** “No, I forgave him because Jesus forgave me. Forgiveness is something we all need, whether we know it or not.” **

Janice Cantore delivers another thrilling story with “Every Deadly Suspicion.”

Hanna Keyes has raised to the ranks of Dry Oaks police chief, even though her father has been in prison for 35 years for injuring and killing several people. She is shocked when officials approach her to accept her father into a compassionate release as he’s on his deathbed. Hoping to only find the truth behind what Joe did, Hanna reluctantly agrees to bring him into her home.

Meanwhile, the normally quiet town is also facing horrific wildfires that her first crush, Jared, is helping to fight. And her current special friend, Nathan, is investigating the Lonely Heart Killer case — where a man lures women on the internet and ultimately kills them.

Dry Oaks has become a town filled with activity, and Hanna hopes to find the truth and stop the deadly events. Will she also find love while looking to solve the crimes?

Using her own experience, Cantore always does an incredible job of creating fast-paced, high-action, heart-thumping stories that leave readers guessing until the very end. She creates characters that are intriguing and also includes great themes, like redemption; we must forgive because Jesus forgave us; God works all things for good (Romans 8:28); God can redeem any soul; “Holding bitterness, unforgiveness against someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die”; and we need to make peace with history.

Fans of Lynette Eason, Irene Hannon, Terri Blackstock or Lisa Harris will love this novel.

Five stars out of five.

Tyndale Fiction provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Janice Cantore's familiarity with police procedure shines through this crime-mystery story. An interesting plot set perfectly in a small town most of us have either lived in or visited.
A police chief whose life ahs been forever impacted by crime, a town-founding family who always seems to have bad luck, and a new death that pushes old crimes to the forefront. A host of characters set the scene for a dangerous cat and mouse game that threatens everyone in town. as each character reveals parts of their story, the past comes more to life. How far will a person go to hide that past? What will a reformed criminal do with the truth when threats loom? Each choice ahs a ripple effect that carry out to the chilling end. When all secrets are brought to light and every mask is dropped to see the real person behind it. Throughout the story faith is a corner foundation, deeply threaded into the core of many characters.
I enjoyed the many layers presented throughout the story. It kept me interested and engaged from start to finish. I look forward to the next exciting story from Janice Cantore and how she brings crime, mystery, and danger all together. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have come to expect Janice Cantore books to be either a hit or a miss. Sometimes I love her novels; others, not so much. Unfortunately, Every Deadly Suspicion by Janice Cantore falls in the latter.  Crimes bubble up in Dry Oaks, California under Chief of Police Hanna Keyes’s jurisdiction. Hanna’s father confessed to drug offenses—and not to mention two murders—that occurred thirty years ago. But now he’s being released due to severe illness…and the authorities ask Hanna to take him in. Hanna must deal with this, the reemergence of a childhood friend, and violent murders. It’s an intriguing plot, but Every Deadly Suspicion didn’t have the “wow factor.”

The book is slow. As a former cop, Cantore’s depictions of police procedure and experiences are no doubt accurate. But that means the story stops and starts. We chased down a lead—but oh, no, it’s a dead end. This person blamed someone else. This person had a faulty alibi. The book, too, had too many subplots, which made it occasionally very hard to follow. I forgot characters’ names and would’ve appreciated the occasional reminder. We have:

Hanna’s case
Her dad’s case (and illness and release)
Nathan’s case
Hanna’s relationship with Nathan
Jared – his background, Hanna’s relationship with him
Hanna’s relationship with Mandy (childhood friend, also daughter of Hanna’s dad’s victims)
An obnoxious, arrogant true crime author searching for a story

Once you can wrap your head around everything, the book moves faster and makes more sense. The second half is far better from the first, but even then, Every Deadly Suspicion lacked emotional depth. Cantore wrote of characters’ turmoil, but I didn’t feel it. The writing was straight and to-the-point, no embellishment. Embellishment may bump up the word count and page count, but it is desperately needed in novels.

But I can always count on Janice Cantore to leave me with a quote that digs into my brain like a screw: “Holding bitterness, unforgiveness against someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” This applies to several characters in the novel, but it’s a concept by which all of us can live. Unforgiveness only hurts us—not anyone else.

Every Deadly Suspicion by Janice Cantore is thorough and thoughtful. But it lacked the suspense and intensity I associate with other books of the romantic suspense genre.

Janice Cantore has written another suspenseful, faith based police procedural mystery. The characters are well developed and the plot moves at a fast pace with the author putting out red herrings and twists and turns as the past and the present collide.

Hanna Keyes is the police chief of a small town, Dry Oaks, CA, where things are usually quiet. This is also a town with a big mystery, a federal agent went missing and two people died thirty years ago. It was suspected they were killed by Hanna's father, Joe. Now Joe is in failing health and Hanna is called by the prison to allow her father to come home for his last days. Hanna has always believed in her father's guilt and now she must care for him. In addition, Hanna is dealing with the town's first murder in thirty years. A plane crash with a prominent citizen on board is ruled a murder.

Joe's release seems to be the catalyst, as things are brought to the surface. Hanna's first love, Jared Hodges, returns, does he have information about this cold case? Are the criminal acts being played out in present day related to the past? Will Joe reveal what he knows?

I am a fan of the author, having read all of her books. Her experience has a police officer lends authenticity to the story. I look forward to the author's next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Tyndale House Publishers, for an ARC. The review is my own.

I have loved Janice Cantore's books in the past so I was excited about this one. However, I found this one hard to get into. It started slow but did pick up around 35% in. I found the romance aspect to be a very small part of the book and didn't connect emotionally with the characters. I didn't realize right away that the FMC was with someone other than the man listed in the blurb of the book; it didn't seem obvious to me. There was lots going on in the book so if you're looking more for the suspense part rather than the romance, this would be good; I just didn't love it.

Every Deadly Suspicion by Janice Cantore is a fantastic small-town suspense story. Hanna Keyes is the police chief in Dry Oaks, CA. The town has so many secrets - like what happened 30 years ago when her father was sent to prison for murder? Hanna faces off with the past while chasing a serial killer in the present. She joins forces with her ex, Jared Hodges, to help her piece together a mystery spanning her entire life.

I'm a big Cantore fan. I find her police procedurals intriguing and true-to-life, and in Every Deadly Suspicion, the characters and plot had me hooked from the beginning. Hanna goes from no relationship with her father to being thrown together with the accused murderer who holds the keys to her investigation. With lots of red herring and twists and turns, Every Deadly Suspicion had me trying to solve the mystery right along side of Hanna. The story isn't heavy on the romance side of romantic suspense, but that's fine with me. There's still enough sparks between Hanna and firefighter Jared Hodges to keep romance fans happy.

I received an ebook review copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I enjoyed reading Every Deadly Suspicion, a romantic suspense novel set in a small Northern California town.

Hanna is the police chief in Dry Oaks, and she survived a rough childhood. She has no contact with her father, Joe, who’s incarcerated and serving two life sentences for murder. Hanna’s mother passed a few years ago, and they had a tough time living with Joe’s reputation in a town that wouldn’t let them forget the past. A notorious true crimes podcaster and author delights in causing trouble for Hanna in her role as police chief. He lives in Dry Oaks and self-published a book featuring Joe’s crimes.

The story opens with a prologue from 1990. Joe was a cooker of illicit substances and there were other people in town who were involved in the shady dealings. Joe was excited about the prospect of becoming a dad. He wanted to stop cooking and make an honest living to support his family.

The past and present collide when a prominent member of the Dry Oaks community is murdered and their case becomes cold. It sets off a chain of events that blows up when Joe has the option of compassionate hospice release in Hanna’s home.

Hanna is determined to discover what really happened in 1990 before she was born. Danger looms as she uncovers clues and law enforcement gets closer to exposing the truth.

The police procedural drama is fascinating and dangerous. There are multiple viewpoints in the story and we learn more from Hanna’s friends and her law enforcement colleagues about the mysteries surrounding the cold cases. Long held secrets unravel.

The romance in the story is subtle and takes place in the background. When the story opens, Hanna is dating a detective she met through work. Her childhood sweetheart is back in town and he’s working for the fire department.

Dry Oaks was originally a gold mining town, and the town is like a character in the story. The complex relationships between the ensemble cast of characters play a crucial role in how the action and suspense unfold and the mysteries are solved. The faith elements in the story include redemption and forgiveness themes.

I recommend Every Deadly Suspicion to romantic suspense readers who like small-town police procedural dramas with complex cold case mysteries and relevant faith threads in the story.

Many thanks to Tyndale and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

The past and present are about to have a major collision with life changing repercussions for everyone in Dry Oaks.

Chief of Police Hanna Keyes has lived under the shadow of having a father who is a murderer. Everyone in town knows Joe Keyes, and what he confessed to doing many years ago. Hanna never truly knew her father. She allowed her mother and the rest of the town to provide the juicy information about her father's felonious past.

When she gets a phone call from the prison asking her to take care of her father during his final weeks of life. She is torn between what she believes is the right thing to do, and the fact that she does not even know this man that is her father.

There is so much mystery about what really happened on that fateful day when two people died and one person was severely injured. The bodies of the two individuals were never recovered and a federal agent is still missing as well. Joe's arrival back in town brings the past back to light, and it appears there may be more to this story.

This is a Christian fiction book and the message is one of forgiveness. The mystery was interesting. It was nice to see the puzzle pieces finally falling into place as more and more secrets are revealed. There were plenty of characters that were unlikable and were on my radar as possible culprits, but you better make sure you do not assume anything in this mystery.

Thank you to Tyndale House and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoy books by Janice Cantore, and this one did not disappoint, she wraps everything up, we do get all the answers here.
The book starts out with a plane crash, and ends with a fire, there are murders here, starting 35 years ago, is everything connected?
The setting for this story is a small town in California, and there is a wealthy family that has a hand in a lot of things, like a lot of small towns.
This is Christian suspense at its best, and with your heart in your throat at times, you will be page turning for answers, and they do come, yes, there are some big surprises here. Some sad events, but keep page turning for the justice we hope for.
There is some sweet romance, and a big theme of forgiveness, and immense love for family.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Tyndale House, and was not required to give a positive review.

I really enjoyed this book by Janice Cantore! Janice Cantore is one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. I love her writing style and somehow she always gets my attention from the first page! This book centers around a cold case and a recent case. I love the main characters and the chemistry between them. I highly recommend this book and all of Janice Cantore’s books.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

**Every Deadly Suspicion** by Janice Cantore is a well-crafted and complex mystery. Hanna, now the Chief of Police, has spent her life carrying the weight of being a murderer’s daughter. As with most of Cantore’s books, the emphasis is more on mystery and suspense than romance, and her background in law enforcement ensures a well-executed, authentic investigation. The characters feel genuine and well-developed.

I’m not usually a fan of love triangles, but this one worked for me—perhaps because it was clear where Hanna’s heart would land, and both men were genuinely good characters. Plus, there’s a possibility the other might have his own story in a future book.

The novel weaves together three intriguing mysteries: Nathan is tracking a serial killer, Hanna is investigating the murder of a prominent citizen, and lingering questions remain about the crime her father confessed to over 20 years ago.

Cantore includes some deeply thought-provoking moments that make you pause and consider—what would you do in that situation?

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s not a high-adrenaline, car-chase-filled thriller but rather a gripping, intellectual mystery that keeps you engaged.

Ironically, while reading about the wildfire in the book, we were facing one in real life here in California—a coincidence that made the story feel even more real.

"Every Deadly Suspicion" is a Christian romantic suspense. The main characters were engaging, complex, and reacted realistically to events. Hanna's father was arrested for murder as she was being born, and her mother never had anything good to say about him. A local true-crime writer wrote a book full of sensational speculation, so she grew up never able to forget what her father did. But now he's dying. Some of her friends urge her to allow him to come home. Maybe he'll confess where the bodies are. But then the bodies turn up anyway (a God timing thing), and Hanna digs into the past case only to realize the murderer couldn't be her father.

Hanna and her boyfriend, who was investigating a serial killing, got along well. But a close male friend from the past returned, and he understood how she's struggled because of her father. So there was both romantic and familial relationship tensions in addition the the danger from the job. The police work was interesting, especially as we had hints about what really happened but don't know the actual whodunit.

Several main characters were Christian. They prayed for help or forgave past hurts because of their faith. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting suspense.

Small town stories done well always appeal to me. And Every Deadly Suspicion hits the mark of a small town mystery done well. Characters that you are drawn to, characters that you question, and a big mystery that has taken years to unravel. The deceit and betrayal happening in Dry Oaks runs deeper than anyone realizes, and as small town Chief Hannah tries to untangle the mystery, she also finds deep forgiveness, true love and a redemption story that I found engaging and intriguing. I enjoyed every minute of this book!

Several murder mysteries involved; some new, some old. Many people, mostly men, which occasionally had me having to think about the names. The story did keep my interest and ended to my satisfaction. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

This is a fast paced who-dun-it. Hanna Keyes is the Chief of Police in a small town that has had its scandals. The biggest scandal is that Hanna's father, Joe, is serving a life sentence for multiple murders. The book starts out with Hanna witnessing a plane crash. This leads to several more murders and they all seemed to be connected to Joe Hanna. The mystery is well thought out. By the end of the book I did have the bad guys figured out. There was some repetition with the story of the old murders. But overall a great book.

I was given this book by Tyndale House Publishers via Net/Galley for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

This was my first read from Janice Cantore and I was excited to read a book written by a woman police officer. While I was excited by the book’s description - I usually really enjoy a cold case - the book didn’t live up to its potential for me. The main character Hanna is easy to get behind and cheer for but I didn’t think the other characters were particularly well developed - particularly on the romance side. I found myself skimming the book in places hoping the pace would pick up and the intensity might quicken - sadly it didn’t for me. I was also disappointed in the ending and feel the book needs to be tightened up with assistance from an editor. As mentioned, this was my first read by the author so the STRONG Christian content jumped out at me with surprise! Perhaps this should be advertised in the description of the book. Thank you NetGalley and Tyndale House Publishers for the ARC in an exchange for this honest review.

WOW! Hang onto your hat - once again, Janice Cantore has woven a tale that will keep up long after bedtime. Thirty years ago, Hanna Keyes's father was convicted of killing two people and maiming another. The small town of Dry Oaks was rocked forever, and Hanna has lived with the stigma ever since. But she has fought her way to the top and has become chief of police. Fighting for justice is her theme but suddenly her world is rocked. Her father, Joe, has been granted a compassionate release from prison and wants her to oversee his care. But secrets from the past abound and with Joe's arrival, things spin out of control and when dead bodies are uncovered, a sinister plot unfolds. Can Hanna uncover what truly happened thirty years ago and bring the truth to light before it's too late? For lovers of suspense and intrigue, this is a must-read for 2025!

A fast-paced and gripping read. I could not out this book down. Every Deadly Suspicion by Janice Cantore was everything a highly anticipate book should be. I absolutely enjoy Janice Cantore’s style of writing, because of how quickly the plot unfolds and that there are always a few more secrets that need to be uncovered along the way.

Hanna Keyes has lived her entire life in Dry Oaks, California and everyone knows her story. Now the Chief of Police, Hanna was born into a family filled with crime. Hanna’s father, Joe, serves a life sentence for cruel murders committed on the day she was born, and her mother lived a sad and embittered life. Hanna just wants to forget the past and move forward, but when tragedy strikes amid Dry Oaks founding family it opens a door to her past that she cannot close one that includes love, loss, and the truth that she just cannot seem to escape.

I read this book in less than 24 hours. My only negative is there was a bit of repetition of exact phrasing throughout the book. It’s just odd for a myriad of characters to say the exact same thing. Of course, this is not the final edit and it could be adjusted before publication. With that said, the reveal the culprit wasn’t the driving force that pulled me through this book so quickly. I was completely intrigued by the why, the truth, and the unfolding of all the tangled mysteries. Sometimes the greatest story derives in the deepest root of motives and that is what had me drawn into this book immediately.

Thank you NetGalley and Tyndale House Publishers for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I have loved the author’s books that I read in the past. Unfortunately I didn't love this book and was sad to feel this way about a Janice Cantore book. The plot was interesting and lots of twists and turns kept me reading the book as the current murder investigation ran parallel with a thirty-five year old murder case. But the pace of the story was slow and I found myself skimming some of the descriptions and characters’ thoughts to get to the investigation parts. I don’t like love triangles so Hanna’s relationship with Nathan and Jared did not endear me to the romantic aspect of the story. I found it surprising that both Nathan and Jared had voices in the story since they were vying for Hanna’s heart but the approach worked to set both men as heroes. There were too many characters from the onset and I had a hard time keeping track of the secondary characters. The main characters themselves got lost in the shuffle and were not fully fleshed out. The dialogue and personalities felt flat and one-dimensional. I did like the faith component of the story which emphasized forgiveness, repentance and sacrificial love.

Even after putting all the pieces together, I still felt like I missed something. Though I didn’t love the book, fans of Janice Cantore and romantic suspense will likely love it.
I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews via NetGalley. I was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.

I was not into this one. There were three different storylines throughout the book and at the end when the story was beginning to wrap up, it felt like the obvious answer just became the answer? There was mentions of romance and being in love but it felt forced and awkward.