Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Her Second Death by Melinda Leigh

Series: Bree Taggert #.5

Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Source: Publicist in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: Dec. 7th, 2021
Buying Links: Amazon* | * affiliate link; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through this link.

Blurb from goodreads:

In this short-story prequel to the Bree Taggert series by #1 Amazon Charts and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh, a murder investigation yields parallels to the Philly detective’s own frightening past.

When a man is shot in the head, Bree Taggert and her new partner, veteran detective Dana Romano, respond to the call. They break the news to the victim’s ex-wife and learn the estranged couple’s five-year-old daughter was supposed to have been with him. What starts as a murder investigation quickly morphs into a desperate search for a missing child. The case stirs memories of Bree’s own traumatizing childhood. To find the little girl, Bree will have to relive her own terrifying past. 

My Thoughts:

I enjoy the Bree Taggert series and was delighted to have the chance to read it. It's short, under 50 pages, but it's a full story with a murder, a missing child, characterization, and some action. It's a lot in a few pages and a quick read.

The story starts right after Bree has transferred into homicide. She and her new partner pick up a murder case with several suspects. But then they discover the dead man had a child who is now missing. The search for her brings back some bad memories for Bree of her traumatic childhood. That doesn't slow down Bree or her partner as they search for answers.

I did figure out who the killer was but not what happened to the little girl. It was tense, reading about the search and wondering if she was okay. Bit what I really enjoyed in the story was the characterizations; Bree and her partner Dana were well fleshed as were the secondary characters. Their interactions made the story and added depth to it. "Her Second Death" works well as a prequel and intro to Bree and Dana; it'll whet your appetite for the series if you're new to it and give a little background into Bree and Dana if you follow them.

The medical examiner pulled out of the Ford’s interior. “No rigor yet. Livor mortis isn’t fixed yet either. Cold would slow decomp, but he’s relatively fresh. Died very early this morning.” He closed his eyes and his jowly face screwed up as he did the mental math. “Six to eight hours ago, roughly between midnight and two a.m.”

Which matched the times on the surveillance video. “Detective Romano?” Reilly called. “CSU is here.”

As soon as the ME removed the body, the crime scene unit would take over.

“Do we have a next of kin for the victim?” Romano asked.

Reilly nodded. “He’s married to Kelly Tyson.”

“Let’s go notify Mrs. Tyson.” Romano turned back toward their vehicle. Once behind the wheel, she rubbed her palms together, then pulled a pair of leather gloves from her pocket and tugged them on.

In the passenger seat, Bree blew on her freezing hands. Romano peeled away from the curb.

“Wasn’t a robbery.” Bree rolled the facts around in her head. “They left cash in Tyson’s wallet. Also, they didn’t take the car. Drug deal gone sour?”

“We have no idea what happened, other than a guy got shot.”

“You don’t like any of those theories?” Bree asked.

Romano shot her a direct look. “I like evidence, not theories.” 

*****

About Melinda ~

#1 Amazon Charts and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. Melinda’s debut novel, She Can Run, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. She’s garnered numerous writing awards, including two RITA nominations. Her other novels include She Can Tell, She Can Scream, She Can Hide, and She Can Kill in the She Can series; Midnight Exposure, Midnight Sacrifice, Midnight Betrayal, and Midnight Obsession in the Midnight novels; Hour of Need, Minutes to Kill, and Seconds to Live in the Scarlet Falls series; Say You’re Sorry, Her Last Goodbye, Bones Don’t Lie, What I’ve Done, Secrets Never Die, and Save Your Breath in the Morgan Dane series; and the Bree Taggert novels, Cross Her Heart, See Her Die, Drown Her Sorrows, and Right Behind Her. She holds a second-degree black belt in Kenpo karate, has taught women’s self-defense, and lives in a messy house with her family and a small herd of rescue pets. For more information, visit www.melindaleigh.com.

Find Melinda Online ~

Website: https://melindaleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melindaleighauthorpage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaLeigh1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melindaleigh1/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5141609.Melinda_Leigh

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