Every Deadly Suspicion by Janice Cantore
Janice Cantore’s Every Deadly Suspicion is set in present day Dry Oaks, California but the story begins in December 1990 when Joe Keyes’s wife announces she’s pregnant.
Once he gets over the shock, Joe is elated but knows he has to make some changes. Joe’s current source of income is cooking meth. He finds a job but it won’t be full time until the spring. His plan is to make one more batch of meth but cut out his partners. With the money all his, the proceeds should last until his job starts.
But something goes wrong. By the time baby Hanna arrives, Joe had pled guilty to the murder of his partners, Sophia and Blake, and is sentenced to life in prison. Details on the case are sketchy but whatever happened the bodies of the victims were never found, another man was badly injured, and a DEA agent went missing.
In present day Dry Oaks Hanna, all grown up, is now sheriff. Growing up as the child of a murderer was not easy but she had Mandy and Jared and her church. That Mandy was her best friend was extraordinary as it was her parents Joe confessed to killing. Mandy’s home with her grandparents was Hanna’s second family.
Jared was her supporter, friend, and confidant. As they grew into young adults they came to love each other. But Jared wanted more than Dry Oaks and he broke her heart when he left town. Now Jared is back but Hanna has moved on and is dating Nathan, a deputy with the county sheriff’s department.
Things are quiet in Dry Oaks until one morning she hears the sputtering of an engine and watches as Scott Buckley’s plane crashes into a field. The plane is in pieces and Scott dead. The Buckley’s are a prominent family in the county and Hanna is not looking forward to delivering the bad news.
But the news gets worse when the autopsy reveals Scott died of cyanide poisoning. Hanna now has a murder to investigate and Scott’s family is elusive when she requests an interview, especially his brother Chad. Chad is the man who was injured in the incident with Hanna’s father. Always wild, Chad’s injuries have left him reclusive and angry.
Nathan has his own murder investigation going, he and his partner are investigating a possible serial killer. The killer contacts woman though dating websites and talks them into giving him money. When they finally meet in person, he murders them.
Almost overshadowing all this for Hanna is a visit from the Department of Corrections. Joe Keyes is dying. The prison is issuing him a compassionate release if Hanna will let him live his last days in her home. Her first thought is I don’t want a killer in my home but Mandy wants her to say yes. Maybe Joe will finally tell them where the bodies of her parents are buried.
Hanna is torn and with Nathan so busy with his case, Hanna turns to the one person she could always talk to, Jared. Jared has a way of clarifying things for her and arrangements are made for Joe’s release. But when Joe comes and Mandy asks her question, things become even more confusing.
Then a beloved member of the Dry Oaks community becomes the serial killer’s latest victim. Can Hanna, Nathan, and Jared figure things out before anyone else dies? What happened 30 years ago and is it tied to what is happening right now?
The genre for this title is Christian Romantic Suspense. Faith is definitely a theme and the romance is light. Suspense drives the story and the author uses her background as a police officer to good effect. If you like Lynette Eason, Elizabeth Goddard, DiAnn Mills or just want a good story, you should give this one a try.
Review by Patty Crane, Reference Librarian
