ARC Review-

In true Catherine Cowles fashion this was a great romance featuring a FMC with a tragic backstory, a MMC with skeletons of his own, and an ongoing mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Ridley is a popular podcaster covering unsolved murders/disappearances with the goal of always giving the families of the victims a voice for their stories. A cause deeply personal to her after the unsolved case of her twin sister’s disappearance 5 years prior. While following leads for a new podcast that could link her sister’s disappearance with the attempted abduction of a girl from a small down a decade ago, Ridley finds herself teaming up with surly Sheriff Colt to connect the dots and find the closure so many people deserve. Despite their butting heads, sparks inevitably fly between the pair and now Ridley must decide if it is time for her to find a place to call home once again, or if life on the road can give her all the fulfillment she needs.

I always love Catherine’s books. I find them to be the perfect mix of mystery, thriller, and romance. I also love when we get even the smallest glimpses of beloved characters from her previous books. This one will leave you gasping, giggling, and heart racing as you work along side Ridley and Colt to unmask the devil in their lives.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My favorite Catherine Cowles book to date! No one does romantic suspense like her and I personally thought this was so well written. Teared up at the end too and hoping for another book in this series! Emerson and Trey, I’m looking at you 👀!!

Thank you Casablanca Books for the ARC!

I was supposed to be working today, instead I was distracted by true crime and love.

This might be my favorite Catherine Cowles story yet. It had me on the edge of my seat for a majority of the time. Constantly testing my patience because I really wanted to jump ahead to see if I correctly guessed what happened next.

The tension and chemistry between the main characters felt like it was jumping off the page. I am sad it’s over but very satisfied with how everything unfolded.

Catherine has done it again! Nobody is surprised right!?

The lowdown:
+ podcaster x sheriff
+ grumpy x sunshine
+ protective mmc
+ true crime
+ serial unaliver
+ small town

The romantic suspense sub-genre is the hidden gem that I had no idea existed until I joined bookstagram and now I’m completely obsessed with. Catherine’s prologues always have me feeling incredibly invested and her small towns full of lovable side characters keep me going.

Synopsis: After experiencing the unimaginable, Ridley deals with her grief by helping others find their loved ones through her true crime podcast. She travels the country working on cases that she connects with while all the while hoping to one day solve the cold case that is her sister’s disappearance. When she lands in Shady Cove for a new case, the town sheriff immediately gets in Ridley’s way thinking she’s up to no good. Eventually the case goes from cold to extremely hot and all bets are off in the chase to find all the answers.

I ate this right up. I read the first 3/4 of the book in one sitting before I forced myself to take a break. I really enjoyed watching Ridley make friends with the town and the added podcaster element added a level of investigation to the plot that was so entertaining. In true Catherine Cowles fashion, she had me completely shocked with the reveal of the villain.

I did feel ATMP was a bit lighter on romance than some of her other books but I didn’t think this was a bad thing and I was still very invested in the characters and the plot.

Another amazing book by Catherine Cowles!

I absolutely loved the true crime podcast vibes in this book! It was such a fun take and I loved Ridley’s mission and journey with her podcast and the cases.

The hate to lovers between Ridley and Colt was perfect!! Colt immediately underestimating and his judgement of Ridley just made him seeing how she truly is all the better. Their connection and learning to lean on each other had me rooting for them from the beginning.

As always with Catherine’s books, the reveal of the villain took me by complete surprise and I didn’t see it coming at all!

4.5!! AHHH CATHERINE COWLES HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!

“Best gift I’ve ever received, meeting you.”

I was seriously so excited to read this. Grumpy sheriff and sunshine crime podcaster work together to solve her sister’s disappearance and put away the same man who kidnapped his sister!!!!
This book was like watching a crime documentary. Catherine does romantic suspense so well and always has you guessing who the villain is through the entire book. I had a list of five suspects in my notes and one of them was right 🙂‍↔️

CANT WAIT FOR EMMIE AND TREY