Searching for Evidence

Saving Kelby Creek #2

by Tyler Anne Snell

Looking for answers
…they uncover a deadly plan.

When he takes a job to prove himself, fate introduces Deputy Marco Rossi to Bella Greene—a small-town beauty terrorized by a mysterious stalker. By nature the handsome lawman is a professional loner working 24/7 with armor around his heart. But as they discover clues leading to the truth, crucial evidence must take priority over the feelings suddenly breaking through his walls.

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Harlequin

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 8, 2021

About the author

Tyler Anne Snell spends her days plotting murders, creating mysteries, and weaving sexual tension, romance, and can't-live-without-you love throughout each. When she isn't writing romantic suspense she's reading urban fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and falling even more in love with Netflix.

Tyler lives in South Alabama with her same-named husband, their mini lions, and a burning desire to meet Kurt Russell.

Visit her: www.tylerannesnell.com

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelby Creek is still suffering the aftereffects of "The Flood," the name given to the exposure of the corruption discovered in the town's government and law enforcement two years earlier. What's left of the sheriff's department is determined to regain the town's trust. The department's newest hire, Deputy Marco Rossi, has his reasons for choosing Kelby Creek while keeping his heart closely guarded.

The suspense starts quickly before Marco has officially started working when he comes across Bella broken down on the side of the road. Though taken by her beauty, the fear in her eyes as he approached got his attention. Marco won my heart immediately with his sensitivity to her anxiety and willingness to work with it. Bella's first worry when she saw the stranger was whether he was the author of the messages she'd been receiving. She relaxed a little after seeing his badge but remained wary.

Marco didn't see Bella again for two weeks, though he couldn't stop thinking about her. Not only was he attracted to her, something about her situation that day had been niggling at his instincts. So when he saw her at the local bar, he decided to ask her about it. Unfortunately, before he could do that, he stuck his foot in his mouth over one of her building projects. Bella was a little quick to take offense, and heated words were exchanged. They were interrupted by Marco's partner as a call came in they had to answer, leaving his question unasked. Eventually, Marco got his answer, but it left him feeling that something was off.

The suspense heats up when Bella gets another one of the creepy messages - this time on her bathroom mirror. Around the same time, Marco becomes the victim of a hit-and-run driver, and the reader discovers the connection between the two. The intensity ramps up as the stalker escalates his attempts to get his hands on Bella. Meanwhile, Marco is equally determined to keep Bella safe and find the stalker. I loved following his investigation as he and his partner and Bella dig into her past to see who has it in for her. I was glued to the pages to see if my suspicions were correct, though it took a couple of unexpected twists before I found out. The final confrontation was a nail-biter, and I was on the edge of my seat as I waited to see how it turned out. I loved Bella's strength of will and her faith that Marco would come.

I enjoyed the development of the romance between Marco and Bella. Because of his past, Marco keeps his heart closely guarded. He dates but ends relationships before they can get serious. Something about Bella gets past his walls from the beginning. Their relationship gets off to a slightly rocky start thanks to Bella's oversensitivity about being a woman in a male-dominated profession. Fortunately, both retain their senses of humor and can move past that awkwardness. Marco surprises himself when he shares things about his past that he's always kept to himself. Despite her initial tendency to jump to conclusions about him, it doesn't take long for Bella to realize that she can trust Marco. I liked watching the attraction build between them as they spent more time together, and Marco's protectiveness became more personal. There are a couple of fun scenes where his protectiveness runs up against Bella's independence and stubbornness, and Marco learns which battles are worth fighting. I loved the ending and seeing how well they understand and support each other and the love that made it possible.

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Romantic Suspense, Crime Thriller, Police Procedural Mystery & Detective
Miniseries
The Saving Kelby Creek Series (Book #2)

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Romantic Suspense, Crime Thriller, Police Procedural Mystery & Detective
Miniseries
The Saving Kelby Creek Series (Book #2)

[Roberta Abt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to put down. Great intense action.

Great intense investigation and action. Love all the characters as they come to realize love and the strength of family in time of crises

[Jacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella was a sweet heart.
Kinda boring beginning

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong plot, but felt the story should have been fleshed out a bit more. It read like an abridged version.

[Colleen Coughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to see multiple storylines unfolding. Good lead-in but about a third of the way I began to suspect how the main mystery would resolve - the secondary storyline did surprise me.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is a stand alone book there are a lot of references to a previous town tragedy that may or may not have been the plot to the previous book in this series, however the plot of this book is fairly self contained. I was convinced I'd figured out who the bad guy was when an off handed reference was made about the heroine's high school boyfriend, but that was the first red herring used to throw readers off as to the true identity of the stalker. The big reveal did feel a little out of left field for me but it kept me reading because I wanted to figure out how it all made sense.

If reading about stalking is triggering for you I do not recommend reading this book as the level of stalking the heroine experiences increases as the book progresses including invasion of her home.