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O'Malley #3

The Truth Seeker

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The bodies of five women who mysteriously disappeared are being discovered and Lisa O'Malley is determined to find the killer.

330 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

410 people are currently reading
4542 people want to read

About the author

Dee Henderson

71 books4,181 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Dee Henderson is the author of 27 non-fiction and fiction titles, including Jesus our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus the Truth and the Life, The Good News Project, Taken and the acclaimed O’MALLEY series. Several titles have appeared on the USA Today Bestseller list; Full Disclosure has also appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. For details visit: DeeHenderson.com

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5 stars
11,616 (55%)
4 stars
6,209 (29%)
3 stars
2,425 (11%)
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1 star
198 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 537 reviews
Profile Image for Jenny Jo Weir.
1,555 reviews81 followers
July 2, 2020
I'm a sucker for Christian Fiction and Mysteries; combining the two is just a wonderful boost for me. I love the cuteness and how clean theses books are. Even when they've had a rough day and they're thirsty, craving a cold drink, it's soda or a fizzy water. I don't know why that tickles me, but I love the purity in it. Then there's the whole murder mystery and discovery of additional victims, and BAM! You've got yourself a great story. Well played Dee Henderson!
Profile Image for Sarah Grace Grzy.
634 reviews939 followers
May 1, 2019
Wow . . . that was so good. Definitely one of the best! I am so happy to have finally read Lisa and Quinn's story! I love how each book explores different themes of Christianity, and I absolutely loved how Henderson handled the topics in this one! So good. The mystery was also really well done, if on the creepy side for me.

As always, Henderson doesn't disappoint!
Profile Image for Panda Incognito.
4,690 reviews95 followers
July 10, 2014
(Note: I wrote this review years ago, and some of my opinions about this book have changed, but since I still like the review, I don't want to remove it.)

This book is awesome. The plot was believable, suitably complicated, and cleverly unfolded. It was exceptional. Especially since it's a Christian romance fiction novel. This book succeeded far and beyond my expectations for a book of that genre.

The characters were appealing and did not fall into the stereotypes which appear to dominate books of its kind. The writing was quite good. THE AUTHOR EVEN USES SEMI-COLONS! Usually when I read books of this kind I want to rephrase things constantly and spot lots of punctuation errors. While reading this book, my inner-editor was able to step back and take a break.

This is a funny book, too, despite the serious subject matter. The family antics are hilarious. All of the characters have unique characteristics which mesh together to make a wonderful, crazy group. I laughed out loud several times while reading this book.

The romance was actually good. Coming from me, that's high praise. It's not that I don't like romance. I'm a sucker for romance, really, it just has to be plausible and engaging.
While reading book 2 in this series, I groaned and thrashed about during the romantic parts. They weren't really all that bad from a writing stand-point, but they were sappy.
This romance, however, was actually good. It was sweet, funny, and believable. I actually liked the characters as a couple, and liked the scenes putting them together.

The plot's twists and turns were well handled. I truly could not have guessed the end. The writing kept me on the edge of my seat.

When it comes to Christian fiction, I generally have a bone to pick in three areas (Well, more than three, but I've narrowed it down): plausibility, romance, and the way that faith is handled.

This book succeeds in all three areas. Faith is not handled in a way that is overly-sentimental or watered down. Characters in this series have real, serious obstacles to overcome in order to come to saving faith in Christ. Their issues are not discarded at the end so that they can just automatically "see the light" and accept Christ. Rather, the author wrestles with difficult theological issues: God's justice and mercy in book 1, unanswered prayer in book 2, and the resurrection in this book.

Arguments against faith are not only presented in an accurate and believable way, but there are actually satisfying answers given, not just trite sayings.

I intensely enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it to teens and adults. The book is perfectly clean, but there is some violence, as well as graphic (but not gratuitous) descriptions which more sensitive readers ought to be aware of. Nonetheless, this is a fantastic read!
Profile Image for Jesseca Wheaton.
Author 13 books192 followers
April 5, 2016
Just a warning here. . .don't read this book late at night when nearly all the lights in the house are off and the wind is making an eerie sound outside your door.
Moving on. . . ;P
Wow. In terms of action and suspense, this is my favorite book in the series so far!
I had my suspicions of what was happening and who was doing what, but. . .wow. Yeah, I was never exactly sure how it would all play out! There were so many people involved, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.
And Quinn was just amazing. And now I'm dying to learn more about Jack. I'm ready to move on the the next book in the series! Thankfully it's waiting for me on my shelf. . . ;)
Profile Image for Mikayla.
1,200 reviews
October 13, 2019
This was one of my favorite O'Malley books yet.

At first, I didn't like Quinn, but as the book went on he grew on me. His gentle way to dealing with Lisa got me.
Lisa was awesome. Her interaction with her siblings was different than any of the others, which was so true to how family works.

The only thing I didn't like was that time skip at the beginning. I really felt like I had missed some very important information there.

Kate's still my favorite O'Malley, but this book is the best. Minimal kissing (My favorite), all the sibling interaction, and Jack, who I am very curious about now.

I'm going to take a little break from these books though, the stress is getting to me. ;)

<<2019 Lissa is one of my favorites, even though her book has one of my least favorite kind of mystery. I love the interaction between the siblings in this book. <3 Despite not kissing much, Quinn and Lissa a more physicality affectionate than I prefer, just with all the leanign into each other and the like.
Profile Image for Andrea Cox.
Author 4 books1,741 followers
February 15, 2017
by Andrea Renee Cox

This is my third or fourth time to read this book. It never grows boring. I love all the O'Malley books, but I find this one especially intriguing with the forensic side of the crimes being highlighted. Then there's a cowboy/marshal from Montana... what can I say? Cowboys and Montana are two things I appreciate. The mystery also is a nail-biter. Took me nearly the entire book to remember who had done the crime. Love it when that happens.
Profile Image for Victoria Lynn.
Author 9 books1,059 followers
March 27, 2017
This one of the series was perhaps a bit more gruesome than the others, perhaps because Lisa O'Malley is a forensic pathologist. But I actually enjoyed the story more than the last one. Quinn is so sweet, and yet real. He reminds me of my dad in so many ways which is why I think I liked him so much. :D
The crime was nail-biting and I loved the subplot of Jennifer's wedding and the other siblings when they cropped up. The O'Malley family is just the best, ok? The best moment of the book was before Jennifer's wedding. I was rolling around in my chair laughing so hard. The way Dee Henderson does such a great job of combining danger, peril, humor, joy, and spiritual insights is just fantastic. I also love how for each book, she takes a specific spiritual struggle or doubt and highlights her characters journey through it and how they found the truth. Excellent writing.

Jesus was good. She'd found her verse, the one she remembered from her childhood, in Psalm 18:19. It was her verse, claimed, and held tight, "he brought me forth into a broad place' he delivered me, because he delighted in me."
She hated to memorize, and the three-by-five card had been plastered to her bathroom mirror to help her out. It was the delighted part that had thrilled her as a child, and as an adult she appreciated it even more. Delight was a powerful word, and yet it could barely do justice in describing the depth of emotions she felt toward God. To know He felt the same about her was priceless.


In short, this book was a good mystery/suspense with Christian influences and clean romance, so if you are into that kind of thing, you will enjoy this!

Warning: It is a bit gruesome at times so I wouldn't recommend it for ages under 16.

Contains:
Profile Image for Maria.
247 reviews
February 9, 2020
Fantastic!! Henderson does it every single time! Words cannot convey how well this whole novel was put together, from the characters to how the plot flowed. Lisa and Quinn's story is the third in the O'Malley family and I fell in love with the whole O'Malley family all over again! Lisa is amazing at what she does and Quinn is one of the best; put them together... they're unstoppable! They complement each other perfectly and bring out the best in each other. The way the story was woven together was also fantastic!! Full of suspense with unexpected twists and turns (which of course I won't tell :) ), I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the book. I have no idea how Henderson does it, but every single time she manages to incorporate such deep themes. This novel was no exception. There are perfect amounts of faith woven in, that it doesn't make it sound preachy but sufficiently explains the topics enough. I normally don't read romantic suspense, I just don't like suspenseful books, but Henderson's books are the only novels that I really enjoy. If I could, I'd give this novel 6 out of 5 stars!! This is a must read novel by and amazing author!! I would very highly recommend it!!
Profile Image for Joleen.
2,661 reviews1,227 followers
August 3, 2018
Lisa O’Malley was the gifted Chicago forensic pathologist in the second book of this series, The Guardian. U.S. Marshal Quinn Diamond, her eldest brother’s partner, was fascinated by her. He was often in Chicago on Marshal business and wanted to have a friend and someone to go to dinner with when he came through.

In this book, The Truth Seeker, Lisa was investigating an arson case. Most clues seem to point to suicide, but certain signs at the burnt home kept running through her mind causing her to question if that assessment was correct.

Because of a terrible accident that had her recuperating for weeks she was placed on a desk job reexamining cold case murders using newer forensic technology in an effort to solve them. Little did she or Quinn realize, one case was related to another case long investigated by Quinn. The murder of his father. Also, little did the O’Malley clan know, it would take nearly all of them to keep her safe as she was digging into something someone else clearly didn’t want her to find.

As in the other books, there is one main character who was unbeliever and one Christian hoping to convince them of the validity of the gospel. Lisa was a hard nut to crack, so to speak, because something in her past, something having to do with Christians had her closed off. She wasn’t going to open up about it, and nothing they could say was budging her. Also, as a forensic pathologist, Lisa O’Malley was not about to believe someone could come back to life after three days, so forget trying to convince her the resurrection was real. But in this book, it wasn’t just one Christian praying for her heart to soften. Three other O’Malleys had come to faith in the last few months and they, along with Quinn wanted to reach the others, especially Lisa as Quinn was getting closer to her than he realized.

Good book. Maybe not my favorite of the series, but still good.
Profile Image for Oceana Reads Co..
954 reviews2,368 followers
July 22, 2020
A little too slow paced for my liking, but the faith in it was nice to see. Detailed and raw.
I’m interested in Jack’s story but I think I’ll take a break.
Profile Image for Crystal.
366 reviews34 followers
April 7, 2024
This was a good mystery! This book follows Lisa and Quinn, and was much, much lighter on the romance than the previous books in the series. It really focused on character development as well as the mystery of multiple murders. Glad I decided to push through and continue with the next book in the series because the romance that had turned me off from the previous books in this series was not written into this one. It was just a good mystery and I really loved Lisa and Quinns deep friendship that developed, and how gentle Quinn was with Lisa, despite how rugged he seemed to be. I will go on to the next book in the series at some point.
Profile Image for Amanda Tero.
Author 28 books544 followers
May 11, 2019
As I read this in the middle of college and a few months ago, I can't write a detailed review. This is probably one of the more intense O'Malley books, and I liked that intensity. Nothing, in particular, stands out in my memory as being unacceptable in romance (I do wish Henderson didn't have quite so many Christians "almost-dating" non-Christians and then the non-Christians conveniently get saved).
Profile Image for Kaitlyn Krispense.
Author 1 book92 followers
February 1, 2021
Favorite of the series so far!

I had the bad guy pegged from the very first time he was introduced...so either the plot was predictable or I'm just getting good at this sleuthing *smirks*

(I'd like to think it's the latter, buuuut who knows? *shrug*)
Profile Image for Leandra.
79 reviews
November 16, 2023
Ik denk dat ik dit het mooiste deel vind tot nu toe. Het verhaal is prachtig en je leert iedereen in het gezin steeds beter kennen!
May 7, 2009
I really loved this story, mostly because I can relate to Lisa. She's a forensic pathologist, what I want to be, and she's very logical. She doesn't want to deal with the living. If her patients are dead, she won't have to worry about them dying. Lisa has a problem with the resurrection. Dealing with death every day has convinced her that people don't just raise from the dead. Ever since Lisa was a baby, she had been in the foster care system. She was with a family that had a boy when she was seven or eight, and she was good friends with the boy, Andy. The family was thinking about adopting her. She couldn't swim at the time. They were at the pool, and Andy was showing off. He hit his head on the bottom of the pool, and Lisa had to watche him die. On top of that, her foster parents ripped the adoption right out from under her. They blamed her. I cried when I read this. Quinn helps her see the truth, and when faced with death, she accepts that the resurrection is true. I absolutely love this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Deidra .
251 reviews38 followers
June 11, 2020
As I continue my re-reading month, I came to this one in the series. Guy, this was my FAVORITE book in high school. I read and re-read it over and over. Lisa is a forensic pathologist. For the longest time, that's what I wanted to do. Rereading the book again, I know why. It was such a cool job to have in spite of the horror of it. She just makes it cool.

Recapping our story quickly, Lisa is a person whose curiosity tends to get her in trouble. As she pursues leads and hunches, she is constantly getting hurt or in dangerous situations. Following closely behind trying to protect her is Quinn. Quinn is my favorite. Montana rancher who duels as a US Marshall, he is dreamy. Age 44 has been good to him, and Lisa is trying to resist his charms.

They find a link in an old case of Lisa's that connects to the reason Quinn can't retire to his ranch. Together, they start to dig in to find connections to a serial killer. It's riveting and sweet and funny. All of the above.

Highly recommend for anyone that likes Christian fiction.
Profile Image for Emily Boyer.
174 reviews
December 13, 2024
2nd review:
This will always be one of my favorites. It’s crazy the details I missed my first time reading it.


Original review:
I would definitely say this was my favorite book so far in the series. The “mystery” was more intense and scary than the others. At least in my opinion. I like how the romance didn’t start off right away in the book. Lisa and Quinn had been friends for a few years prior to the book, but it wasn’t really anything more than friends. Whereas, in the first 3 books, the main people had just met and kinda liked each other right away. So it was cute to see there love unfold. Especially since Lisa isn’t always the happiest person to be around, so I like how Quinn can bring her out of that. I’m sad to see this one come to an end but I definitely recommend it.
994 reviews5 followers
June 1, 2022
This book moved a little slow and Lisa was not my favorite character but it picks up at the end. The spiritual plot is the same as all the others in this series but the suspense plot was a little convoluted. I am not sure I understand everything even now. I did have a few things I suspected early in that turned out to be true but other things that were a bit of a surprise. If you have liked the others in this series then this is just more of the same. The only truly unbelievable part f the book is that there are so many good looking rich single guys out there - that is pure fiction.
Profile Image for Victoria.
328 reviews
January 13, 2018
This is a genre I really enjoy every now and then. I do wonder how often her Christian characters are going to fall for nonbelievers. Apparently, that always works out as long as you pray and affectionately and exclusively not-date them.

"A Christian novel" vt reading challenge 2018
Profile Image for Marsha.
91 reviews1 follower
April 5, 2023
Really enjoying this series! Starting the next book today
Profile Image for megan.
374 reviews29 followers
August 11, 2025
what really dimmed my enthusiasm on this installment was the fact that the love interest had dated or attempted to date every single sister in the family. in addition to that, it doesn't make any sense that he feels strongly about marrying someone within his faith yet constantly pursues women who are not of his faith. the overall plot was pretty convoluted and hard to follow. there's a pattern that has been set up so far in the books following the sisters in the family with a common theme . i dislike repetitive plots in series, so it was disappointing to have this dynamic set up yet again.
Profile Image for Anna |This Curly Girl Reads|.
406 reviews67 followers
January 31, 2024
3.5⭐️ personally 😊 I know I’m in the minority, and I did like aspects of this book, but it wasn’t my fav so far.

Some random thoughts…
📕 The back blurb is a bit misleading and a lot of a spoiler! That was unfortunate! I was anticipating things WAY before they happened because of that.

📕I suspected the culprit pretty early on in the story, but that wasn’t a total loss. It just made more sense as the story went along 😊

📕I enjoyed getting to know Lisa and Quinn. They are both unique people and had a lot of history with pain. Lisa’s faith journey was my favorite part! It was also nice to meet Jack. He seems like a goofball with a soft side so I’m sure his book will be good!

📕One issue I had (minor/potential SPOILER**)Quinn is a Christian and pretty open that he wants to marry someone that shares his faith. However, he dated both Jennifer and Kate when they were unsaved? It had to have been serious enough of a relationship too since Jennifer mentions to Lisa that he was a good kisser😳 For someone like Lisa—who is clearly insecure and also feels her sisters are better than her—that seems like it would have been super confusing. That really rubbed me the wrong way and seemed inconsistent. I think if Jennifer’s mentioning of that had been left out it wouldn’t have been such an issue for me. Again personal opinion, but I don’t think I’d be alone in that.

Serial killer stories aren’t really my jam, so I won’t be rereading this one. In spite of that, I am really enjoying the O’Malleys and their adventures. I look forward to the rest of the series.
2 reviews
March 10, 2012
I really like this series, not as predictable and lacking in imagination or character development as a lot of Christian fiction. The plots are interesting and kept me guessing, but I am also not a mystery buff. There are some aspects that left alot to be desired. I'm on book 4 and only about 6 months have past, so overall 4 huge cases involving arson, kidnapping, witness protection, etc. It would have been better to spread it out over several years. Also, while the questions of faith are deep and interesting considering the troubled pasts of the characters, the resolutions are unrealistically quick. A character who has struggled with an aspect of faith for years is suddenly able to commit in weeks with the help of a relationship. Each book is predictable in that respect. Still, I enjoy the series. The romance can be cheesy, but the characters are easy to like and the mystery in the plots has kept me reading.
Profile Image for Kristi.
118 reviews
October 2, 2008
Not the best book I've ever read. The book before this one and this one were so predictable. I enjoyed the characters, though they seem to be such extremes. Can't anybody in this family just fall in love with somebody with some normalcy-with out live or death experiences? Well I guess it's a thriller whodunit novel. But together all 7 of them to each keep having these experiences is too unrealistic, though their jobs are all dangerous types, I guess that is why the author gets away with it. Maybe it's the combination in each of the novels that is too much for me... life threatening experiences while falling in love with a Christian and ultimately somehow finding Christ at the end of the book. Other than that the book was good.
Profile Image for Tim Chavel.
249 reviews79 followers
March 14, 2015
Excellent book. I've read several of Dee Henderson's books and enjoyed them all. I guess they are really for women, but honestly I enjoy a good story especially when the gospel is incorporated into the story. My Mom actually had just read the book and passed it to me knowing I love to read mysteries. The book is about a family, the O'Malleys, that are not related by blood. They all grew up as foster kids, but became close and decided to change their last name so they could be a family. This book is classified as a romance novel and it does has romance in it but also has mystery. If you enjoy reading Christian fiction you will enjoy all of Dee Henderson's books.
Profile Image for Hannah.
2,852 reviews1,436 followers
December 10, 2015
3.5 stars
Great story! I loved the tale of Lisa, and the case was interesting and kept me guessing.
My only gripe is the continued grammar/punctuation issues–while better than the previous book, still very distracting and often liable to obscure what the author actually meant to express.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 537 reviews

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