Tracks of Her Tears

Tracks of her Tears by Melinda Leigh – A Rogue Winter Novella is a 2015 Montlake publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It is the holiday season in Solitude, Oregon, but it's anything but merry and bright. When Carly's brother, Bruce goes missing and his girlfriend is found murdered, it's up to Seth, to solve the case and keep his family safe.

It seems like it's been a long time since I have touched base with this series, so I was happy to see a pair of novellas coming out this month- this one from Melinda Leigh and “Dead in Her Tracks” By Kendra Elliot.

This story reunites us with Seth and Carly, who are back together and making their marriage the top show more priority is their lives now. But, when Bruce's girlfriend is found murdered, they find it hard to find balance in their personal lives, especially when a young child is left without parents.

This is one action packed story, though, a little gritty, and pretty realistic as the author showcases just how dumb criminals can be and the horrible consequences of their actions.

I was happy to touch base with Seth and Carly, and am thankful that this couple are working things out, and that for once, Seth didn't get on my last nerve. He is really coming along, and showed that he can stick to his guns when it comes to trusting his wife and letting her do her job, just like he has to do his. The pair actually worked together on this one and make a pretty darned good team, if you ask me.

While the circumstances are sad for many concerned, there is a bright ray of light that we see shining through in the end and it looks like Carly, Seth and Brianna will have a very Merry Christmas! show less

Tracks of Her Tears by Melinda Leigh is the first Romantic Suspense novella in the Rogue Winter series. I read the second one first and I can see how the two link together. All the characters were introduced in the Rogue River series, but I have not read any of them. I did not have any problem following the story and the characters were actually developed well considering this was a novella. This is a collaboration between Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot. The second novella in the series is authored by Kendra Elliott.

The story revolves around the murder of a woman who is the girlfriend of Bruce. Bruce is the brother of social worker Carly Taylor who is married to the county investigator, Seth Harding. Carly's family is extremely close show more knit and with this story taking place at Christmas time, they become involved in the situation. This novella had everything I look for in a story even though it was quite short. The characters are well developed, the plot is fast paced and the mystery keeps you guessing to the end. I enjoyed this book and now need to check out the Rogue River Series. show less

What a surprise!

I'm pretty sure in the description this was supposed to be a novella but it absolutely doesn't read like one. It has just the right mix of everything. I never felt overwhelmed by the number of characters nor did I feel like I needed more depth. Completely worth checking out. I will admit that I read this out of curiosity as Amazon touted this as one of their "Kindle in Motion" books. I think at times it was distracting, but I finally learned to ignore that aspect of the book. I did enjoy it on the cover because it has snow falling.

I have been reading a lot of shorter pieces lately. When I saw this novella, it just appealed to me for some reason. It turned out to be a pretty decent little read. I have had a really hard time deciding if it is a 3 star or a 4 star read but I am feeling generous right now so I am just going to go with the 4 stars. I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the end of this piece and didn't find a huge cliffhanger. I had made the assumption that this story would continue in the next novella. This novella probably really earns that bonus star just for wrapping everything up for me.

This story revolves around a mystery involving Seth and Carly's family. Seth, the local detective, is called to investigate a murder but quickly learns that he show more actually knows the victim. The victim is actually his brother-in-law's girlfriend so she is practically family. It turns out the the brother-in-law, Bruce, is also missing. Seth works to find the killer and Bruce. He asks his wife, Carly, to deal with the murder victim's infant daughter since she is a social worker.

I really liked the characters in this story. They just seemed like real people that have to deal with their family, their jobs, and all the problems that go with it. The secondary characters were well done and I thought that they added a lot to the story. I did like Seth and Carly a lot more when they were in mystery solving mode. When the story tried to be romantic, I really just found it to be overly mushy without adding anything to the plot. This novella almost looses that 4th star for all the mushy scenes but once again, I am feeling generous.

There were a few twists and turns as well as a couple of pretty exciting moments thrown into the story. I thought that the mystery was surprisingly complex for such a short piece. The conclusion to the story was really very believable which is a huge plus. The pacing was well done with the exception of a couple of mushy moments that seemed to stall the story. I did expect some romantic scenes but the ones in this piece felt forced and rather out of place. The use of multiple narratives worked well in this piece with each part adding to the story.

I would recommend this novella to fans of romantic suspense. This is the perfect story to grab if you are looking for a shorter piece that can be read in a short amount of time. This is the first time that I have read Melinda Leigh's work but I will definitely be looking for her books in the future. I can't wait to read the second novella in this series.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Amazon Publishing - Montlake Romance via NetGalley for the purpose of providing an honest review.

This review was also posted at Carole's Random Life. http://carolesrandomlife.blogspot.com/ show less

Tracks of Her Tears is book 1 in the Rogue Winter series, a set of novellas written by Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot. The main characters were first introduced in the Rogue Rivers series. But Tracks of her Tears can be read as a standalone, as there is a new mystery to be solved here. However, for more background on the characters, read the Rogue Rivers series because it's good! In this novella, we are reunited with Seth and Carly. Carly's brother Bruce is missing, and Bruce's girl-friend is found murdered. It is a very quick and entertaining read that has more suspense than romance. I love all of the Taylor family and their interactions. Melinda Leigh just knows how to write suspenseful stories with likable characters. She never show more disappoints. Thank you to the author and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. show less

Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot team up again to bring us more of the Taylor family and the trouble that keeps coming to Rogue River.

Roughly seven months have past and Seth and Carly along with their daughter have settled back into being a family. Seth has left the Drug Task Force is now working as a county investigator on the Major Crimes team. When he's called to the scene of a murder he is shocked to find the victim is his wife's younger brother's girlfriend which leads to realizing that Bruce is also missing.

It was nice being back with the Taylor family. Each one of them is unique in their own way and I love their momma Patsy who is a force to be reckoned with when her family is threatened. As with the other books in this series show more the mystery/murder/suspense that starts in Melinda's book isnt fully solved/concluded until Kendra's (or vice versa).

I've enjoyed all the books from these two author's separately for years and was excited when they teamed up to write the Rogue River series and even more excited to see they were going to team up again to give us more of Carly Taylor and Seth (Melinda) and Stevie Taylor and Zane (Kendra) along with a new murder/mystery to be solved.

(ps.. its so hard to write separate reviews for these two books as they are closely connected. Bottom line I really liked both books and hope we get more stories from these two about the Taylor family) show less

Kindle in motion

This was my first time reading a kindle in motion book. I like the videos and graphics. The storyline was solid and suspenseful. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.