Gabriel Thane is a lifetime resident of Carin County and now its sheriff, a job he loves. Gabe is committed to upholding the law and cares deeply for the residents he's sworn to protect. He too would like to find a lifetime companion, a marriage like his parents have. . . .
When Evie arrives in Carin, Illinois, it's to help launch a new task force dedicated to reexamining unsolved crimes across the state. Spearheading this trial run, Evie will work with the sheriff's department on a couple of its most troubling missing-persons cases. As she reexamines old evidence to pull out a few tenuous new leads, she unearths a surprising connection . . . possibly to a third cold case. Evie's determined to solve the cases before she leaves Carin County, and Sheriff Thane, along with his family, will be key to those answers.
It’s been a while since I picked up a Dee Henderson book, I was excited to dive into Traces of Guilt. This is the first book in the Evie Blackwell Cold Case series - and as you might guess, it’s all about digging into those lingering unsolved mysteries.
In this one, Evie heads to a small town in Illinois to take another look at the disappearance of a family - mom, dad, and their 12-year-old son. Right off the bat, I was introduced to a lot of characters, and it took me a minute to keep track of who was who and how they were connected. But once I got into the rhythm, it all started to come together.
The story is labeled as a suspense romance, though honestly, there wasn’t a ton of suspense or romance for me. Still, it was a good read. Most of the characters are involved in law enforcement and some of them definitely gave off vibes like they were hiding something - which kept things interesting.
The pacing was pretty steady, though the ending wrapped up quicker than I expected. There are some side plots sprinkled throughout, which helped keep the story moving. I really appreciated the character development - Evie and Gabriel (plus his big extended family) felt real and relatable, which made me want to keep reading. I’m looking forward to book two, Threads of Suspicion.
I listened to the audiobook through my Everand subscription, it was really well done. If you like crime stories with a personal touch and solid characters, this might be worth adding to your list.
