Review: A Deadly Truth – Joyce Proell

A man obsessed, a woman willing to risk it all…

Tainted in the eyes of Victorian society by his wife’s suicide, successful entrepreneur Doyle Flanagan turns a deaf ear to the baseless gossip and harsh rebukes. Ignoring his shattered reputation, he goes about his business making money, doing some good for others and making a few enemies along the way. Arrested for murder, he is forced to rely on a feisty school administrator to solve the puzzle. As he struggles to prove his innocence, he realizes gaining the trust and loyalty of Cady Delafield may be more important than his freedom.

On a quest to locate a missing student, school matron Cady Delafield enters a stranger’s house and discovers the woman murdered. Driven to see the murderer brought to justice, she is determined to prevent any further tragedy even if it means joining forces with the very man accused of the atrocity. Against the wishes of her powerful family, she risks her job and reputation to learn the truth. But will the truth, once revealed, drive her away from the man she has come to love?

Passion and murder collide in 1880’s Chicago as they race to keep one step ahead of the police who want Doyle to pay for his crime. As the attraction between Cady and Doyle sizzles, they battle suspicions, lies and lethal actions to uncover the murderer before he destroys them both.

Series: A Cady Delafield Mystery #1
Release Date: July 1st 2013
Publisher: Champagne Books
Source: Provided by Author / Publisher via Manic Readers
Reviewer: Karon
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

I was interested  in reading this book because of the blurb- curious socialite running a school for girls meets brooding widower suspected of murder.  It’s an intriguing premise but the execution falters. Arcadia meets Doyle Flannagan under the worst of circumstances; she finds the body of one of her students in his front room. He pleads his innocence but he is suspected of murdering his late wife so no one in acceptable society or on the police force believes his claims. Cady however, isn’t convinced he’s a cold blooded killer.  When another one of her students turns up dead and evidence points to Doyle they team up, reluctantly of course, to solve the mystery.  Overall the story is a sweet one and there is enough tension in the plot to hold the reader’s interest.

There are a few stumbles along the way.  Doyle’s various relationships with secondary characters tend to pop up out of nowhere then are dropped or too neatly tied up. For instance his father makes a brief appearance in the middle of the book but does nothing to advance the plot. Cady and Doyle’s growing romance has no real build up. She vacillates a bit about whether he’s the right type of guy but not for too long. Doyle, while a stronger character, appears to change midway through the novel as if the author got tired of the brooding hero. I would read this book more for the murder mystery than for the romance and that is a shame because the potential for a really great romance using these two characters is amazing.