Cross Her Heart

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S CROSS HER HEART ABOUT?
Bree Taggert is a homicide detective in Philadelphia. She's successful enough, has a great partner, and is able to generally keep her personal demons in their place.

And she has more demons than most—her abusive father killed her mother and then himself with Bree and her two siblings nearby. She was raised by a demanding aunt while her brother and sister were raised by their grandparents, who couldn't handle their older sibling.

Then Bree's sister, Erin, is murdered. Erin's estranged husband, Jason, is the prime suspect and is missing. Erin's body was discovered by Matt, Jason's friend. Before a shooting left him unable to work, he'd been a detective show more and a K-9 officer for the local sheriff's office. He's not in law enforcement anymore, but he still has the experience—his knowledge of Jason and his experience tell him that Jason's innocent. He just needs to prove it.

Recent events have left the department without a sheriff, and while the Chief Deputy seems to be a good cop, he's not much of an investigator—recognizing this, he's willing to work with Erin and Matt, assuming they share information with him. He knows he won't stop them from looking into things, so he might as well profit from it.

Bree wants someone to pay for the murder, so does Matt, but he wants his friend to be safe, too. The question is—will both of them be able to achieve their goals?

FASTEST WAY TO MAKE ME A FAN...
...is to include a dog. More and more I find myself a sucker for a strong canine presence, and Leigh delivers one here. On top of an already compelling read, that's just icing on the cake.

As I said, Matt was a K-9 officer before his shooting. His dog, Brody, left the department with him. Brody's a steady presence throughout the novel—Matt has to leave him home (or with Erin's niece) frequently, but he's still around, helping. Matt's sister runs a rescue shelter, too, and so there are plenty of dogs around.

They're all depicted as helpful—both for in the hunt for Jason and the killer, but also in helping Erin's kids cope with their mother's death and some of the other things going on around them. This is done in just the way I'd like to read it.

THE PILOT EPISODE
Even if I didn't know that there were three books in this series already (and, I assume, more on the way), I'd have known more Bree Taggert books were intended to follow this. The title/subtitle might as well have been "The Pilot Episode." Sure, the emphasis of this novel is finding the murderer and possibly clearing Erin's estranged husband, but it's also about setting up the series.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, really. I'm just describing things.

Story beat after story beat you could just feel "oh, this is happening to establish this character/idea/etc. so we can revisit it later/in every book" or "this is going to play out for a while" or "this is how this relationship is going to be set up." It eliminates a bit of suspense from the book, but just a bit. And there's always the chance the reader's wrong about thinking something/someone is safe.

FOOL ME ONCE
Early on—partially due to the pilot-y nature of the book, partially due to the way Leigh started the book, partially due to hubris—I was convinced I knew all the major plot points, how they'd be resolved, how the reveals would happen, who the killer was, what the ramifications of various events would be and what new status quo would be set up for the series.

And for most of the book, I was either right or I gathered more evidence for my ideas. The key word is "most." I'm not going to say exactly when Leigh started proving me wrong, but it was somewhere in the last quarter of the book. Boy howdy, was I wrong. At least about the two or three most significant storylines—overall, I think I'd give myself a B for predictions. But the things I was wrong about? I was very, very wrong about them.

I love that. She didn't cheat—everything was right there for the reader to pick up and interpret the clues as they should be interpreted, but Leigh did it in such a way that you'd think I'd never read a mystery novel before.

So, she got me this time-I'll watch for her next time.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT CROSS HER HEART?
So, if I was so confident I knew what was going to happen, why did I keep reading? Because something about the way Leigh wrote this kept me from stopping. I can't point to any one thing (or handful), but this book got its hooks in me and wouldn't let go. I'd planned on reading a chapter or three just to dip my toes in the water one night—and ended up reading just shy of 100 pages! I gave serious consideration to just bailing on sleep until I finished, too.

While a good hook, an original idea/take on an idea, or a type of character no one's thought of before are great to get you into a book. It's the execution of an idea that keeps you reading (and coming back for more). And Cross Her Heart is well-executed. I'd like to be able to point out one or three things she's doing that makes it work so well, but I can't. She's got some sort of alchemy going on here, and I just couldn't stop reading.

I like this world that she's established, and see a lot of promise for this kind of series with these characters and this setting*. I'm in for at least the next two books—give this a shot and I think you'll be sticking around for more too.

* I didn't have time or space to get into the way that Leigh weaves the personal and family stories into the mystery, but I really appreciated that too, and think it'll be a strength of future books. Hopefully, I can address it more fully soon. show less

The title intrigued me to read the description and I was drawn to read a novel featuring a female veteran Philadelphia homicide detective. I read the 1st sentence with the action continuing to escalate and I was immediately hooked. That was then.

Detective Bree Taggert misses a call from her younger sister Erin. Erin is not answering her cell phone after leaving a voicemail for help. Erin sounded scared and the unusual behavior induces Erin to pack a bag and drive to upstate New York. Why did Erin call? Now Erin isn’t answering her phone or Bree’s voicemail. Why?

Melinda Leigh has written a compelling story. What an introduction to this author’s writing! The novel is a page-turning combination of thriller, mystery, and romantic show more suspense. The action never stops racing against time with cliffhangers and twists as the impact of the past affects the present. The dialogue is realistic. The emotions of the characters are relatable without being sappy. With a retired K-9 dog that hasn’t forgotten any of his training, rescue dogs, humor, and romantic sparks at just the right places I couldn't stop reading.

I must continue reading this series! show less

‘Cross Her Heart‘ is the first book in a ten-book crime series about Bree Tagget, a PPD Detective with a notoriously traumatic childhood who comes home to the small upstate New York town she was raised in when her sister is murdered.

The opening scene almost made me put the book aside. It had eight-year-old Bree making a 911 call while trying to hide her two younger siblings from her enraged and violent father who is beating up their mother. It was tough to take and I wasn't happy seeing this scenario, no matter how realistic, being used to furnish a detective character with a unique backstory.

I stuck with the book because it was well-written and I quite liked the grown-up Philidelphia Police Department Bree who I met in the next show more chapter, chasing down a bad guy.

I'm glad I stuck with the book because I had a good time with it and it's made me keen to read more of the series. It wasn't that anything in the novel was terribly original but it was entertaining and well-written. The storytelling was focused. The narrative had a strong forward motion but didn’t feel too brisk. The emotions were strong and the situations were dark.

Bree didn’t feel real to me at the start, she was all police officer and no personality, but that changed when she went home. I soon became as interested in finding out more about her as I was in seeing the murder mystery unfold.

The plot is a nice balance of mystery and thriller, with more action than puzzle-solving. The solution to the mystery was a little convoluted but it worked and it kept me entertained,

The investigation was made more interesting because neither Bree nor the retired-due-to-on-the-job-trauma-that-he's-still-working-through-local-detective -Sheriff had any jurisdiction. It didn't hurt that the retired police officer had a retired police dog at his side. Instalove was avoided, real families were involved and the people were easy to believe in. I liked that the action scenes were vivid and intense.

The novel ended in a way that resolved the mystery and laid the groundwork for the rest of the series. I'm already looking forward to reading the next book, 'See Her Die'. show less

Melinda Leigh is a new author for me and I don't know why I haven't found her before now. This book was a roller coaster ride that I couldn't put down until the end. I'm happy to see that this is book 1 of a new series because Bree Taggrt is a character that I want to read about again. She's a kickass homicide investigator who has a lot of empathy for everyone around her.

Bree Taggert is a Philadelphia homicide detective working on a case when she receives a text from her sister asking for help. Bree, her sister Erin and her brother Adam all had a violent upbringing because they knew that their Dad beat their mother until it all ended with a murder suicide that changed their lives forever. As Bree drives 5 hours to her sister - which is show more also the town she grew up that is full of bad memories . When she arrives, she finds out that her sister is dead. The police are convinced that the murderer is Erin's husband Justin and Bree agrees until she meets Matt, Justin's best friend, a former police officer, who is convinced that Justin is innocent. The problem is that Justin has disappeared and they need to find him to solve this crime.
Bree and Matt decide to wok together to try to find Justin but they soon become aware that there is someone out there who wants to keep Bree from finding out the answers and his secrets put Bree into great danger.

I loved the characters in Cross her Heart especially Bree. The plot slowly unravels and will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out who killed Erin. I am thrilled that this is the first book in a new series and look forward to spending more time with these characters. show less

Cross Her Heart was a really good page turner that fit my reading mood perfectly. I was in the mood for a book that would keep me reading and unable to set down - and that's exactly what this book did! I've been struggling to really concentrate lately with everything that's going on in the world so I needed a book like this that helped keep my mind off of everything. Because let me tell you that this book starts off fast paced and that didn't stop until the very end. One of the things that surprised me about this book is how dark it was and how much of a role grief played in this novel. I feel like you don't always get to see the effects of grief in a mystery like we did in this book. It really gave this book a realistic feel that I show more couldn't help but appreciate. I also liked how this book kept me guessing throughout the book. I didn't have a clue on how everything was going to turn out until I was actually supposed to know. This book begins a new series but the ending wrapped everything up perfectly. I couldn't help appreciating the fact that there were just a few new questions that were left that I'm hoping we will get answers to in future books. I will definitely be continuing on with this series, that's for sure!

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book and am excited to have found this author! She's got another series for me to check out while I wait for the next book in this series to release which has me happy. I love finding new mystery authors to follow especially because that seems to be all I want to read lately. I need ALL of the mystery recommendations at this point. I think that readers that enjoy mysteries, suspense, and even those romantic suspense readers would enjoy this one. There isn't a romance in this book BUT there are hints that one might be forming in future books which I am definitely here for. Recommended!

Bottom Line: A solid beginning to this new mystery series! I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. Honest thoughts are my own. show less

A homicide detective’s violent family history repeats itself in this novel of murder, secrets, and retribution.
This is the first book I have read by this author, and I will diffidently be looking forward to more. This story is filled with twists and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat right up until the last sentence on the last page. The characters are captivating, and the mystery will have you guessing. There is also a potential romance between the main characters of Bree and Matt. I didn’t know who the bad guy actually was until the very end...and it's a shocker....and I was wrong. This...the first book in the Bree Taggart series, introduces us to a host of wonderful players. We meet and get to know Philadelphia show more Detective Bree Taggert. a bit of history. The year was 1993, in Gray’s Hollow, New York. Bree was 8 years old, her sister, Erin was 4, and baby brother, Adam was less than a year old when their abusive father was having a "knock down drag out" fight with their mother; a fight that really scared Bree, especially when she saw the gun pointed at her mother's head. She grabbed baby Adam and Erin and ran with them from the house. It was the dead of winter in New York, but the children hid under the steps and heard the shot that killed her mother then the shot that killed their father. Since that night she has never been back. Then when she receives a desperate call from her sister Erin, Bree returns... armed with the determination to now find her sister’s killer. Readers will like Bree. She’s strong, relatable, and determined. As we get to know more about her and her tragic family, I found I was sympathizing and rooting for them. These characters are as much of where the author shines, as the story itself is. Melinda Leigh has created these people that can stand on their own but also know when they need to take a helping hand. I'm really looking forward to more of this series. show less

Cross Her Heart
4 Stars

As a child, Bree Taggert and her siblings were witnesses to the horrific murder-suicide of their parents. Now a Philadelphia homicide detective, Bree returns home to Grey's Hollow after the fatal shooting of her sister for which her estranged husband is the prime suspect. Has history repeated itself or is something more sinister in play?

Series note: This book takes place in the same world as Leigh's Scarlet Falls and Morgan Dane series. There are minor references to characters and events, but these are not related to the current mystery.

While there are several plot and character similarities to Leigh's Scarlet Falls series, there are enough original elements and the mystery is well-written with engaging characters. show more

Bree and Matt are very likable and the hints at a future romance between them are intriguing. The inclusion of the dog characters is, of course, an added bonus.

In terms of the mystery, it is possible to identify the culprit as there are sufficient clues. Nevertheless, the police procedural aspects are entertaining and their are some exciting action scenes and a satisfying resolution.

Finally, Christina Traister's narration of the audiobook is very good, and I look forward to continuing with the series. show less