An unusual sort of romantic suspense novel. Beckett finds Aria, a teen girl with autism, next to a dead body. Jo a psychiatrist, uses art therapy with Aria but is disturbed, very disturbed by Aria's work. Can Beckett and Jo find the murderer before it's too late for them? I missed the first novel but I think this was fine as a standalone. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Solid romantic suspense novel, 3.5 stars.

This is my first book of the series, but I didn't feel out of place. The author did a good job of introducing the reader to the storyline and tying it into the current book.

This book focuses on Jo Bellerose, a psychiatrist in Skull Hollow. She's got a complicated past and not a lot of confidence in herself, but she is determined to do whatever it takes to help her patients. When a young witness to a murder is found, Jo reaches out to her and starts Aria on art therapy, as she is autistic.

During the murder investigation, Jo starts to get close to the agent, Beckett Stolle. She's met him previously as a teammate of her friend Mia's partner, but sparks haven't started until now. As they investigate the Pollock Butcher's murders, it becomes certain that Jo is an intended victim.

I enjoyed the teamwork between Jo and Beckett. Jo's relationship with her mother is challenged, but they are trying to move forward. There's a little bit of heat, hardly any, and the focus is more on the building relationship between Jo and Beckett than the physical aspect. Good mystery and action.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Trail of Deception is the second book in the On the Edge series. The story is set in the small town of Skull Hollow, Texas as a huge ice storm is approaching. This story begins with the search for a missing autistic teenage girl. Tactical tracking expert, Beckett Stolle is involved in the investigation. He locates Aria who is nonresponsive but agitated. Beckett had learned that Aria like Garth Brooks. He starts to hum a song by Brooks and can see her relax and then sings the whole song. From this action Aria has bonded with Beckett and trusts him enough to point behind her to the body of a woman.

Jo Bellerose, a psychiatrist is hired to treat the traumatized girl, who, because of her being autistic, requires a different way to therapy. Jo suggests several different ways with no response until Jo mentions art therapy to which Aria says yes. Jo is alarmed when she watches Aria paints the scene of the murder. After several sessions Jo realizes that Aria is trying to tell Jo what she knows but Jo just can't quite see the answer just yet. As the storm intensifies so does the killer as he sets his sights on Jo.

This is the first book in the series I have read. The book is told from three points of view; Beckett, Jo and the killer. The murder is the primary focus with the relationship of Jo and Beckett building within the story. Jo and Beckett are attracted to each other, but Jo has issues from her past that will complicate their relationship. I thought the writing was very descriptive and the characters were well developed. I enjoyed how the story kept building in its intensity with the storm and the hunt for the murderer. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

First off I want to thank @netgalley, @amazonpublishing, @amandamckinney for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the perfect blend of suspense and romance, Amanda knocked it out of the park with this one. Buried Deception was good, but Trail Of Deception was amazing. From the first page she grabs you with the thoughts of the serial killer and it just draws you in for a non stop ride. I read it in less than 24h, it's that good.

I loved getting back into it with these characters, we follow Jo and Beckett in this book and their path to love. I loved Jo, she is such a relatable character, with all her insecurities, all her flaws, it was amazing to see her grow throughout the whole book. Beckett is so supportive towards Jo and her process to becoming a better version of herself.

The different POV's make for a deeper understanding into each characters mind, which for me is a big winner. Honestly, everything in this book felt so real, the emotions, the thought process, the investigation process, the reasons behind the actions, everything is meticulously researched by the author, nothing feels unusual, everything feels relatable and true. There were so many mental health issues where I totally related and felt as if I was getting the reasoning behind my thoughts and why I think of myself a certain way. I love the time and effort she put in to that research. Amanda has a way of writing that just draws you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This was an amazing second book to this series, I'm not sure how she'll top it off, but honestly I'm sure she will! Every book she writes gets better and better.

If you're looking for an amazing, thrilling, suspenseful, edge of your seat read sprinkled with romance definitely give this series a try!

Trail of Deception is the second book I've read by Amanda McKinney--the first was in a different series, but this novel worked just fine as a standalone. I'm not sure that the term "romantic suspense" really fits--this was more of a gruesome murder mystery than it was a romance, and I just couldn't buy what little romance there was, but it certainly was a suspenseful, albeit gruesome read, and it gets 3 stars from this reader.

The setting is Skull Hollow, a small town in Texas, the criminal a psycho serial killer who flays his victim's bodies and paints them with their own blood. The hero is Beckett Stolle, a handsome search and rescue professional, although what he's doing in this tiny town in southern Texas had me wondering just how much crime there could be in that location. The heroine is Jo, a psychiatrist who owns and runs a mental health clinic in this tiny town. And then there's Aria, a teenage girl who is high on the autism spectrum, her mother is Jamie, a drug user, and Aria's stepfather is Cyrus, a firefighter. There are also secondary characters, among them Leif, a local drug dealer, and Melinda, Jo's self-indulgent and uber-wealthy mother. Every single one of these characters is hiding something, and it's the secrets that move this novel forward, as Beckett and local law enforcement search for Aria, and another local girl who's gone missing, and Aria is found sitting near the serial killer's latest victim--the other missing girl. But how do you get a 99% nonverbal autistic girl to tell what she's witnessed?

I liked the set-up of this novel, but felt that it floundered somewhere in the middle. The slow-growing relationship between Jo and Beckett seemed at odds with his previously stated relationship avoidance policy. Jo and her insecurities was somewhat more relatable, but she was also rather cold and closed off, and also keeping deep, dark secrets.

This whodunit kept me turning pages, and while I did like the multiple character narration, by the end of the novel, it just didn't satisfy. I would have liked more background and character development when it came to Beckett, and the lack thereof kept me wondering what a man with his skills and talents was doing in that small town in the first place. The romance went from zero to love way too quickly. All in all, not a bad read, but not a great one for this reviewer.

I voluntarily read and advance reader copy of this novel, which is scheduled for release on April 4, 2023. The opinions stated are my own.

Ms McKinney is one of my auto-buy authors when it comes to Romantic Suspense with an edge! If you took the romance away, the story would stand strong on its suspense alone.

OML Jo Bellerose was a big bag of contradictions. Rich girl, tough girl façade, don't mess with me attitude and as many traumas to deal with as some her patients! Beckett is her perfect foil - stubborn, determined, can see through her smokescreens and she may just be the woman to make him want to put the effort into a relationship!

They navigate the search and rescue for a non-verbal autistic girl named Aria and in the process get involved in the hunt for a serial killer terrorising Texas. Add in mothers midst midlife breakdown, friends first pregnancies and an almighty storm/blizzard and you have all the hot buttons for an amazing story.

As the proud auntie of 5 kids with varying forms of Autism, it was great to see it being represented in this book. It is hard to give it the in-depth treatment it needs as the varying forms of Autism are many and varied but I thought Aria was handled and depicted well. Beckett and Jo sizzle with chemistry, even whilst Jo is sticking up every barricade, sounding alarms and giving every "go away" vibe whilst actually wanting to get closer to Beckett. Her "dirty little secret" nearly broke my heart. She overcame so much but, again, I felt her backstory and traumas were brilliantly handled.

Witty banter, taut and well paced story and lots of engaging characters.

Trail of deception is the second book in the trilogy On the edge. The first book set up the tone for an intriguing story and some very interesting characters.
The story is much more gruesome than the first and i think it's more enticing because the stakes are higher in capturing the serial killer. Here comes in play a young nonverbal autistic character that plays a big part in the story. I think that alone should tell you how twisted and chilling the story is becoming. While in the first book we had Mia and Easton as the main characters and their relationship, in here the main spotlight is taken by their colleagues, Jo and Beckett. They couldn't be more different but we all know that opposites attract each other and i can see the potential of a romantic relationship.
Overall is an intriguing story with many unpredictable twists and one that i would recommend. I also recommend reading the first book so you can get a better idea about the characters and their job.

Read Now title

Trail of Deception by A: Mc Kinney, published by Montlake, is the second installment in the On the Edge Trilogy.
This is not a stand-alone, I recommend to read the books in order.
Aria is an autistic girl who gets tangled up in a murder case.
Beckett Stolle, a rescue expert and Jo Bellerose, her therapist are investigating the case. Is Aria responsible for the body they found her with?
A thriller of its finest let Trail of Deception the reader out of its pages. Intriguing, angsty, unputdownable, 4,5 stars. The story concludes in the next book, coming soon.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amanda McKinney and Montlake for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

McKinney returns with her second book of her On The Edge series. This time a brutal sadistic serial killer has been making his way around Texas killing women and slicing them open. On the eve of a brutal winter storm one of Skull Hollow's young vulnerable citizens is missing. Aria is a limited verbal autistic and has ventured out into the woods by herself. When LYNX tactical expert Beckett Stolle finds the young girls she is sitting next to the newest victim. Aria is quickly taken to see Jo Bellerose, a psychiatrist at The Dragonfly Clinic, to try and reveal any knowledge she might have of the killer before he strikes again Jo's methods are unorthodox much like herself but she and Beckett must work together to find the killer before they become his next victim.

I enjoy many of McKinney's novels and was excited to see a second chapter to the On The Edge series. This one does not focus on Mia or Easton but their coworkers, Jo and Beckett. Jo is all rebel while Beckett wants to control the situations which makes them buttheads but ultimately work well together. Their relationship was a bit formulaic, and did not feel like they would connect romantically. I enjoyed Jo's work with Aria although the mom and Beckett should have been kept away from the sessions. My biggest gripe was about the killer and the soft connection to the original victims. The story is told from the dual POV of Jo and Beckett. Overall this is a good romantic mystery.

First after reading Buried Deception I was thrilled to see the next book this one. When I started it was good.
But then the author started talking about things happening in the world I don’t see the reasoning behind it.
Who does that? There’s enough talk about all the variants on the news. I don’t want to have it referenced in a book I’m reading.
When I read a book it’s my time to escape.
So I just have a hard time reading it.
I had high hopes for this book.
It’s my first time reading this author too. But if she continues to talk about COVID I won’t ever buy her books again.

This book is I guess what you would label as a romance/suspense/thriller that takes place in Southeastern Texas in the small town of Skull Hollow. With a name like that you just know something really bad is about to happen. Yep. A local autistic teenage girl goes missing and is found hours later in the swampland next to a murdered woman by Beckett Stolle, a hunky search and rescue expert. Beckett has had a crush for sometime on Jo Bellerose , a local psychiatrist who doesn’t seem to know he exists.

The story is told from several alternating points of view, the killer’s, Jo’s, and Beckett’s, but is very easy to follow along with. This is a book where everyone has secrets, secrets they don’t want to share. As everyone knows, secrets can be very dangerous.

When Beckett finally has the chance to meet and impress Jo, she doesn’t appear to be wowed by him, but he isn’t deterred. She is busy trying trying to help the young autistic girl, Aria recover from her shocking experience. She and Beckett are both worried about the serial killer they believe is in their community, especially when they realize he has Jo in his sights.

I was very engrossed in this suspenseful story and eager to find out what would happen although I did figure out who the killer was before the end. My only dissatisfaction was with the romance/relationship between Jo and Beckett. I just wasn’t feeling the attraction. He described himself as not knowing much about love and having zero interest in it. Yet he appears to fall in mad love almost overnight with Jo, a woman with many secrets and resistance to sharing anything with him.

All that said, I did enjoy the book and think mystery/suspense/thriller lovers will enjoy it as well. Many thanks to the publisher, Montlake, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I gave it three stars.

This book was fast-paced read for me, just what i would expect in a thriller novel. There were various sides of disabilities and mental illness that I wasn't aware of.. Also a serial killer is on the loose, and his targets are all women.

Putting this book down was one of the hardest things I did recently, it was so engaging I almost missed my train stop, twice.

It's not easy to write a good Romance Suspense, usually you have too much of one or too much of the other, but this one was the perfect mix of both.

Jo Bellerose, a psychiatrist, finds herself involved in the hunt for a serial killer that had just killed his latest victim in her town; with the help of the search and rescue expert Beckett Stolle, she has to put together all the clues, that seem to lead to her latest patient, an autistic girl named Aria.
Secrets and a huge ice storm will make this mission harder than they expected.
Will they hunt down the horror, or it will find them first?

I really enjoyed the story, and I would have given it 5 stars, but I think that the author could have explained better Aria's personality, it was a great opportunity to raise awareness on the subject, and I think it was a bit wasted.

I will leave a review on Amazon and B&N of April 4th

The second book in the On the Edge series, Trail of Deception was a chilling thriller. With a serial killer on the loose, women are on edge when a young austic teenager leaves home with her mom's car the community does an all out search for her. Once she is located that's not all that was found, what follows will keep you turning the pages until the very end of the book. I did figure out whom the killer was before the end of book, but still was a very good read. I would recommend it to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Montlake Publishers, I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley / Arc for an advance copy for a honest review.

This review is my opinion only.

The story started off action packed and then slowly loss its steam. Although regained toward the end. I did like the fact all the characters made sense and served a purpose. They were all well developed which made the story easier to follow..

I loved the twist and turns the book had to help make it a thriller, although there was a forced romance which, in my opinion, through the story line off a bit. The serial killer, I suppose most will guess before revealed. I dint read the first book, but I felt like this book can standalone.

All in all I enjoyed my first book from this author and will definitely be reading more from her.

Trail of Deception by Amanda McKinney is a solid page-turner for readers who enjoy an excellent combination of suspense, mystery, and romance. This book is the second in a series but functions as a standalone.

Meet Jo. She’s a psychiatrist who exudes confidence but is less put-together inside. Enter Beckett. He’s a tracker who has had a crush on Jo from afar. Set in the small town of Skull Hollow, Texas, there’s a serial killer on the loose, targeting women. Will Jo and Beckett be able to work together, solve the mystery, and bring the killer to justice?

Told in the first person with alternating points of view, this was an enjoyable, easy read for a fan of the genre. McKinney created likable and well-developed characters. While the first chapter is a tad gory in detail, not too over-the-top, it’s about as bad as it gets.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Right amount of characters (not so many that it gets hard to keep up with them)
You do not need to read the first book.
Serial killer and the killings are detailed and gruesome. I skipped those parts.
Story was a little too long.
Overall a good book and I will read more by this author

I recently finished 'Buried Deception' by Amanda McKinney and immediately made sure I had all of the alerts set that would let me know when another book by her would be available for ARC. She proved with that book that she was going to be a favorite author of mine and this next book certainly didn't disappoint. And if I thought the first one got nitty and gritty, then this one went full-on gruesome. In the absolutely best kind of way. I also loved that Mia and Easton made appearances.

Beckett and Jo were at the center of this book and I was loving the chemistry between the two of them. Beck has had a crush on Jo for a while, so naturally, when she becomes the target of a serial killer, he is right there to help protect her. Swoon! In checking out what other people think of this book, I noticed that some feel the romance is rushed between Beck and Jo. But, personally, I'm assuming since he's been crushing on her for a while, they at least have known each other for a while even if they haven't interacted much. Plus, their friends are together. So, I really didn't feel that things were too rushed and reading about their romance was a great addition to the suspense happening. I love them as much as I love Mia and Easton and that's saying something!

A lot of red herrings pop up in this one to lead you astray. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I absolutely fell for them and I'm willing to bet many other readers will as well because Amanda McKinney is a master at the craft of red herrings! Maybe if (when) I go back and read it a second time I will pick up on different things and realize I could have figured out the guilty party sooner. But those red herrings are so good and so well done. I strongly recommend this book and I recommend that you read 'Buried Deception' as well! I'll just be sitting here waiting for the next one to come out.

3.75/5 stars! This is the second installment of the "On the Edge" series. I was concerned about how the mental health representation was going to be handled in this book after reading the premise. Far too frequently mental health is handled insensitively. It was handled carefully and will respect in this story, which I appreciated. My concern with the story is that the two main characters don't have a very believable chemistry. It felt like they were forced to 'fall for' each other simply so the story could have a romantic element. I think the story would have stood better on its own without this addition.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a review.

This was an excellent mystery thriller. The characters were very well developed and had great depth. As the story developed I was kept guessing as to who the serial killer was. The best part for me was the author’s commitment to the murder story and the romance was allowed to develop on the side. There was a definite connection between Jo and Beckett, but the culmination of their relationship didn’t happen until almost the end of the book.

Loved this story and I will definitely read more of this author’s books.