Debra Webb's new Vera Boyett series is an excellent story with many twists and turns that kept me guessing to the very end.

Vera returns home after many years to assist her sister Eve with a discovery that traces back many years to a secret, they have kept to themselves.
Luna the youngest sister is excited to have Vera back if only for a little while. The town Sheriff is Vera's old love interest that still has some unfinished business to tend too. The cave behind their house was a place to play when they were kids but has become a dumping ground of bodies that no one seems to know anything about. As the memories resurface of what happened long ago, Vera searches for answers and tries to hide them from the sheriff and everyone else in town. It seems the neighbors have an opinion of what happened all those years ago, but can Vera and Eve keep the truth to themselves without anyone getting hurt?

Debra Webb is one of my favorite authors. She has a writing style that draws me in each and every time I pick up one of her books. The twisted plots, the family histories, the ending you never see coming keeps me coming back for more. The romance that is always a backstory but draws you in page by page where you are rooting for the couple even in the darkest of times. I can't wait to read the next installment of Vera and her family. Debra Webb has set the stage for more to come, and I am all in!
Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas and Mercer for the eArc of this book.

As she deals with the fallout of a major incident at work, crime analyst and deputy police chief Vera Boyett is called home by her youngest sister after neighboring kids find a skeleton in a cave on the Boyett family's property. It soon becomes clear that Vera and her other sister, Eve, aren't surprised to learn it is the remains of their step-mother, who disappeared over 20 years ago, but exactly what happened back then isn't revealed until much later in the book, leaving the reader guessing in the meantime. Vera battles conflicting obligations as she tries to protect her family from suspicion while not impeding the investigation, as well as her feelings for her ex-boyfriend and first love, who happens to be the sheriff leading the investigation. Overall, I liked the characters and thought Webb did a good job with red herrings, but I found the pacing a bit stilted for the first half of the book as, for me, a bit too much information was held back. I presume this was to build tension, but having to wait so long to find out what happened at Vera's job actually made the final revelation a bit underwhelming. That being said, I enjoyed the book and will definitely look for the next one in the series.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the chance to read Deeper than the dead by Debra Webb. The first book in a new series, Vera Boyett returns home when her long gone Stepmother is found in a secret cave at the back of the property. Then more bodies are discovered. Is it one killer, or several? Lots of family secrets, twists and turns and some left open threads that I hope continue in the next book!

Deeper Than the Dead is the start of a new series by Debra Webb.  Vera has just returned home because something went down at her last job and somebody's head had to roll and that was Vera.

At home we meet her sister Eve and much younger sister Luna. The sisters get on quite well together, but as the story reveals itself - all I can say is wow! All the secrets!  The new sherrif in town Bent is a flame of Vera from the past,  so there is a little romantic interest there that you can see will develop further at some point.

The whole mystery - dead bodies - around some cold cases, is in my mind, bizarre. It's all quite complex and it seems that anyone could have been responsible, and as its all revealed, I wondered what would come out into the light and what would or could remain still hidden deep.

Vera works kind of with Bent and eventually most of it all comes out, and eventually she has to decide where her life is going next.

Wow! One surprise after another. Complicated characters, suspenseful mystery, and family drama makes for a read you can't put down. I'm never disappointed by this author. I read this book in one sitting. I was so engrossed, before I knew it, hours had passed and I was at the end. Highly recommend!

My Review
☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️

Deeper than the dead.
#Privateinvestigator

Get ready for a wild ride.This story has it all.
Dead bodies, caves cemeteries. Criminals.
The wicked. And then there's the good people.
It's simply a fascinating story.

Crime analyst vera boyett

A trip back home. remains have been found.Secrets have a way of surfacing. Some people will kill to keep those secrets.
Bodies that have been buried for years,

For me, this was a very intriguing story.
I loved how everything unfolded.
Secrets lies and more lies on top of lies.

just when I thought I knew who the killer was, I was wrong.It turned out to be completely someone different. This author always throws in a shock factor in the end.
Absolutely a terrific book.

I really recommend this author's work.
She's my favorite in this genre.

Debra Elaine Webb
Thank you For another fantastic book.
Your stories are the best.

This was a very suspenseful, twisty read! The author peeled back the layers bit by bit, which left me engaged and in suspense the entire time. This author is the best at writing dark and twisty mysteries and this one was no exception! My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Deeper than Dead is part police procedural and part domestic thriller that is sure to entertain the reader until its twisty end. Set in a hot, humid Tennessee town where everyone knows everyone including their past. Vera Boyett was the deputy police chief of Memphis and has returned home after a scandal that has rocked the department. While here she must face her traumatic past including some actual skeletons found in a cave on her family’s land.

Read this is you like:
-slow burns
-dual timelines
-cold cases
-small time vibes
-hint of potential romance
-traumatic childhood
-police procedural with domestic thriller
-complex characters
-red herrings with several twists
-satisfying ending

My rating 3.5 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eARC that will be released August 1, 2024.

This was an intense book. It’s full of family drama, secrets and some surprises. I will say it starts out slow and is almost too wordy at times. It wasn’t til almost half way through that it picks up and gets more interesting. It becomes a page turner from there til the end. It’s another good book by this author. I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

New series! New kick butt main female character! New mysteries to uncover and murders to solve!! These are all good things from Debra Webb!

Vera is abruptly brought home when her stepmother's body is found. Good timing since she is in the process of being fired from her job. But coming home is never easy and Vera has to face the fact that her own family's history may not be as upstanding as she thought. The same goes for the small town they live in. I enjoyed getting to know a new cast of characters and slowly learning what has been hidden. I thought the resolution was very unique and interesting and am looking forward to the next book(s) in the series!

Vera doesn’t go back home often, but she receives a phone call from her stepsister, Luna, telling her she needs to come back home. Her sister Eve and Luna live on the family property in Tennessee and the body of Luna’s mother that has been missing for over 20 years was found in a cave on the property. Vera returns and 3 other unidentified bodies are found is this same cave. The investigation into the identity, cause and timeline bring out long kept secrets that people will do anything to keep hidden.

Thank you so much for another twisty thriller Debra Webb and NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer

This book has an interesting plot and great characters, but it's too slow and has a lot of repetitions. Still, it's easy and entertaining to read.

This is the first book in the Vera Boyett Series.

While Vera is engrossed in trouble at work, she gets a phone call from her sister that remains have been found believed to be their stepmother. She goes home to find that her former high school flame is now the sheriff. As they dig in to find out if the remains are indeed the stepmother's, three more bodies are found in the same area. Vera knows the truth about what happened to her stepmother, but who are the other three? But does she really know the truth?

This is a great beginning to a new series! Great characters and a great plot that keeps you guessing about where the story is leading to. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you to the Author and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Protecting Your Family Was Never Harder

Vera Boyett, the Deputy Chief of the Memphis Police Department, is packing her personal items to take home as this is the end of her career. While not by her direct action, she had let an elite team deteriorate and cost lives. She knew that this would be the end of her career. She receives a call from her step-sister, Selina. Vera thought that the call was about their seventy-five-year-old father, whose health had taken a turn for the worse two years ago. His dementia had made it impossible for him to live at home any longer. Selina tells her that Mama has been found. She said that she didn’t leave us. Someone took her from us. She’s been dead all this time. From this start, a very engaging novel begins.

The novel has only one main storyline thread and is narrated by Vera Boyett. There are two subthreads. Very early in the novel, the reader learns that teenage Vera and her sister, Eve, hid their stepmother’s body in a cave on their property. She expresses that the protection of her family is her highest priority. This leads her to conduct her own investigation to learn what she needs to defend her family. The second subthread is the Sheriff asking her to participate in the investigation. The problems she must face are an increasing body count, and she believes Eve is not telling her everything. Whenever Vera discovers what appears to help shift the focus away from her family, it turns around to implicate her family. This storyline captured my interest to the end.

The novel provides a rich and extensive background on Vera, the protagonist. Her discussions and flashbacks with Eve offer valuable insights into her family ties. These interactions with her sister, Eve, and her step-sister, Selina, reveal the complex dynamics of their relationships. Similarly, her discussions and flashbacks with Sheriff Benton shed light on her professional and romantic past. These are B-storylines, which not only add depth to the characters but also provide a solid foundation for the next novel.

This novel should not present any issues for readers sensitive to intimate scenes, language, and violence. There is only a reference to a twenty-two-year-old intimacy. A noticeable amount of objectionable language is present, but more rude than vulgar. There is a sprinkling of impious language. For violence, only two scenes are described in the more edgy as it occurs, but they still are mild. This is the first book in what appears to be a two-book series, so there are no issues of missing anything from a previous novel.

What kept me reading this novel was seeing the events through the eyes of Vera Boyett. I never knew precisely what Sheriff Benton knew. All that she discovers seems to point back to her family. This locked me into continuing reading. The only issue I had was a loose end at the end. The author does address it in the last chapter, so I suspect it will be part of the second book in this series. Since I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, I moved the author’s rating up to my Must-Read category and did not deduct my rating based on the unresolved loose end. I do recommend reading this novel. I am just waiting for the next novel to become available. I rate this novel with five stars.

I received this novel's free prepublication e-book version through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer. My review is based solely on my own reading experience of this novel. Thank you, Thomas & Mercer, for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

Deeper Than the Dead was my first novel by this author, and I really enjoyed it. Anything with sisters always draws me in, being the first of five girls, I love my sisters so much. Anyways.. while I did figure this out towards the end, I still really enjoyed the book and for most of it I did continue to wonder who the murderer could be and also found myself invested in the side story going on. There was plenty of drama and twists to keep me interested but I wouldn’t consider this a thriller, more like a cozy mystery. I really did find myself liking the main character Vera, and because of that I will pick up the next one in the series when its available. Many thanks to Thomas and Mercer for my eARC. Deeper Than the Dead will be published 8/1.

Vera and her sister Eve know that their stepmother Sheree's body was in the cave but not about the three other skeletons that have just been found. And now they've got to deal with their own ghosts as well as with Bent, the determined law enforcement officer who is looking for answers. This is a fast paced and twisty one about the past coming back with a vengeance. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good storytelling makes it a good read.

”There are folks who will do anything to keep their secrets”.

This is the sixth book I have read from Debra Webb. As a fan of her Finlay O’Sullivan series, I have discovered I much prefer her later work over her earlier work. It is my opinion that her writing has drastically improved over time as she has become a better and more seasoned author. I’ll leave it at that.

Having just read a story about a couple of families with a lot of secrets in their “family closets”, I was curious what kind crazy stuff I would be finding in Vera Boyett’s closet. I’m not usually a fan of domestic dramas; I find so much of it boring and poorly written. However, I really enjoyed the story of Vera and the skeletons (literally) in her “family cave”.

As the book summary states, one of the skeletons is Vera’s stepmother, Sheree, that was believed to have run off with another man more than 22yrs ago. What the book summary doesn’t say is that Vera and her sister Eve were the ones that stuffed Sheree’s body in the cave 22yrs ago, when Vera was 17 and Eve was 12. This after Eve found Sheree trying to drown baby Luna (toddler) in the bathtub and in the process of saving Luna from Sheree, Eve pushed Sheree and she hit her head on the ceramic sink and then the tile floor that killed her instantly.

Having just been relieved of her position as Deputy Chief for the Memphis PD because of an incident with her team that resulted in the death of two teammates, Vera heads back home to Fayetteville to try and keep the secret that she and Eve have kept for 22yrs from coming to light. There is a secondary storyline of the new Sheriff, Bent, and Vera and their complicated affair 22yrs ago; Vera is still as attracted to Bent now as she was then. However, Bent is obsessed with finding out how the bodies got in the cave and who put them there and is convinced that Vera and Eve are not being completely honest and are definitely hiding something.

Most of the story revolves around the investigation of discovering Sheree’s body along with three other skeletons discovered in another part of the cave. While Vera and Eve knew about Sheree’s body (this was revealed really early in the story), they have no idea who the other three are or who put them there. It wasn’t until well into the second half before I had the slightest clue as to who the killer of the three other bodies could be. I missed the mark on that one.

This was not the fast-paced action-packed kind of story that I typically read. However, the storyline was interesting and definitely kept me engaged. The character development of the MC’s was pretty good although I would have liked to know a little more about Bent and his time from leaving Fayetteville for the Marines, to when he came back 20yrs later. I’m sure future installments will go more into that. I really liked the ending too! Very satisfying. Webb definitely wove a really good story here about a family with a lot of secrets and a town willing to do anything to hide its own secrets. I look forward to more of Vera Boyett and her hometown and all its secrets. I’m looking at an overall score of 4.2 that I will be rounding down to a 4star rating

I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #Thomas&Mercer #DeeperThantheDead

Vera Boyett, a disgraced former deputy police chief, returns to her small Tennessee hometown when the remains of her long-missing stepmother, Sheree, are discovered in a cave on the family property. Vera and her sister, Eve, had a strained relationship with Sheree, and the discovery forces them to confront their past.

As the investigation unfolds, shocking secrets about the family and the town surface. Vera, utilizing her detective skills, uncovers evidence suggesting Sheree's disappearance wasn't an isolated incident. Further discoveries reveal additional bodies in the cave, predating and postdating Sheree's death.

Vera, haunted by her past and determined to find the truth, must navigate a web of small-town secrets, face her estranged sister, and even reconnect with her former love, the town sheriff. The deeper she digs, the more danger she uncovers, threatening not only herself but also those she cares about.

I loved this first book in Debra‘s new series (Vera Boyett #1)

This book definitely has the wow effect. It grabbed me from the very first page, and I truly could not put it down. It’s full of suspense and definitely keeps you questioning.
Talk about sister drama this one definitely has it!

Crime analyst Vera Boyett has possibly lost her job and is debating on what to do. She gets a call from her half sister Luna. Luna’s mother had went missing many years ago. But now she has been found! In a cave on the family property. Vera has home to console her sister Luna and to get her story straight with her sister Eve. Vera and Eve may have some knowledge as to how Sheree’s body got in the cave.
But the plot thickens. They have now found four bodies on their family property. Now her whole family is under suspicion and to top it off the new sheriff investigating just so happens to be Vera‘s ex-boyfriend Bent.
Debra did an amazing job. It’s definitely beyond five stars. The description was so good that I felt I was a part of the Boyett family. Her characters were as always very believable. I can’t wait to see what Vera gets into next.

I was asked to read this ARC IN RETURN FOR MY HONEST REVIEW.

This was my first book by this author!! I am officially a fan and can't wait for the rest of the books in the series to come out.

This book was the perfect thriller with the right amount of suspense and twist.