User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Let my tagged bookshelf speak for itself. This book was a letdown. I have, yet again, given a highly ranked book a negative rating. The author did herself no favours by trying to do everything and not borrowing from better books in the genre.
I am going to avoid this author's books from now on. Book 3 was very good. But now I cannot side myself along with the fans. To add insult to the injury of reading this book - a quick read - I felt so numb that I did not even try to solve the mystery. It was there for the taking.
The worse thing you can do in a murder mystery is to appoint a character as witness to the crime and let that character alive and well and under the noses of the investigators all this time. Also I usually embrace dialogues of everyone in the book having the same tone and syntax. After all, I grew up as a cozy mystery reader foremost. But here I thought the book was far from being sharp and realistic.
There were better things here, though. The problem with that is the good things are all in the same one chapter. The carnival, Kayla being cute and carefree, her little scare (trying not to give spoilers here), the flirting between sidelined and minor characters, everything good here was in one chapter.
I wonder how many fans of the series felt the scales falling from their eyes. They must number in significant digits. I would have continued with this series if I had more time and if there were competent lending e-book libraries where I live. But now I conclude with the wry feeling that this cute setting is not worth reading purely for engaging in it. I have not had enough, but I am doing the sensible thing.
Rating: really liked it
Right Behind Her (Bree Taggert #4)
By Melinda Leigh
If you’ve read any of the first three Bree Taggert books, you know that she has struggled since her parents died in a murder/suicide twenty-seven years ago when she was eight. Her father’s evil ways have helped form her into the woman she is today, strong, loving, honest, but hesitant to trust enough to form a relationship with a man.
When her sister died, she returned to her hometown to raise her sister’s children and is now the county sheriff. Her brother, Adam, who was an infant when his parents died, has always craved a family connection. When he buys their old, abandoned family home in a bid to find that connection, it is no wonder that Bree is concerned.
She goes with him to face her fears and see the house she hasn’t seen in twenty-seven years. Of course, things go south from there. They find an intruder hiding in the barn who attacks Bree and is ultimately arrested. Then they find old bones on the property belonging to a man and woman who were murdered in a gruesome way thirty years ago, perhaps by her father.
This is a fast-moving story with many suspects, but I had no trouble keeping up. This is an exciting story that had me suspecting just about everyone. There is a little bit of romance here as Bree learns to trust the ever-dependable Matt, but the true story is the crazy, heart-pounding race to find the killer or killers.
My thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the chance to read this exciting book in exchange for my honest opinion. I gave it four stars!
Publication Date: 9/14/21
Rating: really liked it
Right Behind Her was another excellent addition to the
Bree Taggert series with an intriguing case connected to Bree's family.
Twenty-seven years ago, Sheriff Bree Taggert's father killed her mother and then himself. In the years since, Bree has avoided the old farm the family called home. When her younger brother Adam requests her assistance at the property, Bree goes to help only for the pair to find human bones on the property. As the investigation reveals the victims were murdered thirty years ago, Bree is forced to confront her past with her deceased father now a suspect. But the more Bree digs into the case, the more clear it becomes that someone else was involved and they'll stop at nothing to prevent Bree from uncovering their identity.
Right Behind Her opens with Bree and Adam on the farm where Bree reveals details from their life back then as Adam was too young to remember. While on the property, the two discover a trespasser who then flees causing Bree to chase him which ultimately leads to the discovery of the bones. From there, the investigation picks up speed and several prominent families in town are connected to the case. This causes Bree some issues as she isn't willing to sweep things under the rug the way the previous sheriff did. During the investigation, Bree gets a lead that sends her to Sharp Investigations and we get to see a character from the
Morgan Dane series. I really enjoyed that series so I liked getting to see an old favorite character. Ultimately the case goes in a few different directions and I was ended up being surprised by the killer's identity as I had someone else pegged as the killer.
Bree continues to be an excellent main character and I've enjoyed watching her adapt to her role as sheriff. This time around we got to see a bit of the administrative side to her job which was a nice change of pace. Bree is doing better at managing her time between her job and being home with her niece and nephew that she cares for. I liked seeing her relax with her family and Dana, her old partner who lives with her and helps care for the kids. Her relationship with Matt has developed quite a bit and I love the little moments they get together outside of the case. The pair work well together but I think my favorite moments are when they're off the job. And while there is a romance in this series, it's not a huge part of the book so readers looking for more of the suspense element should enjoy the series.
Overall I really enjoyed
Right Behind Her and I'm looking forward to reading the next book,
Dead Against Her, when it releases next year. I highly recommend this series if you're looking for some great romantic suspense.
**I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
Rating: really liked it
****YAY!! I'm happy to report this is not the end of the series. There are at least 2 more books coming (next year).
Not sure if this is the end of the Bree Taggert series. Hoping not, but if so, it was the beginning of a great HEA for Bree/Matt on the romance front (hands clapping ). From a suspense standpoint, it was a page turner centered around 2 bodies discovered on the Taggert family property with haunting revelations for Bree involving her father. Great read.
Rating: really liked it
I honestly can't wait to see what the next two books in this series bring. There's a lot of closure in this one. I liked how we ended things with the history of Bree's family and I loved where Bree and Matt are in their relationship.
"Right Behind Her" has Bree investigating two 20 year old murders. When Bree goes to visit her family's farm with her brother Adam, they not only find someone squatting there with drugs. They end up finding skeletal remains to boot. Bree is afraid that the murders will end up being the result of her father. Bree remembers all to well how mean he was and what he used to do to her mother and her. However, when Bree and Matt start digging, it appears the two remains may have some ties to some of the richest families in the area.
Bree is great. Honestly I loved the resolution between her and her brother in this one. Adam did bug me a bit in the earlier books acting as if Bree had secrets to tell she wasn't sharing. She had to deal with a very traumatic experience and it drove me up the wall that he acted like their family history wasn't a mess. As someone that comes from a somewhat messy family, it also drives me nuts when the siblings want to gloss over stuff. I am definitely my father's daughter with the whole I don't forget anything and after you have shown me who you are, I don't trust you.
Matt was also great. Him being patient with Bree and not rushing her was great. I also love how well they do together in interviews.
The cases were really interesting and I have to say, I didn't see the ending coming in this one. I have to wonder what this means for Bree as sheriff though. She keeps making enemies.
Rating: really liked it
I have to be truthful. I want to read the 5th and 6th stories in the Bree Taggert series
now.
Bree's childhood horror story comes to a head with Right Behind Her. This is not a standalone book so if you are new to the series, start at the beginning with Cross Her Heart. And please bear with me with all my tags; sometimes I get carried away.
~~~~~
Her fairly new job as sheriff had highs and lows. Oscar was still around performing a second rate job. Politics were her enemy. And 2 murders dislodged her early years as a child.
Evil was on the cusp of her current family and her long-ago past. I understood her hesitancy; thankfully, she had Matt Flynn by her side to support her. I was even happy to read how dedicated her deputies were to her.
She navigated her role as new mother to her niece, Kayla, and nephew, Luke. She found strength in numbers with Matt, Dana, Nolan and, yes, even Brody.
I found the story was fast-paced and I finished it within 2 days. Now, I just need to wait. :((
Rating: really liked it
In this 4th installment in the series, Sheriff Bree Taggart is forced to relive events from her past when human bones are found on the property she grew up on. This investigation hits too close to home.
In case you've never read this series, let me give you an overview: Bree Taggart is a former homicide detective who moved to Grey's Hollow to become sheriff when her sister Erin died and left two children, 8 year old Kayla and 16 year old Luke. Bree receives assistance with the kids and household from her former partner Dana who retired and moved there to help out. She can also rely on her brother Adam, a famous artist. Bree and Adam's father killed their mother and then himself over 25 years ago. Perhaps her father was involved in worse criminal activities.
Matt Flynn is a civilian criminal investigator who assists the sheriff's department when needed. He trains K-9 dogs and his sister runs a dog rescue. He is also Bree's love interest.
I have always liked stories with a strong female sheriff. If you like Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder series or J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady series, you might try this one. I am glad I won a Kindle copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
Rating: really liked it
I've given this a C+ for narration and a B for content at AudioGals.Right Behind Her is the fourth book in Melinda Leigh’s series of romantic suspense novels featuring Bree Taggert, a former homicide detective who is now sheriff of Grey’s Hollow in upstate New York. While each one comprises a self-contained mystery plot, these books really do need to be read in order, so as to be able to follow and understand Bree’s journey from hard-nosed cop who never wanted to see her home town again to a woman making a life and a family there. In the first book,
Cross Her Heart, Bree returned to Grey’s Hollow after the murder of her younger sister and realised she needed to stay in order to look after her niece Kayla (eight) and nephew Luke (sixteen) – even though she didn’t have the faintest idea about raising kids. As the series has progressed, we’ve seen her slowly settling into her new roles – professional and personal – although her path has been strewn with realistic obstacles, both internal and external, from dealing with the aftermath of the corruption she uncovered in the sheriff’s department to the continuing fall-out of her own personal trauma - her father was a violent man who killed her mother and then himself when Bree was just eight years old, and it’s clear that she has never really processed or dealt with it. It’s also left her very cautious about forming relationships – which means she’s spent the last couple of books keeping her love interest - investigator and K9 handler Matt Flynn - at a distance, while he begins to worry that she may never be ready or able to commit to him emotionally.
When
Right Behind Her opens, Bree and her younger brother Adam – who was just a baby when their parents died – are paying a visit to their former family home, which Adam (now a very successful artist) has recently purchased. It’s hard for Bree, but she wants to be there for her brother, who is clearly looking for some sort of connection to a past he has no memory of. Privately, Bree thinks it’s better that way. As they’re leaving, Bree hears sounds coming from the nearby barn; she identifies herself and enters cautiously, only to be attacked by whoever is inside. The man runs, but Bree manages to subdue him, and once backup arrives and she hands him off, she realises the backpack he was carrying is missing. She, her deputies and Adam start looking for it, but find more than they bargained for when Bree finds the backpack – and Adam finds some old bones. Human remains that are later shown to be those of a man and a woman who were murdered around thirty years before. And the man had clearly been tortured.
You can read the rest of this review at
AudioGals.
Rating: really liked it
This series gets better and better. I’m looking forward to the next book when it comes out next month.
Rating: really liked it
Puedes encontrar esta reseña en español al final.Well, in this fourth installment, Ms. Leigh has given a good
push both to her protagonist, Bree, and to the plot about the family that comes from book 1. She has practically put an end to all the
active fronts. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I already have the next two books on my TBR shelf, I'd think this was
the goodbye.
Needless to say, it would be a major mistake to start reading the series by this installment. Start from book 1. It´s so worthy.
This time around, the suspense plot has very powerful ties to Bree's past, which we all know was traumatic, to put it mildly. Old wounds will be reopened and forgotten characters will reappear. With this kind of stories, back to the past and so on, the questions
why now? and
how has no one ever realized it before? always haunt me. But the author, without giving away a lot of info, makes the story credible and, above all, interesting.
I have loved that push in Bree's personal life (about time!) and that feeling of moving on with her past. Which leads me to wonder what Ms. Leigh has prepared for us in the next installments… I hope the publication date will advance; a year is too much!
e-ARC kindly provided by Montlake via Netgalley. Bueno, pues llegadas a la cuarta entrega, la señora Leigh ha dado un buen
empujón tanto a su protagonista, Bree, como a la trama familiar que viene del libro 1. Prácticamente ha cerrado todos los frentes. Sinceramente, de no ser porque ya tengo en mi lista de próximas lecturas los dos siguientes libros, pensaría que esto ha sido una despedida.
Ni que decir tiene que sería un error mayúsculo comenzar a leer la serie por esta entrega. Empieza por el primer libro. Merece la pena.
En esta ocasión, la trama del suspense tiene lazos muy poderosos con el pasado de Bree, que todos sabemos que fue traumático, por decirlo suavemente. Se abren viejas heridas y reaparecen personajes olvidados. Con este tipo de historias, de vuelta al pasado y demás, siempre me queda la duda de
¿por qué ahora? y
¿cómo nadie se ha dado cuenta antes? Pero la autora, sin dar muchos detalles, hace la historia creíble y sobre todo interesante.
Me ha encantado ese empujón en la vida personal de Bree (¡ya era hora!) y esa sensación de pasar página con su pasado. Lo que me lleva a preguntarme qué nos ha preparado la señora Leigh en las próximas entregas… Espero que adelante la fecha de publicación, ¡un año se me hace eterno!
Rating: really liked it
Melinda Leigh mysteries are just smooth reading. I can’t wait to read more on Bree
Rating: really liked it
All through this series, Bree’s horrific past with her abusive and murderer father was never far from the surface. Right Behind Her brings her full circle when her latest case includes investigating a cold case crime involving her dad and the old property where she grew up. Melinda Leigh has written a complex, intriguing main character, a riveting and twisting plot, and sprinkled it with an engaging cast of characters, both human and animal. I was eager to see her come to grips with her past so she could embrace a romance with a wonderful, steady man and the family she has embraced whole-heartedly.
Bree reluctantly agrees to join her brother Adam on the old family farm where her worst living nightmares took place. Adam remembers nothing and wants her help filling in the gaps. But, their walk down memory lane is interrupted by an odd and aggressive trespasser and a gruesome discovery out behind the barn. The investigation is tough and emotional for her, but pair that with a reluctant county council when she needs an increase in her office budget, is still squaring off with some of her own deputies, and she’s trying to find a balance between work and personal life. All that, but then the cold case investigation has someone dangerous running scared and they strike out where Bree is most vulnerable.
Right Behind Her was another fab installment in the Bree Taggert series that read best in order. I love seeing how far Bree has come. She struggles with her past by putting up emotional walls in her own fledging romantic relationship with Matt, a former K9 officer and now investigator, but he has great patience with her. He sees the signs that she is making an effort from her confrontation of her fear of dogs by being around both his working dogs and her own adopted one as well as the fact that her trust and respect are there. It is telling that she ends up on Matt’s doorstep when at her lowest.
The author has already proven she has a gift for balancing a strong murder mystery police procedural with a wealth of relationship ties and community setting. I loved seeing her help her niece prepare for the county fair, help her nephew over the bumps of first love, and make time for her equally struggling brother who is an amazing artist and uses that as his outlet to deal with his demons. And, regardless of a few troublemakers, Bree’s sheriff’s department are really coming together as a fab investigation team under her leadership.
I had my suspicions about who was behind it all and I was right, but whew boy, was that one intense ride to the end. The investigation was engrossing and tightened the tension until that final confrontation. I appreciated the bittersweet taste of things since Bree’s own past was tightly involved. Neat catching a glimpse of Lincoln Sharp from the Morgan Dane series.
Christina Traister was a first-time narrator for me. I’ve read all the previous books in the series, but in spite of having my own ideas of what the cast of characters would sound like, I was easily able to slip into her storytelling and adjust to her voices for the characters. I thought she did fabulous and particularly when things got emotionally intense. I would definitely listen to her again.
All in all, I was well-satisfied and eager for the next case for Bree and her team to solve. Those who like smart characters, well-developed plot and people, and a good twisting, gritty mystery need to give these a go.
My thanks to Brilliance Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Audiobook: Narrator - Christina Traister
I’m really enjoying listening to this narrator. As my ears get older, I appreciate a voice that is clear and precise while giving life to the characters. There are times that there is no difference between the male and female voices but I’ve still become addicted to Ms. Traister’s voice. It’s always such a pleasant experience.
Each book in this series has pulled me in. This one kept me completely locked to it as we skirt around Bree’s past. I was anxious to learn who was responsible and if they were connected to her in any way, and if so, how they were connected.
The romance factor also kicked up between Bree and Matt. While it’s been a slow burn between them, it’s been sweet watching them grow closer. He’s so perfect for her and I love that his presence in her personal life helps to remind her to take time for the important things.
As a reader that prefers to avoid series, I’m so glad I’ve decided to jump into this one. Despite being about murder and mayhem, each of these have a special element about them that pulls me in and makes me want to just sit back, relax and enjoy the unveiling of the crime and villains.
Dual POV
Safe (view spoiler)
[no ow/om drama (hide spoiler)]Triggers (view spoiler)
[drug addiction (hide spoiler)]Steam (view spoiler)
[very low steam; none explicit - fade to dark (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.
Another solid mystery and a not apparent baddie. This case is a 30 year old murder and has Bree questioning everything she experienced as an 8 year old. the story delves deeply into who Bree's father was and those people who surrounded him. It gives us readers a lot of insight into the psyche of an abused child and makes Bree the adult a lot more relatable.
Bree Taggert's life is finally achieving some balance. The kids are coming out of their mourning for their mother and beginning to resume normal activities. Bree is getting in deeper and deeper with hottie Matt. The Sheriff's office has five new deputies and beginning to function almost normally. But, all that comes to a sudden standstill when bones are discovered on the old abandoned Taggert farm. It was murder and the bodies were buried in a shallow grave.
As Bree investigated the identities of the victims and how they came to be buried on the Taggert farm 30 years ago, she has to confront the very real possibility that her deceased father was the murderer. But, there is someone in the present who is very much alive that is concerned enough about the investigation that he would kidnap Bree's niece in an effort to make her back off the investigation.
Rating: really liked it
Wow that was totally crazy. This is the best book in this series so far.
Bree’s past has really come back to haunt her. Fast paced with obstacles around every corner preventing her from solving this 30 year old murder. We find out about Bree’s childhood and the trauma she went through.
Matt is the most patient man.
He wanted what his parents had—a lifetime of connection and friendship—but he understood most people never found anything even close.
We also get a little progress in the romance department and find out why she’s so hesitant to love.
She rested her head on his chest. “I’m not used to needing someone. Not this way.”
I just love this ongoing series and can’t wait to see what comes next.
