This is the first book in the Columbia River series, first off Zander Wells, he was the reason I chose this book to read, as my son’s name is Zander and it is an unusual spelling.
At the very beginning, I was reeled in and I could not put the book down.
A murder case from twenty years ago where someone was charged was done and dusted, until now when it happens again, the same kind of MO, does lightning strike twice?
Apart from the murders and the investigation, there was more to the book, there was romance and a lot of other stuff including diversity in a small town.
Now this book left me guessing and kept me wanting to read more. It was written well and I liked both Zander and Ava’s characters.
I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series. ( )

This one started out strong, but I lost interest. At one point, I didn't really care who the murderer was. Granted, my mood could have played a part in this... The narration was wonderful! ( )

Really liked this author ( )

I read a good number of crime novels each year. I can safely say this is the worst I've ever picked up.

I don't say this lightly, and the only reason I made it through to the end was a natural stubbornness and the belief that with so many positive reviews/ratings that I must be missing something. I don't think I am; I think it truly is wretched.

There was something about this novel that read like a first publication. So much of what a reader would normally infer is made explicit in italicized "thoughts" from either the paper-doll characters or the narration itself. It's dreck.

I've seen soap opera episodes with more depth, and in which more happens than this handfull of piss standing in for a crime novel. Characters don't talk like they talk in "The Last Sister," but then maybe that's what happens when nothing happens for a couple hundred pages. You speak to fill the void, to fill the pages, to do anything but think of how cliched the very name "Zander" is.

Scooby Doo mysteries are better plotted that this one. At least with Scooby Doo and the gang, there is some connection to the unmasked baddy and the mysterious situation that starts the cartoon. No clues here, no indication of the final "answer" to the mystery. Only truly unsympathetic characters brooding around a town that is apparently a couple of streets wide, falling in love with each other because why not? We have pulses, don't we? And we just know that Zander cares deeply, because a character thought it that one time. No need for any of the characters to show development through actions. That would get in the way of all the pointless glowering.

The ending of this novel is hilariously bad. A character that was virtually absent the entire novel suddenly is responsible for everything. Racist parents are given some kind of history re-write, I think, but then who can really tell. The bad guy breaks under questioning from "Zander" because I guess his unspoken indignation in the narrative at that point was just so dripping? How did this get published?

There's no one to blame but myself. I should have quit this one waaay earlier. I was looking for any excuse to avoid reading this at night that all I can think of is the last book I wanted to read before I die will likely have to go unread because I was too stubborn to put this collection of cliches and fan fiction prose back into the hell from which it came. Not recommended. ( )

This is my first Kendra Elliot book and it definitely wont be my last!!

Although this is the first book in the new Columbia River series, I figured that some of the characters might be spin offs from other series, but that didn't affect my reading in any way.

Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever.

The killer was caught and the case was closed but it destroyed the family of Mills sisters forever.

But now twenty years later, when Emily finds her friend Lindsay and her husband Sean murdered in a similar fashion, it brings back memories that she never wants to remember.

FBI Agents Zander Wells and his partner, Ava McClane are called to investigate this double homicide. But then the question arises-Is it a murder-suicide as determined by the local sheriff? A racially motivated crime? Or is it connected to a Emily Mills father's murder?

It was a great suspense thriller that had me hooked on right till the end. I liked how this book was about past meets present type, wherein deeply buried family secrets are finally revealed and solved.

All the characters were amazing and it made an enjoyable read. I'm looking forward to read the next book in the series! ( )