Fabulous plot which I could not put down. Brilliant characters, and twists and turns. Highly recommend to other fans of this genre!!

Close to the Truth is a nice blend of mystery thriller and romance in a small town where prejudice rules the day. Protagonists Jasmine Heydon and Gil Easton were teenage lovers ten years earlier until the day Jasmine left town to make her own way in the world. Jasmine is a complex character, a mix of confident scientist and insecure young woman, not quite certain of her worth when it comes to a relationship with Gil. He, on the other hand, has always lived on the right side of the tracks and, apart from a rift with his police chief father at the time Jasmine left town, has always been one of the town’s golden boys. I liked his approach to reconnecting with Jasmine and his willingness to stand up for her in the face of a disapproving town. As for Jasmine, I loved that she was such a tenacious person. No matter what was thrown at her in this story she took it face on and gave as good as she got. I admired her. The story itself is short and fast-paced. With the mystery of the River Man to solve and a hint of crime and corruption in the background there was plenty to keep me reading.

3-4 star read, which had some engaging parts and could’ve been a higher rated suspense tale, but lacked some things which ultimately brought down the level of enjoyment I had in it. It has some good premises, but I felt the author was too involved in some of the story, and completely ignored the other parts, which sort of made me feel that the book was missing parts and just not my favorite read. Overall, I think if you like suspense with underlying stories of two characters life in past and present, which seems to take over, then you will enjoy this book. If you are like me and want it to entwine, but not overshadow the new story completely it might not appeal as well. But ultimately I do think you’ll get some enjoyment out of the read!

When Jasmine Heydon was 16 local police encouraged her to leave town due to her family connections and dating the son of the town sheriff. Now a biologist appearing on a successful TV show she returns to Bitterwood with her crew to run a segment on a local legend. Several deaths in the past have been attributed to The River Man but lack the evidence to support this theory.
Gilbert Easton was her teenage boyfriend and has never forgotten Jasmine or her abrupt departure. Both grew up in a town where only a few will be glad to see her again.
When deer are found with their hearts ripped out the only ones interested in finding the offender seem to be Jasmine and Gil. They dont know if this is part of a long running hoax or something more sinister.
I enjoyed reading about Gil and Jasmine's past and how they reconnected. The investigation and the way it was woven around their relationship really held my interest.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy in return for an honest review.

Close to the Truck by Shona Husk has a great premise and is quite interesting. There is a good mystery with a bit of romance woven in. Enjoyable read and a beautiful cover.

Jasmine Heydon is back in her hometown. When she was 16, the sheriff ran her out of town by threatening her family. Her crime ... born on the wrong side of the tracks ... and getting up close and personal with the sheriff's son.

It's been 10 years and she hasn't looked back, not even once. She turned her life around, got a college education, and now is back in town with her colleagues to film a show about the town's claim to fame.

The River Man has been around since his first kill a century ago. People have been murdered and River Man has been accused. Now deer are showing up murdered with only their hearts missing. The River Man again?

Jasmine is thinking this is a hoax ... a hoax the entire town might be in on ... but most especially the police and mayor. There's a lot of money in being a tourist town for those interested in the urban legend.

While Jasmine is getting to know her school crush all over again, someone absolutely does not want her investigating the River Killer. But how far are they willing to go? And if they silence her, will the River Killer be blamed?

This is a nicely paced mystery with a bit of romance, a bit of suspense. I couldn't help but think of Bigfoot as I read this story. The characters are memorable and the ending was unpredictable.

Many thanks to the author /Escape Publisher / Netgalley for the digital copy of this mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Jasmine had left her hometown of Bitterwood when she was young. She had been threatened that if she didn't leave her family would pay.
She left and lived with her aunt. Now she is a zoologist in a reality TV show. A show that proves whether olds stories are true or false.
Her crew are headed for Bitterwood. She is hoping no on remembers her. She does remember Gil her high school crush. That was the reason she was chased out of town. His father who was the chief of police had caught them in a compromising position.
Gil definitely remembers her.
The River Man has been a legend for over a century in 5he area of Bitterwood. Some say it started with the horse rustling and later commenced to other things. It is claimed the River Man does all his killings near the river. Deer mostly but there was a man killed twenty years earlier. The victims are slashed and their hearts extricated.
Is it myth or reality. Could it be some kind of river hybrid? No one seems to know.
What will be tested is the community's loyalty and the loyalty of family.
There are a lot of secrets in Bitterwood. Some that could kill you.

Close to The Truth has the foundation of an interesting suspense story, but lacked the impact I’d expect from this type of novel due the author’s tendency to provide an overwhelming amount of information which tends to overshadow the premise of the storyline. I liked Jasmine and Gil but felt more time should have been spent developing their characters and less on unnecessary descriptions. Overall, it was an OK story, but not the best I’ve read from this author.

Gil didn’t really want to look at the deer's body but the committee had nominated him to go because of his connection to the police -his father. Three days before the River Man festival -biggest thing on Bitterwoods calendar. Gil knew why he’d been told to get out here a hundred years. A hundred years ago six hundred yards was where a man had been disemboweled twenty years ago. Gil knew what he was gonna see. The cop said he didn’t mean to say anything to the mayor but there were footprints and the cuts on the body didn’t look like anything an animal would make. “It’s the River Man isn’t it?”The ranger- who wasn’t a local , seemed almost excited … or was it worried?” Gi; didn't say anything right away. The deer's legs were twisted and broken and it’s eyes were gone but that would have been from the crows. “The heart missing?”” Ripped clear out”the ranger replied. It certainly appeared looked like a Riverman kill,. He was suppose to shush up anything that would disrupt the festival. “ Maybe it was some tourists hoping to whip up some dram.” The ranger said”If a person did this it was really cruel.” If it was the River Man was he trying to scare people or stir up interest for the festival” Gil said he thought it was better to quietly clean it up. They didn’t need wannabe sleuths all over down by the river. They had professionals coming and they’d want to know about this. Jasmine would want to know about this. She was coming back. He hadn’t seen or heard anything from her in ten years . Than the mayor announced a TV show was coming to Bitterwood that specializes in cryptids. Their parting still made Gil cringe with teenage embarrassment and he never forgave his father. He never forgot her but he was sure he was a distant memory to her. It was his job to make sure Bitterwood came out looking good . Gil took out his phone to take some pictures of the deer and the footprints leading back to the river . That’s all the TV people would get. Butterwood didn’t need some people coming in coming in and telling them it was all a hoax when they had lived with the mysterious killings for a century .Hoaxes didn’t last over a century. He hoped Jasmine wasn’t going to make the town look dumb on her TV show. Jasmine had been in Washington State taking down the local legends for three weeks. There was no such thing as an amphibious humanoid. Logically she knew it but her six year old self who’d seen it fighting with her uncle wasn’t convinced. Jasmine was know a TV zoologist for a show called Cryptid or Hoax? As a TV zoologist she was paid better than anything else she could find and she had huge student loans to pay. Now she was going to have to see her parents that she hadn’t seen in ten years. Gil was the other reason she didn’t want to go back to Biterwood. He was unfinished business since she had been pulled out of the car half naked by his father the sheriff and told to leave town. She took the fifty dollars he gave her and took off and didn't stop until she hit her aunts in Seattle. She really owed the chief a thank you it got her out of Bitterwood. She wasn’t sure what she owed Gil. “ There must be old pictures from the crime scene …. Claw marks, footprints and tracks. I can talk for hours .” Jasmine said. Jasmine's heart beat fast reminding her she was afraid . She’d seen it. A hoax was something man made to draw attention and trick people. A myth had no real substance just some sightings and a place in the collected consciousness. A cryptid was something that couldn;t be explained . It had one foot in myth and another in reality. I enjoyed this book. I liked the danger escalated as time went on as Gil and Jasmine tried to find out the truth about the River Man. I think that Jasmines and Gils romance rekindled a little too quickly. I liked Jasmine was strong enough to face her fear as she looked to find the truth. I really liked Gil and Jasmine together. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it.

I enjoyed the premise of Close To The Truth. A gripping story with the main characters Jasmine and Gil likable and their interaction engaging. I look forward to reading more by this author

Close To The Truth is imaginative and interesting. I liked Jasmine and Gil. Jasmine's job was unique and really fit the story. Jasmine's backstory certainly made her a more colorful character.

Husk could have created more tension between these two. The story lent itself to a real back and forth between old hurts, misconceptions and strong attraction yet at times their relationship rebuilding itself seemed to easy. More tension would have fit and would have created a more delicious build up to rekindling their romance.

The River Man story was well paced and had more than enough red herrings to keep the reader wondering it it was Cryptid or Hoax.

One minor negative was the use of Australian terms by American characters (and yes I feel the same when Americans try to write other nationalities). It didn't lessen my overall enjoyment of the book but it was distracting especially for terms I was not familiar with and had to look up despite my large, multinational vocabulary.

Close to the Truth is a well written fiction. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. I received an arc from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Ten years earlier Jasmine was ran out of town. Now a TV biologist , she's back to film a show about the River Man , a murderous creature . Clever and wonderfully chilling thriller ! Thanks to Netgalley and Escape Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book ! #Netgalley #EscapePublishing
#CloseToTheTruth

The general premise and plot line of this novel was interesting and held some originality. However, there was a level of disconnect in the writing that drew too much of the reader’s attention away from the narrative. Husk provides an overabundance of foreshadowing and perpetuates unnecessary details in the storyline that eliminates that feeling of apprehension expected from a suspense novel. Attention may have been better served in character development as the cast feels somewhat emotionally unavailable to the reader. Overall, just an okay read. 2 stars.

A big thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC which was read and reviewed voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Tarrah Marie (@wayward_readers)