River of Secrets

When a controversial politician is murdered in cold blood, Baton Rouge Police Detective Wallace Hartman struggles to find the killer amid conspiracies and corruption in River of Secrets, a gripping new mystery from Roger Johns.

Herbert Marioneaux, a Louisiana politician infamous for changing his mind on hot-button issues, has been murdered and his body posed to send a message. Baton Rouge homicide detective Wallace Hartman has to figure out who's sending that message. DNA points to Eddie Pitkin, a social justice activist who also happens to be the half-brother of Wallace's childhood best friend. But even with the combative history between Pitkin and Marioneaux, murder seems out of character for Pitkin, whose usual MO is to confront the wealthy and powerful with their inconvenient past. As Wallace digs deeper, she unearths a possible alibi witness, along with evidence of a deeply troubled relationship that points the finger of suspicion at Marioneaux's son.

While Eddie's supporters are convinced of his innocence, his enemies are equally certain of his guilt. Under pressure from all directions, Wallace pursues her investigation into the dark heart of the political establishment as Baton Rouge falls under the shadow of escalating violence. When it appears a police department insider may be sabotaging her efforts by leaking information about the case, and after menacing messages are left for her and her loved ones, Wallace is forced to untangle a trail of old and disturbing secrets unaided by those she most needs to trust.

My Review

I have not read the first book in this series but this book can be read as a stand alone. Detective Wallace Hartman is a good lead character. She does have an engaging persona. Plus, I thought she was intelligent. She showed this by solving the case. So, why you might ask did I not love this book. This is because, I could not find that connection with the rest of the characters and thus the story was not that interesting to me. When you don't care about most of the characters in a book than the storyline becomes dull.

Yet, the moments where I was engaged with the story was good. A fast read for sure. It has a nice steady pacing despite the fact that I was not into the characters. Because I did like Wallace, I would go back and read book one. If you are looking for something new to read, you may want to check out this book.