Thank you so much to @netgalley, escape publishing & Elisabeth Rose for this #gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review. This one was fun full blown mystery with a nice bit of romance. It takes place in Australia which was also a nice change of pace.

It all starts out in Taylor Bend with the apparent murder suicide of Mia's father and stepmother. Everyone in the small town was shocked to hear this as they were a happy couple no signs of any trouble. Soon after their deaths Mia begins to have this terrifying reoccurring dream that makes her feel like there's more to this story. So she heads to Taylor Bend to take care of her father's estate and to sell the house.

Arlo, the local reporter meets with Mia in order to publish a story to help her father's reputation. Mia confides in him about the dream and her suspicions and he has the same. They begin to dive deep into the story and unearth some horrifying things about the town and what actually happened to Tony and Glenda. Malicious attacks, terrible comments, and violence against Arlo and Mia begin to happen shortly after. Will this mystery be solved? Will Mia and Arlo fall in love? Will Mia ever see justice for her father?

This one was a quick read for me and I quite enjoyed it. I liked that there were many elements to this one not just a mystery or thriller or romance. I love when a book gives you multiple "genres." I would have liked to see A bit more of something, not really sure exactly what maybe a little bit of everything. But I did enjoy the romance aspect and the mystery aspect. This would be a 3.5⭐

Mia Petros lost her parents a few months ago. Since that time she has had a recurring nightmare which hints at their deaths were not due to murder-suicide at the hands of her father as the police decided. She's absolutely positive it was a double murder.

Mia is back in town to take care of her father's house ... possibly to sell the house. No matter what, she's determined to stay until she gets some answers. But who can she tell about her dreams ... without them thinking she's crazy?

Arlo McGuiness is the owner/editor of the town's newspaper. He's also an ex-investigative journalist. Learning that Mia is back in town, he takes the opportunity of interviewing her for a story concerning her father. He's not only intrigued by Mia, but by her story ... especially the mystery when she tells him of her dreams.

BOOK BLURB: His old, familiar urge to find the truth is awakened. But his probing engenders trouble--nasty comments are followed by malicious acts, and before long Arlo and Mia face escalating violence, their lives in danger.

The plot is tightly woven around deftly defined characters. The action is non-stop leading to a satisfactory conclusion. The balance of both romance and suspense are such that the writing does not overpower one over the other. Although 3rd in the series, it is easily read as a stand alone. Each of the books in this series features new characters, new stories ... no cliff hangers.

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

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I feel bad giving such a terrible review, but I could barely read the first chapter. The writing was rushed and did nothing for the actual story. This was not for me.

Can a dream become reality? For Mia it's starting to look that way, the dream implies that what the police thought was a murder/suicide pact at the hands of her father turns out to actually be something different

I would like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is book #3 in a series, and I hadn't realized that when I requested to read it. I don't usually like to come into a series in this way because often times it will cause some confusion with what is happening, what the histories are and the character traits that have already been developed. Having said that, though, I think the author did well in regards to all of those points, in that I didn't feel completely confused, but I do wonder if maybe I would have enjoyed the book more had I read the books in order.

This book is a mystery/romance, that feels more heavy on the mystery than romance, and I appreciate that. So often books categorized in this way are light on the mystery, or are more thriller than mystery. I plan to go back and find book 1 in this series and start from the beginning, and look forward to the next book by this author.

This book is full-on mystery with a side of romance. Mia's father and step-mother died recently in an apparent murder suicide. They lived a very happy life in a small town in rural New South Wales, Australia. Their deaths, and the way they died, are shocking to the small town they lived in and everyone they knew. Shortly after their deaths Mia started having a recurring dream about their deaths - that lead her to believe maybe all was not as it seemed.

Arlo is a former investigative journalist who has moved to that same small town for a fresh start. He has embraced small-town life and has successfully started a newspaper there. When he encounters Mia while she is cleaning out her father's house, he also starts to wonder if the deaths were a murder suicide. As his investigation progresses, the danger to them both rises.

The setting and near constant icy rain and bleakness really sets the scene for the whole book. The romance between Mia and Arlo is warm and sweet - and comes on quickly but feels like a slow burn. Their relationship is definitely and adult one.

The only thing I didn't love - was that the resolution of the big mystery was kind of anticlimactic. I would have liked if it had more impact. But for the cozy mystery that this was - maybe that wasn't needed? Overall - a good read!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.