomes the method of finding my next book to read. So, I did just that.
I picked “A Grave Peril” by Wendy Roberts, which happened to be one of the books from that afore-mentioned book club. Roberts is an author I had never heard of or read before, so I was going in blind. It was also the third book in a series featuring her protagonist Julie Hall, who is less a detective than a normal person with a really weird hobby that involves looking for dead people and, subsequently, figuring out how and why they became dead.
Julie has this creepy talent in which she takes copper divining rods and goes out into the woods (or deserts or basements or anyplace that people might bury dead people) and finds dead people. The police, of course, get involved, and her FBI detective boyfriend usually ends up working the case.
She has, apparently, built up a respectable reputation in the area as well as a business (cleverly dubbed “Divine Reunions”) that pays decently. She sees her job as a way for families to find closure in cases in which the bodies of loved ones were never found.
Anyway, so that’s the set-up, which I honestly didn’t think Roberts could adequately use to sustain a suspenseful narrative. I was wrong.
The plot is a slow burn in which her FBI boyfriend, Garrett Pierce, is working a case involving Mexican drug cartels working in the Pacific Northwest, which is where the novel is set. Pierce is unusually close-mouthed about this case, which piques Julie’s curiosity. She starts getting worried, though, when he doesn’t come home one night and sends her an enigmatic text message the next day. When his partner, a very pregnant FBI agent named Karla Powell, comes to visit with more worrisome news, Julie decides to put her detective shoes on. Plot twists abound, and before she knows it, she’s neck-deep in some serious shit.
I like Julie, who is a somewhat likable person despite some annoying tendencies. I also like her comic relief best friend, Tracey, who represents the exact opposite of Julie: she’s overly talkative to Julie’s taciturnity, bubbly and happy to Julie’s angsty depressiveness, and extremely confident to Julie’s socially-awkward constant second-guessing of herself.
“A Grave Peril” is a good read, if not a phenomenal one. It’s not Michael Connelly good, but it’s on a par with similar writers of her ilk, such as Janet Evanovich, minus all the lovey-dovey bullshit that I don’t like in Evanovich’s stuff. It’s certainly good enough for me to want to read her previous books and check out her latest thrillers.
Unfortunately, after about four or five months, I had a steadily growing pile of paperbacks that I wasn’t reading fast enough. My wife (who is, admittedly, much better with money than I am) did not think that it was a wise investment to keep dishing out $20 a month for five or six paperbacks that I wasn’t going to read, especially when that money could be going towards other stuff like gas money, food, or bills. I see her point.
I stopped the book club, of course. The pile of books sat there, for months. Until recently, when my pile of library books (which was always somewhat daunting as well) had dwindled down to nothing, since all the libraries in my state were closed indefinitely. For the first time in a long time, I had to actually read books that I owned. Thankfully, I have a shit ton.
I don’t know how you do it, but when I’m between books, I’m in a real quandary. Seriously, the struggle is real, folks: I don’t know if I want to read a sci-fi or horror or mystery or that huge-ass biography of Alexander Hamilton sitting on my shelf (that I swear is staring at me rather meanly, daring me to pick it up. It’s so mean...)
This is usually when closing one’s eyes and randomly picking a book out of the pile by my bedside becomes the method of finding my next book to read. So, I did just that.
I picked “A Grave Peril” by Wendy Roberts, which happened to be one of the books from that afore-mentioned book club. Roberts is an author I had never heard of or read before, so I was going in blind. It was also the third book in a series featuring her protagonist Julie Hall, who is less a detective than a normal person with a really weird hobby that involves looking for dead people and, subsequently, figuring out how and why they became dead.
Julie has this creepy talent in which she takes copper divining rods and goes out into the woods (or deserts or basements or anyplace that people might bury dead people) and finds dead people. The police, of course, get involved, and her FBI detective boyfriend usually ends up working the case.
She has, apparently, built up a respectable reputation in the area as well as a business (cleverly dubbed “Divine Reunions”) that pays decently. She sees her job as a way for families to find closure in cases in which the bodies of loved ones were never found.
Anyway, so that’s the set-up, which I honestly didn’t think Roberts could adequately use to sustain a suspenseful narrative. I was wrong.
The plot is a slow burn in which her FBI boyfriend, Garrett Pierce, is working a case involving Mexican drug cartels working in the Pacific Northwest, which is where the novel is set. Pierce is unusually close-mouthed about this case, which piques Julie’s curiosity. She starts getting worried, though, when he doesn’t come home one night and sends her an enigmatic text message the next day. When his partner, a very pregnant FBI agent named Karla Powell, comes to visit with more worrisome news, Julie decides to put her detective shoes on. Plot twists abound, and before she knows it, she’s neck-deep in some serious shit.
I like Julie, who is a somewhat likable person despite some annoying tendencies. I also like her comic relief best friend, Tracey, who represents the exact opposite of Julie: she’s overly talkative to Julie’s taciturnity, bubbly and happy to Julie’s angsty depressiveness, and extremely confident to Julie’s socially-awkward constant second-guessing of herself.
“A Grave Peril” is a good read, if not a phenomenal one. It’s not Michael Connelly good, but it’s on a par with similar writers of her ilk, such as Janet Evanovich, minus all the lovey-dovey bullshit that I don’t like in Evanovich’s stuff. It’s certainly good enough for me to want to read her previous books and check out her latest thrillers.
January 21, 2019
Julie is finally ready to get back into dowsing for bodies (yay!). She’s got a few good cases to get her feet wet, and she’s feeling pretty good about it. At the same time, her FBI boyfriend Garrett is in a bit of trouble. He was immediately removed from an important case and it leaves Julie suspicious. Turns out, the case involves Garrett’s ex-wife Faith’s brother and the drug cartel. Despite saying he’s off the case, Garrett goes missing a few times without leaving notes or having a phone for Julie to get in contact with him. She’s now more suspicious than ever. He’s even come home pretty beaten up and hasn’t mentioned a word in edge-wise as to how it happened. Is he trying to work the case himself? Is he in contact with his ex-brother-in-law? Was he ever really off the case? What does this all mean for Julie and Garrett’s relationship since the ex-wife’s family is back in the picture?
I think this was my favorite book of the series yet! If you liked Verity by Colleen Hoover, you will enjoy this book. The story line isn’t the same, but the writing and the suspense is similar (in a good and unique way). I read the entire book in one sitting, it’s that good. I was on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, trying to think of what Garrett was doing and what he was hiding from Julie. The great thing about this series is that you can jump in with any book and not feel lost. I really don’t like when I have to read a previous novel to feel caught up in a story. That’s not the case here. Yes, it helps to know where Julie’s past and how much she has grown since the first book, but it isn’t needed to enjoy this book. I could kind of guess where the mystery was heading mid-way through, but it didn’t keep me from loving the book. I can’t wait for book four!
5/5 Stars
Thank you Wendy for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review!
I think this was my favorite book of the series yet! If you liked Verity by Colleen Hoover, you will enjoy this book. The story line isn’t the same, but the writing and the suspense is similar (in a good and unique way). I read the entire book in one sitting, it’s that good. I was on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, trying to think of what Garrett was doing and what he was hiding from Julie. The great thing about this series is that you can jump in with any book and not feel lost. I really don’t like when I have to read a previous novel to feel caught up in a story. That’s not the case here. Yes, it helps to know where Julie’s past and how much she has grown since the first book, but it isn’t needed to enjoy this book. I could kind of guess where the mystery was heading mid-way through, but it didn’t keep me from loving the book. I can’t wait for book four!
5/5 Stars
Thank you Wendy for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review!
October 29, 2018
Julie Hall finds the dead by using drowsing rods. She has been taking a break from her work and recovering from a case that brought her back to her hometown. A place filled with haunting memories. When works starts to pile up, Julie can no longer push away the guilt that she feels from not helping those who ask her for help. Her FBI boyfriend, Garrett isn't thrilled but he has his own stressful work to handle. When he starts acting like a man she doesn't know, Julia is concerned. Then, Garrett disappears.
I am pretty sure I screamed when I received an email saying that I have been approved for an advanced copy of A Grave Peril. I read the first two books in the series very quickly and was left wanting more! Its a great mystery series with a fascinating supernatural element. This series isn't like any other that I have read before and it made a big impression on me. I need a fourth book now! Julie is a character who is far from perfect and I think that's why people who read this series will like her. She has experienced horrible things but I admire that she didn't just sit down and give up.
I am pretty sure I screamed when I received an email saying that I have been approved for an advanced copy of A Grave Peril. I read the first two books in the series very quickly and was left wanting more! Its a great mystery series with a fascinating supernatural element. This series isn't like any other that I have read before and it made a big impression on me. I need a fourth book now! Julie is a character who is far from perfect and I think that's why people who read this series will like her. She has experienced horrible things but I admire that she didn't just sit down and give up.
January 14, 2019
Once you get past Julie Hall’s (yes, she changed her name back) whining and histrionics, you can suss out an interesting , though twisty, kidnapping and murder involving her boyfriend FBI Agent Garrett Pierce and his need to help his ex-brother-in-law.
To be honest, I would have preferred her dowsing for bodies instead of tracking down her boyfriend in an overly dramatic way, but having to deal with what Wendy Roberts wrote, I trudged on to the end. Apparently, the drug cartel does not like it when people get in the way of a drug shipment and since they have gone to great lengths to guarantee that the authorities do not find the date of their new delivery, they are not going to tolerate a nosey girlfriend getting in the way.
Garrett had left messages and avoided all contact, but no, Julie cannot leave well enough alone and it is not until everyone’s life is in danger before the truth comes out and their relationship is left in tatters.
It is sad that when a series, which started out with such promise, has been reduced to my only liking the dog. Wendy Roberts -- grow this character up and bring her back to searching for bodies.
To be honest, I would have preferred her dowsing for bodies instead of tracking down her boyfriend in an overly dramatic way, but having to deal with what Wendy Roberts wrote, I trudged on to the end. Apparently, the drug cartel does not like it when people get in the way of a drug shipment and since they have gone to great lengths to guarantee that the authorities do not find the date of their new delivery, they are not going to tolerate a nosey girlfriend getting in the way.
Garrett had left messages and avoided all contact, but no, Julie cannot leave well enough alone and it is not until everyone’s life is in danger before the truth comes out and their relationship is left in tatters.
It is sad that when a series, which started out with such promise, has been reduced to my only liking the dog. Wendy Roberts -- grow this character up and bring her back to searching for bodies.
January 14, 2019
We are on the third book in this series, and I think this is the best one so far. Normally, I read just mystery or fantasy books with a paranormal element in them. I started this series because of the way the protagonist finds dead people by dowsing. However, with this third book, the paranormal element has taken a backseat to the rest of the story. And, that’s just great, because I couldn’t put this book down. Julie is still in a very dark place, and when Garrett disappears, she must find him while keeping her demons (metaphoric, not literal as it’s not that kind of paranormal book) at bay. Julie is really coming out of her shell, and I’m glad to see her letting people in her life. Maybe very reluctantly, but she’s dealing with everything slowly but surely. I do admit to being a little upset with how Garrett treats her at the end, but I think he has issues he hasn’t dealt with either. I loved this book, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Julie, Garrett, Tracey, et. al. As an aside, I love Tracey; she’s helping Julie come out and enjoy life and maybe start leaving the pain behind. I highly recommend this book! I was provided the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.
January 30, 2019
I've really enjoyed the first two books in this series, and the third one did not disappoint. My favorite part of this series has been the characters, especially the Julie Hall character. Julie has her struggles due to the way she grew up and everything she has been through in the past several years, but still feels very real and relatable and hasn't let the bad in the world that she has faced head on warp her humanity. This third entry in the series continues her growth, as we see her use her strength to try to save the man she loves from danger.
I've also liked following along on the mysteries that Julie has helped solve, often with the help of her FBI boyfriend Garrett Pierce. Garrett has been very supportive and caring toward Julie, but occasionally he has almost seemed too perfect to me, which was one of the things that gave this book a unique feel from the two that came before, in that we get to see some of Garrett's flaws. The mystery was very fast paced and engaging, and I can't wait to read the next entry in the series!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book for my honest review.
I've also liked following along on the mysteries that Julie has helped solve, often with the help of her FBI boyfriend Garrett Pierce. Garrett has been very supportive and caring toward Julie, but occasionally he has almost seemed too perfect to me, which was one of the things that gave this book a unique feel from the two that came before, in that we get to see some of Garrett's flaws. The mystery was very fast paced and engaging, and I can't wait to read the next entry in the series!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book for my honest review.
January 27, 2019
Ebook
Grade: C+/B-
Not a review, just some thoughts for personal reference. Spoilers.
I read the first three books in this series one after the other. They were like potato chips. But I have some thoughts.
--Why is Julie so stupid? Seriously, she might as well run around with a "kill me" sign on her.
--And Garrett's still being an ass.
--A dozen bodies in a garden shed are going to stink to high heaven. Everyone in that swanky neighborhood would have smelled them.
--Julie went through more vehicles than Stephanie Plum.
--How does Julie pay for everything? She got an inheritance--was it really that big?
--Lots of eating. Stopping at diners, fast food, Starbucks, convenience stores, etc.
--Saddled up does not mean the same thing as sidled up.
--Tracey's sweet, but she's getting on my nerves.
Sigh. I'll still read the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2019
Where has Garrett gone? Why isn't he answering Julie's texts? Julie finds bodies (and drinks); Garrett is her FBI SA boyfriend. He's a lot older than she is but which one of them has the older soul? I read this as a standalone so unlike some other reviewers, I wasn't bothered by what I gather was the push to the background of Julie's dowsing for bodies. It's really about these two characters and their relationship, which was fine with me as an intro to the series. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a quick read (it's short) and you'll meet some interesting people.
December 25, 2018
I loved it! I've been patiently waiting for this to be released since I finished the previous one in the series. I am fascinated with the idea of using dowsing rods to find the lost dead. The characters and the mystery are great. Just when I thought it was solved there was more! I enjoyed this book a lot and driving around with Julie in her Jeep to different locales was a lot of fun. ARC netgalley.com
November 21, 2020
I really am enjoying this series. But I do wish that the author would learn the difference between saddle and sidle. You do NOT saddle up to people - you sidle.
And I also wish she would learn that airbags inflate after an accident - and then they deflate. This nonsense about not being able to see the victim clearly because of the inflated airbag - weeks or months after the crash - reflect an appalling ignorance.
That being said, I still enjoy her books.
And I also wish she would learn that airbags inflate after an accident - and then they deflate. This nonsense about not being able to see the victim clearly because of the inflated airbag - weeks or months after the crash - reflect an appalling ignorance.
That being said, I still enjoy her books.
February 25, 2022
Not quite 3 stars really. Character development was only ok. Julie Hall was fairly interesting, Garrett was annoying and patronizing, and Tracey was ok. I didn't like the plot since it didn't really involve her searching for dead people. Rather, it was her and sometimes Tracey running around, getting shot at while trying to find Garrett. There were a lot of plot holes too. I won't try another by this author.
February 7, 2019
A Grave Peril ( Bodies of Evidence) by Wendy Roberts
I have read the entire series and it's wonderful. The writing is good. The charecters are such fun and interesting. You never know who the bad person really is so it's a challenge! I love the main charecters and all their personnel issues. Julie is great and special. Her talents are interesting. A great read! Please enjoy!
I have read the entire series and it's wonderful. The writing is good. The charecters are such fun and interesting. You never know who the bad person really is so it's a challenge! I love the main charecters and all their personnel issues. Julie is great and special. Her talents are interesting. A great read! Please enjoy!
January 14, 2020
I am really enjoying this series, I have no idea why it took me so long...
I have to say I was a wee bit annoyed with Garrett in this one, she risked her life to save him. Doesn’t he realize how she struggles and how much loyalty & love she showed.
Pfft...excuse me, just for a moment I wanted to smack him, lol. I love her character & strength!!! On to the next one.
I have to say I was a wee bit annoyed with Garrett in this one, she risked her life to save him. Doesn’t he realize how she struggles and how much loyalty & love she showed.
Pfft...excuse me, just for a moment I wanted to smack him, lol. I love her character & strength!!! On to the next one.
September 19, 2025
Great!
This series is great. Garrett suddenly isn’t responding to Julie’s texts nor communicating like normal and Julie just knows something is very wrong. She will stop at nothing to locate Garrett, but she might end up getting killed before she can even get started trying to find him.
This series is great. Garrett suddenly isn’t responding to Julie’s texts nor communicating like normal and Julie just knows something is very wrong. She will stop at nothing to locate Garrett, but she might end up getting killed before she can even get started trying to find him.
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