NUMBER OF HEARTS: 4 3/4
Truth Be Told picks up right after the events of Twisted Truth (bk one) with the Taylor family still taking care of one small scared little boy. So when his uncle shows up to claim him they believe that all is good and they can finally relax. But that won’t be the case when they find two FBI agents died and the only sign on the boy and his uncle is a yellow jacket next to a raging river.

For Zane this brings back horrible memories of not getting there in time to save another young boy. Will history repeat itself again?

As I said in my review of Twisted Truth I always love to visit the sleepy little town of Solitude, Oregon. I really love this series that Melinda & Kendra have created!!, Oregon. I really love this series that Melinda & Kendra have created!! I believe the ladies have said that this will be the last visit in the Rogue River series and while I agree the Taylor family needs some down time I hope that the ladies will revisit this series in the future!

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & Montlake Romance in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

A missing child, dead FBI agents, a torrential rain - once again, Solitude is a hot bed of crime. This tiny town has an amazing amount of crime, particularly murders and kidnapping. Even including the larger county as a setting, it stretches credibility at times. I'd love to see the police on a case outside of town for a change of pace.

Anyway, "Truth Be Told" picks up shortly after the first book ended. The boy who was rescued in the first book is now missing, his uncle is missing, and there are now 2 dead FBI agents. Stevie and Zane are not only looking for the boy and his uncle but the boy's father while dealing with the flooding and its complications. Add in embezzling and some unexpected Taylor family news, and this novella is non-stop.

I love reading about the Taylor family, their problems and joys, their relationships, and their jobs. They're not a perfect family, they get on each other's nerves, fight, and have problems but they stand together, help each other, and go above and beyond in their jobs. As in the first book, the focus is on the mysteries but there's more focus on Stevie and Zane's relationship and the Taylor family. While most of the stories in the Rogue River novella have focused on the sisters, Stevie and Carly, Bruce has been getting more page time recently. And it looks like changes, good changes, are in store for their mother, Patsy.

"Truth Be Told" was fast paced, complicated, and definitely doesn't work as a stand alone. Read the first Rogue Justice book, "Twisted Truth" by Melinda Leigh and to really appreciate the character and their growth, read all of the Rogue River novellas in order. But "Truth Be Told" was a suspenseful, engaging story full of intrigue and double crosses.

The story begins with Stevie being called to the scene of a car accident to discover that the two FBI agents who had come to escort kidnapped Liam and his Uncle to Seattle have been murdered and Liam and Marcus are missing again. With rains pouring, rivers rising, and bridges under water, Stevie and her husband Zane know that they have a murderer trapped in Solitude.

Besides the missing Liam and Marcus are also the missing Dodge brothers who had escaped from police custody and a man missing from a local B&B. It is also possible that Liam's father Wade is in town too looking for his missing son. Clearly the mystery is developing twists and turns.

It is now known that Wade did not murder his wife but he is still accused of stealing ten million dollars from his defense contractor employer who is in jail for attacking Stevie's family and trying to kidnap Liam. His business rival Dawn Hazelwood is in town too. She says she's looking for the Dodge brothers but things aren't adding up.

This was an exciting, fast-paced story the kept me reading until I knew who had done what.

I love Kendra Elliot's writing, but this one was difficult to me for follow because I hadn't read the novella that was the first in this series. It's a good book, just not my favorite of hers.

4.5 Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for allowing me to receive and review Truth Be Told . I love the original series that Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot did, and I am just as invested in the Rogue Justice series. I enjoy "going back home" seeing how everyone is progressing, what has changed, and I am thrilled that each book has suspense, mystery. When bullets flew, I ducked.

Truth Be Told is book 2 in the Rogue Justice Series. It was highly suspenseful and emotional. It’s a fast read. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I enjoyed this book very much! Lots of twists and turns.
Received an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.

This is the 2nd novella in the Rogue Justice series. It could be read alone but I would suggest reading both in order. The town of Solitude is cut off from the outside world by flooding. There is a missing boy and 2 dead FBI agents. The killer or killers are also trapped by the flooding. The local police can’t call for help and it is a race against time to find the missing boy, hopefully alive.

This is a great mystery book that will hold your interest from beginning to end. Kendra has become a must read for me since her first book and she delivers on this one. This is a great 2 book series that I would recommend to readers. Thank you to Montlake and net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Wonderful conclusion! Gun fights, ex military guys, missing persons and the largest storm floods the town. Zane and Stevie make a great team and manage to put everything to rights. You must read Twisted Truth first or the craziness won't make sense. Both novellas could be read in a day, very quick and suspenseful. Always love a book that keeps me on the edge and give me a bit of warm fuzzies. My copy came from Netgalley and my review written voluntarily.

This book is a sequel to Twisted Truth and I enjoyed it as much as the first part. I’m happy to give my review and appreciate the privilege of reading this book. We get into the lives of Zane, police chief of the small town and Stevie his wife, plus one of the best police officers he has.
With a rain storm that’s lasted many days and still raging. a call comes in of a car parked next to the over flowing river and now impassable bridge that was the last exit out of town, The cars back door is wide open and there are two dead men in the front seats. Stevie and Zane discover the two men are FBI agents taking a once kidnapped boy and his uncle back home. Stevie is shocked to discover this is the boy her social worker sister Carly and detective husband Seth have been protecting is now gone again. Was he kidnapped again? Where is the uncle? The town is essentially cut off from the rest of the world by the storm that has every river and road flooding. Knowing no one can get out of town right now they race the clock to find the boy and uncle. The boy they now know is called Liam had borrowed a coat from Carly’s nephew, when it is found next to the raging river fear snakes down their backs. Did they save him only to get swept away when fleeing? Are they too late? Zane turns his attention to all the new folks in town for answers. He has to work fast before anyone can leave. All of them have falsely explained their reasons for being in Solitude plus some are now missing.
Excellent read. Fast paced, lots of twists and turns and I love this family of strong characters. Each one has a story to tell.

I have said it before and I will say it again...I think that Kendra Elliot is an under rated Author who does not get the attention that she deserves. Everything I have read by her, I have really enjoyed. This Novella, although enjoyable, was my least favorite of her work.

This book is #2 in a series and I did not read the first one. Would have that cause me to enjoy this book more? Perhaps. I do believe that I was given enough of the backstory to grasp what is happening in this novella. There is a horrible storm going on that has cut off a small town from surrounding areas. During this time, a child has gone missing and two FBI agents have been found shot to death inside their vehicle.

Police officers Stevie and her husband Zane are trying to find the missing boy. They also know that the person responsible for the missing boy and the two dead agents may be stuck in their rain drenched town. It is only a matter of time before rain stops and the roads are drive-able or the murderer kills again.

I think I would have enjoyed this more if it were a full blown novel and Elliot had more time to flesh out her story. Again, I did not read part 1 so perhaps I am missing something but this novella was just lacking for me. I didn't really feel invested in the story or the characters. This was sad for me as I am a Kendra Elliot fan. I will still keep reading her books as I enjoy her work. I wish more people read her work, but I don't feel this is the best book/novella to star with.

I received a copy of this book from Montlake Romance and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Huge fan! I love this series, the location and the characters. While this a mystery/thriller it's also a witty and sweet story of a family heavily involved in law enforcement and what that means to each of them and the family as a whole. The place is Solitude, OR and I love that name.

This picks up immediately following the night where book one left off so you really need to read that book before reading this one. It's important for the storyline.

I would recommend this to anyone. There is a clean book and won't won't blister your eyes with vulgarity or explicit sex scenes.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This second book in the Rogue Justice series is an excellent murder, mystery story. It is suspenseful and exciting. Even though it melds perfectly with book one (Twisted Truth by Melinda Leigh,) it can just as easily be read as a standalone. It is a trilling story of a missing boy, murdered FBI agents and a killer loose in a town isolated by rising floodwater.  As with the other Rogue series’, the Taylor family remain the core characters, concentration more on Stevie and Zane this story. I love these two characters; they are not perfect and they work hard to find balance in both their home and work life. They are relatable and you want them to succeed. I really enjoyed the intrigue, suspense, double crossing and revelations in this story, there was never a dull moment and it kept my attention right to the end.  I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion or review of this book*
This second book in the Rogue Justice series is an excellent murder, mystery story. It is suspenseful and exciting. Even though it melds perfectly with book one (Twisted Truth by Melinda Leigh,) it can just as easily be read as a standalone. It is a trilling story of a missing boy, murdered FBI agents and a killer loose in a town isolated by rising floodwater.  As with the other Rogue series’, the Taylor family remain the core characters, concentration more on Stevie and Zane this story. I love these two characters; they are not perfect and they work hard to find balance in both their home and work life. They are relatable and you want them to succeed. I really enjoyed the intrigue, suspense, double crossing and revelations in this story, there was never a dull moment and it kept my attention right to the end.  I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion or review of this book.

I LOVE Kendra and I really LOVE when Kendra and Melinda collaborate!!!!

This is the second book in the Rogue Justice series and if you follow Kendra and Melinda than you will already know the awesome characters. Some characters you will love others you will love to loathe!!

If you love twists, turns, thrills, and the unexpected than you will love this series.

Can't wait to see what's next from these 2.

I didn't realise until now that these titles are by different authors (Twisted Truth, Truth be told.) the first of this series was engaging, interesting and it made me want to read the second. The second one I found hard, I had a lot of trouble working out the characters and the plot just wasn't as absorbing. First one too short, second one unnecessary.

I typically avoid novellas like the plague--they’re too short, story and character arcs are too short and unrealistic, and I’m typically left unsatisfied. Most of the time, the shortest I’ll go is short novels by a select group of my favourite long-form authors. The one exception to my novella rule: Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot’s Rogue novella series; I just love the small town of Solitude, Oregon, and the quartet of characters (Stevie and Zane--written by Ms. Elliot-- and Carly and Seth-- Ms. Leigh’s brainchildren) that star in these short stories of murder, mayhem, and romance. The Rogue novellas are best read in sequence to fully appreciate the evolution of the characters and their relationships, but could technically be enjoyed as standalones; however, they come in sets of two (one by Ms. Leigh and one by Ms. Elliot) that take on and build on the same case from each of the couples’ perspectives and should therefore be read together-- hence why this review covers both TWISTED TRUTH and TRUTH BE TOLD, the latest entries in the Rogue series.

TWISTED TRUTH gives the Carly/Seth side of a chilling mystery that starts with two people shot dead in their beds and a six-year-old boy chained in the basement. Social worker Carly--recovering from a harrowing experience the month before-- is called in to care for the child while her husband, county Detective Seth Harding, investigates the bizarre crime. All while Solitude is battered by a massive storm cloud that completely cuts the small town off from the outside world. The mystery, seemingly solved at the end of TWISTED TRUTH, continues in TRUTH BE TOLD when Carly’s sister, Solitude police officer Stevie, and her new husband, Solitude police chief Zane Duncan, discover two FBI agents murdered in their car on their way out of Solitude. I have to admit I wasn’t Seth’s biggest fan when he made his first appearance in the Rogue series (behavioural double standard with respect to work danger much?), but he’s come such a long way over the course of the series that he’s now one of my favourite people. It’s rare to see romance novels deal with failing relationships, but that’s exactly what Ms. Leigh did with Carly and Seth over the course of the series, and seeing them on absolutely rock-solid footing in TWISTED TRUTH is heartwarming. The plot gets a little outlandish in TRUTH BE TOLD, but Stevie and Zane are such enjoyable characters that I could overlook that and still thoroughly enjoy the ride.

**ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I love these books that are written with Melinda Leigh as a continuing series. I wish I could step into t he world of Solitude Oregon. The Rogue River is a beautiful place to visit and I highly recommend it. I also hope the type of family you find in this book really exists in the world. Great mystery, keeps the pages turning. I didn't want it to end. I wanted to spend more time in Solitude.

How can you not love anything written by Kendra Elliot? Love this Novella series with Melinda Leigh both favorites authors of mine and are always on my to read list! This book was great. Suspense and great characters the perfect read! Read in an hour and loved it!

I loved this book. Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot are two of my favorite authors. I love how they intertwine the characters from the series. These books grabbed me from page one. I always recommend these two authors to my mystery readers and always have pre orders for their books

I'm a big fan of the Rogue River novella series that is written by Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot. Each author writes alternate novellas in the series.
'Truth be told' is the second book in the 'Rogue Justice' series and written by Kendra Elliot. It provides a conclusion to the storyline of the double murder and the child witness.
While I did enjoy 'Truth be told' I thought it became a bit convoluted. Trying to keep track of who the bad guy was, and the double crossing all became a bit much. I think the book would have been better if things had been a bit smoother.
But otherwise another great addition to the Rogue River series. I hope Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot continue writing more novellas in the future..