I thought this book was just ok, Perhaps if I’d read the first book in the series I’d have enjoyed it more. A little bit of a slow burner.

*thank you to Netgalley, Joffe Books and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

2 stars.

The first half of this was probably 3 stars. But not long past that mark i got bored really quickly and found my mind drifting far too often, but I still pushed through until the end and it unfortunately did not get any better. There was also quite alot of swearing which was a turn off for me. Too much did not interest me. The only parts of this I enjoyed where the scenes with Heather and her 2 little girls. The synopsis of the story sounded so good. Sounded really interesting and I was looking forward to all the twists. I was disappointed as there didnt seem to be any. I wouldn't recommend it but if you really think you would enjoy it, or have enjoyed this author's previous books, then sure go for it.

Driving to work, Heather receives a phone call from a stranger who knows where her kids are, what they are wearing, and what Heather is currently doing. The caller threatens that her children will die if Heather doesn't do what he wants.

The book is full of twists and turns and is very suspenseful. It was one of those books I didn't want to put down. It is fast -paced and has an unexpected surprise ending. I previously read Buried Secrets by this author, and I enjoyed both books. I recommend this book as well as other books by T. J. Brearton.

Intriguing and interesting thriller. Unusual concepts. Strong characters who interacted well. Bit of a twist at the end.

The synopsis caught my attention real quick so I was bound to give this a chance. Plus, I love mysteries and thrillers so it was quite expected of me to pick this up. Do I regret reading this? No. Do I hoped for something more? Definitely yes.

The start hooked me right away because the pace was on fire and everything was fast enough for me to get my senses on alert--something I love from my thrillers. After all, doesn't thriller simply synonymous to excitement? I was by the edge of my seat and wanted to know how it would all connect to the revelation, or who the 'bad guy' was. However, all those dreams of mine were shattered (excuse my dramatics) when suddenly, almost like there was hole in the road in which the car went flying down, the pacing became turtle-ish. As much as the story was focused on the mysterious suspects, connecting links and Heather or her daughters, in the start, the middle parts were completely askew with too many things going on. Amidst all this, even romance, one that didn't even feel necessary to the plot or any character, was being highlighted all of a sudden. Anyway, I still stuck around this to get to the 'bad guy' but ugh, that wasn't very impressive either. Overall, this wasn't a very enjoyable read for me though I'm wondering if the fact that it's the second installment in a series I've never read before would be a contributor to my opinions. This wasn't my cup of tea and if someone coincides with my choices, I wouldn't be recommending it to them anytime soon.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for a review copy of Truth or Dead the second novel to feature FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) agent Tom Lange.

Single mother and widow Heather Moss is rushing to work after a fraught start to the day with her daughter's when she takes a call which will change her life. A robotic voice threatens her children if she doesn't deliver an envelope to an inmate at the prison where she works as a therapist. She complies and the inmate dies. Tom Lange and his boss Lauren Blythe are assigned the investigation which turns out to be much more complicated than it first seems.

I enjoyed Truth or Dead which is a complicated thriller with plenty of twists and turns. It is probably not the best novel I have read by Mr Brearton as it lacks the edginess of his best work but the convoluted plot partly mitigates this. I'm unsure if this reaction is down to me guessing the perpetrator early on or if it's just the way the novel is written. As I said the plot is convoluted and I felt sometimes that I was getting lost in some of the twists and turns and where the characters slotted into the overall scheme.

I like Tom Lange. He's had his troubles in life and is still working on his anger management issues but he's kind, smart and compassionate if over involved with his witnesses. He's an interesting character whom I'd like to meet again on his journey.

Truth or Dead is a difficult novel to review as it is plot driven and therefore impossible to discuss without issuing spoilers so all I can say is that it is cleverly plotted with a Machiavellian perpetrator. 3.5*

3 stars

Heather Moss is on her way to work as a clinical therapist when she receives a phone call. The person on the phone tells her that she must do his bidding or he will kill her two daughters. He wants her to go to the jail and commit a crime.

As a result, an inmate dies. Did she know that he was to testify against a well-known crime boss?

Special Agent Tom Lange is convinced that the man behind the murder is Mario Palumbo – the crime boss. Tom believes that Palumbo had his brother killed. He wants to arrest him very badly. He interviews Heather Moss and investigates the case. He begins to think that perhaps Palumbo didn’t do it. Palumbo might be being framed.

This book wanders a little. It is fairly well written, but meanders a little too much for me. I did like the way that the author interjected a little humor in places in the story. The action wasn’t too bad, but the story lost its way a few times. There was sufficient information given about the main characters – especially Tom – but not so much that it intruded in the story, I liked the book, I just didn’t love it.

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

I really enjoyed reading this one. There were plenty of twist and turns and I wanted to know how the story would end. As always with book with a "need-to-know" kind of story-line, I ended up reading through it in under a day just to find out how it ended. The story felt like it had been written by an actual member of law enforcement because it felt very realistic. Although I haven't read the first book in the series, I was able to follow this one.

Although this is book 2 in the series involving Tom Lange but can easily be read as a stand alone book, which is what I did as I didn’t realise it was book 2 until after I had read it.

The book starts with a bang when a woman is on her way to work and gets a phone call telling her that if she doesn’t deliver a package to someone in prison when she goes to evaluate them that morning both her children will be killed.

That same morning Special Agent Tom Lange wakes up to his girlfriend’s phone ringing and finding out there has been a murder at the local prison. She leaves to investigate and he then gets the same phone call so has to go as well.

From that moment on the book gets very exciting with drive by shootings, witness protection and lots of twists and turns until the stunning, and shocking, conclusion.

As I previously mentioned I haven’t read book 1 (Dead Gone) yet as I didn’t realise that it was a sequel, but as you get into the book there is a lot of back story which is missing, and I kept waiting to read about. You can guess a lot of the back story, and therefore most of what happened in book 1, so if you are planning on reading book 1 I would suggest you do it before this one.

The book is a brilliant read, which left me guessing all the way through and I also ‘knew’ that the main suspects wouldn’t have done it but you never can tell 100% and also whether the police would believe them or not.

I read this book over a couple of nights as once I had started it I found it really hard to put down as each chapter led on perfectly from the last and there were little bits of information given which made you want to carry on reading it.

I give this book 5 stars as it was a great read with enough twists and suspense to make it a worthwhile read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Joffe books, for the opportunity to preview this book in return for my honest opinion.

This book has one of the best openers I’ve read in a thriller, I was gripped from the off. However, I would highly recommend reading the previous book. I hadn’t and there were references that were frustrating as they didn’t make immediate sense. It also appeared to meander at times, although, that could be due to references that didn’t mean anything to me as I’d not read the previous book. Characters and situations were dropped in that meant little or nothing to a first time reader, which was a shame.
Despite that, I really enjoyed it. It’s got a great plot that kept my interest and I loved the build of suspense, not knowing whom to trust. Could not guess outcome at all.
In summary, despite my frustrations detailed, I’d recommend.

Just wow! this book was amazing, A tightly woven tale that was full of fear and tension that had me on the edge of my seat. I had a hard time putting this one down it was a case of saying to myself just one more chapter, just one more chapter and on it went! this story was gripping and full of twists that I didn't see coming. It was dark and suspenseful, you could feel the fear radiating off of the pages. I loved this book if I could give it 6 stars I would it was an excellent read.

If someone called you and told you that unless you did exactly what they wanted, they would kill your children .. what choice would you make?

This is what happens to social worker Heather Moss. What she did cost a county jail inmate his life. Did she know he was a witness who could have brought down a well known criminal?

Special Agent Tom Lange wants this hit to be placed firmly at the feet of Mario Palumbo, the man who killed his brother. But after meeting and investigating Heather Moss, he starts doubting the evidence.

Someone, it seems, is wanting to frame Palumbo .... a vigilante cop? a rival crime lord?

This is an excellent crime thriller, well written, with a terrific plot. There's lots of action, lots of bodies, and a guessing game as to who knows what and when and what does it all mean.

Lange has issues ... all kinds of issues he's dealing with. His brother's death ... mandatory therapy .. a recent break up with a girlfriend .. and someone knows about a secret he has.. one that could cost him everything.

Secondary character lend an air of credibility to the mix. His supervisor, who doesn't like .. or trust.. Lane. The bad guys are very bad. The good guys are really good. But which are which? Who do you trust when your life depends on the truth?

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this exciting crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.