Drown Her Sorrows

I am enjoying digging into this police procedural series that has a nice balance of hunting the bad guys in a small town and the complicated family dynamics, emotional baggage and professional life of Sheriff Bree Taggart.

In this third book of the series, we see growth in Bree as she adjusts to her new personal and professional lives and learns to ask for help and finds balance in her chaotic life. I love that there are no quick fixes for Bree and that we see her natural growth in all areas of her life - including Bree learning to let her guard drop bit by bit - particularly with Matt and even his canine partner, Brody. Ahhh, Brody, I love ya.

The Gist: A car is found abandoned on an old bridge and the body of a woman is found floating at the base of the waterfall. Is it suicide? Murder? Who is this woman? Secrets, lies and more lies!

While the police procedural/suspense aspect is great, the secondary cast is part of the reason I keep coming back to this series. I love all the strong female characters and enjoyed that Matt's sister Cady has a bigger role in this book and hope that Bree's BFF Dana gets more page time soon. Melinda Leigh fans may recognize Stella and Morgan Dane, characters from another series by this author who make an appearance in this book.

Readers may have to suspend disbelief with the big reveal, but Leigh provides readers with good misdirection and some wonderfully tense action scenes to keep readers turning 'just one more page'. 

Suspenseful, compelling and tense scenes are balanced with solid and believable character development, and even a titch of slow burn romance making this a series that will appeal to many readers. I cannot wait to dig into more books from this author.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Melinda Leigh

Genre: Suspense

Series: 3rd in Bree Taggart

Type and Source: ebook, personal copy

Publisher: Montlake

First Published: March 16, 2021

Read: Oct 5 - 7, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: Sheriff Bree Taggert is blindsided by a killer’s devious plan in number one Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s novel of escalating shock and suspense.

When Sheriff Bree Taggert discovers the body of a young woman floating near the bank of the Scarlet River, a note in her abandoned car suggests suicide. The autopsy reveals a different story. Holly Thorpe was dead long before she dropped off the bridge and hit the water.

As Bree and her investigator Matt Flynn delve into the case, secrets in Holly’s personal life complicate their efforts to solve the murder. Holly left behind a volatile marriage, an equally divisive relationship with her sister, and an employer whose intimate involvement with Holly was no secret. Each one has a motive for murder.

When Holly’s sister is terrorized by a stalker’s sick prank, and the prime suspect turns up dead, everything Bree was sure of is upended and her case goes off the rails. When the killer strikes close to home, Bree and Matt must race to solve the murders before one of their own becomes the next victim.