Fatal Witness by Patricia Bradley Review

 

Fatal Witness by Patricia Bradley is an awesome romantic suspense story. It is the second book in the Pearl River series, but I had not had the chance to read the first book. Thankfully this didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book. From what I was able to tell, the stories themselves don’t interconnect, it’s just the people that were introduced in the first book. Which is one reason I usually prefer to read books in order. Unfortunately my library system was taking forever to get book one to me. So, if relationship spoilers are an issue for you, I recommend reading Counter Attack first.

Moving on to my thoughts on Fatal Witness. The author begins by showing Danielle as a child, at the time when her parents are murdered in their home in Tennessee. It then moves ahead 25 years to when she is living with her uncle Keith in Montana. She now goes by the name Dani, is an artist and potter, and has no memory of her childhood before living with her uncle. She's getting ready to go to some workshops and is the subject in a magazine article where her picture has been printed, against her wishes.

We are then introduced to the elderly Mae Richmond who happens to see Dani’s picture and believes with all her heart that Dani is her missing granddaughter. And we are also introduced to Mae’s neighbor, Mark who is a K-9 officer. So, another plus for this book, there is a cute K-9 animal named Gem, plus Dani’s uncle Keith has a Puli named Lizi who is also well trained and loves being with Dani. We also get to know chief deputy Alex Stone, or if you’ve read the first book, get reacquainted with. I’m assuming more of the officers have also been introduced in the first book.

From the first page this book grabbed my attention and it didn’t let go. Whenever I had the opportunity I was opening up my phone to see what was going on. It was obvious of course that once Dani’s picture was shared, and her grandmother recognized her, that the killer of her parents would be alerted. But who exactly was the killer? Had she seen him when he murdered her parents? Is that why her grandmother and her are now in danger? Will Dani remember the details or will the truth remain in the shadows of her memories? Are there other reasons why the killer is after Dani?

The author did a great job rounding up potential suspects. I was not sure at all who the killer was until around the time when it was revealed. I had my suspicions, but was never quite sure. I loved the mystery of it,  the suspense, and the twists. And I also loved the relationship that was developing between Dani and Mark, and getting to know Mark better. The author did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life and I cared for them and what was happening. And I appreciated the spiritual truths and Bible verse that a couple of the characters use for strength through the trying times. 

Definitely a book I recommend.

I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.