Category Archives: Kimberly Belle

December 30, 2021 · 12:02 am

Review: My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle

Title: My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 331 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Bestselling author of DEAR WIFE and THE MARRIAGE LIE, Kimberly Belle returns with her most heart-pounding thriller to date, as a masked home invader reveals the cracks in a marriage.

Everyone is about to know what her husband isn’t telling her…

Jade and Cam Lasky are by all accounts a happily married couple with two adorable kids, a spacious home and a rapidly growing restaurant business. But their world is tipped upside down when Jade is confronted by a masked home invader. As Cam scrambles to gather the ransom money, Jade starts to wonder if they’re as financially secure as their lifestyle suggests, and what other secrets her husband is keeping from her.

Cam may be a good father, a celebrity chef and a darling husband, but there’s another side he’s kept hidden from Jade that has put their family in danger. Unbeknownst to Cam and Jade, the home invader has been watching them and is about to turn their family secrets into a public scandal.

With riveting twists and a breakneck pace, My Darling Husband is an utterly compelling thriller that once again showcases Kimberly Belle’s exceptional talent for domestic suspense.

Review:

My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle is a thrilling mystery that moves at a blistering pace.

Jade Lasky is a busy mom with two children, Beatrix and Baxter. Her husband, Cam, owns several successful restaurants that take up a lot of his time. While going about her daily errands, Jade has noticed a man who appears to be following her. Distracted by the kids after picking them up from school, she pulls into the garage and is immediately confronted by a masked intruder. He forces them inside their house at gunpoint and demands she call Cam with a deadline for a very specific ransom.  For the next several hours, Cam frantically attempts to gather the ransom as Jade protects her children from the gunman.

Cam is already stressed before he finds out about the hostage situation at home. He is absolutely frantic as he tries to find the cash to pay the ransom. Cam has been keeping their dire financial straits a secret from Jade and he is desperate to pull together the funds he needs to save his family.

Jade is determined to ensure her children’s safety but she does not count on Beatrix’s stubborn insistence on outwitting the gunman. Baxter is only six so he does not quite grasp the danger they are facing. Throughout the harrowing ordeal, the kidnapper reveals startling information that proves to be quite illuminating. It is not until the deadline for the ransom is almost upon them that Jade understands exactly how ruthless her husband can be.

My Darling Husband is a tension-filled mystery with a clever storyline. The characters are well-drawn with believable strengths and weaknesses. The narration seamlessly switches back and forth between three distinct perspectives. Intriguing snippets of Cam’s television interview provide tantalizing details about the home invasion. With unexpected twists and turns,  Kimberly Belle brings this edge-of-the-seat mystery to a pulse-pounding conclusion.

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Filed under Contemporary, Kimberly Belle, My Darling Husband, Mystery, Park Row Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

June 7, 2020 · 11:58 pm

Review: Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle

Title: Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Contemporary, Domestic Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Charlotte didn’t know her greatest risk was saying, “I do.”

When Charlotte married the wealthy widower Paul, it caused a ripple of gossip in their small lakeside town. They have a charmed life together, despite the cruel whispers about her humble past and his first marriage. But everything starts to unravel when she discovers a young woman’s body floating in the exact same spot where Paul’s first wife tragically drowned.

At first, it seems like a horrific coincidence, but the stranger in the lake is no stranger. Charlotte saw Paul talking to her the day before, even though Paul tells the police he’s never met the woman. His lie exposes cracks in their fragile new marriage, cracks Charlotte is determined to keep from breaking them in two.

As Charlotte uncovers dark mysteries about the man she married, she doesn’t know what to trust—her heart, which knows Paul to be a good man, or her growing suspicion that there’s something he’s hiding in the water.

Review:

Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle is a captivating domestic mystery.

Following a bit of a whirlwind romance, Charlotte and wealthy widower Paul Keller are now happily married.  Despite her domestic bliss, she can never quite escape the whispers that she married him for money. She and her brother Chet lived alone with their drug-addicted mother after their father went to prison. Charlotte is deeply in love with Paul and she puts no stock in the rumors that he had anything to do with the death of his first wife, Katherine, who drowned in the lake in front of their home four years earlier.

Although Charlotte is a little troubled when she sees Paul talking with a stranger, she believes him when he denies knowing her. But when Charlotte discovers the woman’s dead body floating in the river, she begins to entertain doubts about her husband. Especially since he lies to the police then quickly leaves to locate his friend Jax, the town “crazy” who lives in the nearby woods. With Chet temporarily staying with her, Charlotte tries to find out the truth about her husband. But what will do she do once she finds the answers?

Charlotte is a smart woman in her mid-twenties. After her tumultuous, unstable and poverty stricken childhood, she vows to be nothing like her addicted, irresponsible mother. Charlotte genuinely loves Paul and while they are quite happy, she is still a little uneasy with his wealth. She is no longer accepted by her former friends nor has she found friendship in her new life. Luckily, Paul’s best friend Micah Hunt welcomes her into the fold.

After Charlotte discovers the stranger’s body, Micah is the first person she calls for help since Paul is out for his daily jog. Micah is the police chief’s son and he is a trained diver.  Once the deceased has been brought to shore, life as Charlotte knows it soon ends. Despite desperately wanting to believe Paul has nothing to do with this latest death, his actions and evasions contribute to her growing suspicions. It soon becomes clear that something is going on, but Charlotte is having trouble determining exactly what that is.

Stranger in the Lake  is an extremely fast-paced and clever mystery. Charlotte is a gutsy and tenacious lead protagonist with a strong moral compass.  The storyline is compelling and weaves back and forth in time between present day and twenty years earlier.   With a stunning turn of events,  Kimberly Belle brings this riveting domestic thriller to a twist-filled conclusion.

I highly recommend this brilliant domestic mystery to readers of the genre.

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Filed under Contemporary, Kimberly Belle, Mystery, Park Row Books, Rated B+, Review, Stranger in the Lake, Suspense

June 23, 2019 · 11:58 pm

Review: Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle

Title: Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle
Publisher: Park Row
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense, Mystery
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From the bestselling author of The Marriage Lie and Three Days Missing comes a riveting new novel of suspense about a woman who, in a fight for survival, must decide just how far she’ll go to escape the person she once loved

Beth Murphy is on the run…

For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for this day. A day some people might call any other Wednesday, but Beth prefers to see it as her new beginning—one with a new look, new name and new city. Beth has given her plan significant thought, because one small slip and her violent husband will find her.

Sabine Hardison is missing…

A couple hundred miles away, Jeffrey returns home from a work trip to find his wife, Sabine, is missing. Wherever she is, she’s taken almost nothing with her. Her abandoned car is the only evidence the police have, and all signs point to foul play.

As the police search for leads, the case becomes more and more convoluted. Sabine’s carefully laid plans for her future indicate trouble at home, and a husband who would be better off with her gone. The detective on the case will stop at nothing to find out what happened and bring this missing woman home. Where is Sabine? And who is Beth? The only thing that’s certain is that someone is lying and the truth won’t stay buried for long.

Review:

Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle is a gripping, suspense-laden mystery.

Beth Murphy’s careful planning has finally come to fruition and she is on her way to a new life. After enduring unimaginable violence and emotional abuse from her husband for years, she is doing everything she can to cover her tracks. Having fully decided where she is going to start over, Beth begins a circuitous route to her destination. However, just as things are falling into place, she learns a woman from her hometown has gone missing. Frantic with worry and with her husband’s malevolent words continuing to whisper through her mind, Beth wonders if she will ever be safe.

Back in Pine Bluff, Jeffrey Hardison returns from a business trip to an empty house. At first believing his wife Sabine, an enormously successful Realtor, is working late, he is not alarmed until the following morning.  Jeffrey and his sister-in-law Ingrid report Sabine’s unexplained and troubling disappearance to local police. Fully aware the husband is always a suspect, Jeffrey does everything he can to divert suspicion away from himself. After poking around Sabine’s computer, Jeffery makes an absolutely shocking discovery.

Detective Marcus Durand is assigned to Sabine’s case and he is soon obsessed with the locating her. He is always one step ahead of Jeffrey and he delights in stunning his chief suspect with the information he has unearthed. With the case receiving intense media scrutiny, Marcus is under immense pressure to find Sabine and he will go to any lengths to find the missing woman.

Unfolding from Beth’s, Marcus’s, and Jeffrey’s points of view, Dear Wife is a tension-filled mystery that is multi-layered and engrossing. The storyline is tautly written and shines a much needed light on how difficult it to escape from an abusive relationship. Beth’s story arc is absolutely heartbreaking and readers experience her terror and doubts as she desperately fights to escape her abuser. Jeffrey is a reprehensible husband but does he have anything to do with Sabine’s disappearance? Marcus is an experienced investigator but cracks begin to show as he takes extreme measures to locate the missing woman. With subtle clues, unanticipated turns and startling revelations, Kimberly Belle  masterfully brings this stunning mystery to a dramatic, pulse-pounding conclusion. An absolutely brilliant novel that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.

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Filed under Contemporary, Dear Wife, Kimberly Belle, Mystery, Park Row Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

December 26, 2016 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle

Title: The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Everyone has secrets…
Iris and Will have been married for seven years, and life is as close to perfect as it can be. But on the morning Will flies out for a business trip to Florida, Iris’s happy world comes to an abrupt halt: another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board and, according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers.

Grief stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. Why did Will lie about where he was going? And what else has he lied about? As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to uncover what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she finds shock her to her very core.

Review:

The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle is a suspense-laden mystery that is full of shocking twists and turns.

Iris Giffith is shaken to the core by the news her beloved husband, Will, has perished in a plane crash.  Confusion and disbelief immediately set in since Will was flying to Orlando not Seattle.   When Iris is confronted with irrefutable proof that Will lied about the conference, she begins searching for the truth about her husband.  Learning he recently changed his will and purchased two new life insurance policies is just the tip of the iceberg as Iris’s investigation soon reveals that Will fabricated his entire past.  Her quest for answers quickly takes her to Seattle, where Iris uncovers shocking secrets about Will and his childhood.  Quickly realizing the man she has married is a complete stranger, Iris returns home where an even more stunning revelation about Will leaves her reeling and feeling deeply betrayed by the she man she loves.

The Marriage Lie is an incredibly fast-paced and riveting mystery with a unique storyline and an interesting cast of characters.  Iris’s need for answers about what happened to Will is completely understandable and as she slowly peels back his carefully crafted layers of lies, she begins second guessing everything about their life together. Kimberly Belle cleverly keeps readers on the edge of the seats as the novel hurtles to a dangerous and jaw dropping conclusion. An absolutely outstanding thriller that fans of the genre absolutely do not want to miss.

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Filed under Contemporary, Harlequin, Kimberly Belle, Mira, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Marriage Lie

July 15, 2015 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle

ones trustTitle: The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Literary, Fiction, Mystery/Suspense
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: A

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A moving and evocative exploration of grief and guilt in the wake of one family’s devastating loss

When former DC journalist Abigail Wolff attempts to rehabilitate her career, she finds herself at the heart of a US army cover-up involving the death of a soldier in Afghanistan—with unspeakable emotional consequences for one family. As the story of what happened comes to light, Abigail will do anything to write it.

The more evidence she stumbles upon in the case, the fewer people it seems she can trust, including her own father, a retired army general. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with the slain soldier’s brother, Gabe, a bitter man struggling to hold his family together. The investigation eventually leads her to an impossible choice, one of unrelenting sacrifice to protect those she loves.

Beyond the buried truths and betrayals, questions of family loyalty and redemption, Abigail’s search is, most of all, a desperate grasp at carrying on and coping—and seeking hope in the impossible.

Review:

The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle is a poignant and emotional novel that is also quite intriguing. This sometimes heartbreaking story of redemption about an ex-journalist searching for the truth about a soldier’s death in Afghanistan is quite captivating and very moving. A thought-provoking novel that touches on some very relevant issues, it is the underlying themes of loyalty, trust and betrayal that makes it such an outstanding read.

After one of her stories ended in a horrible tragedy three years ago, Abigail Wolff walked away from her career as a journalist. Now working as a website content curator, Abigail is reluctantly drawn into investigating the person who gave her the initial information for the story that she still feels guilty about writing. At the same time, she receives an anonymous delivery containing uncensored transcripts that prove the Army is covering up the death of Zack Armstrong, an actor turned soldier who tragically died in Afghanistan. Once she realizes the implications, she takes the information to the Armstrong family who are currently embroiled in a lawsuit to uncover the truth about Zack’s death. Zack’s mom, Jean, asks Abigail to write Zack’s story while his brother Gabe, demands she stay away from the family. Curiously, Nick, the third Armstrong brother and the one person who knows more than anyone about Zack’s death since he was present when he died, is ominously silent. Finding the truth becomes even more complicated when Abigail discovers she has close personal ties to Army brass who are also involved with the case. When she begins to fall in love with Gabe, Abigail’s loyalty is tested when the people closest to her refuse to tell her the truth but betrayal comes from an unexpected source.

For Abigail, truth trumps everything and at one time, she was determined to tell it no matter the cost. But after the case that ended tragically, she not only felt guilty that was the catalyst, but she began to doubt her judgment. In the years since, she has been content to sit back and work a safe job where she can do no harm. But when one of the children from her earlier story comes forward with puzzling information about her informant, Abigail knows she has to investigate if only to satisfy her own questions about what she might have initially missed. She still has no plans to report on the story, but if she can bring peace to the family, Abigail feels compelled to uncover the truth.

When it comes to the Armstrong case, Abigail still has no interest in writing a story, but she feels the family deserves to know what the Army is hiding. She remains reluctant to become involved in the case but while she is deciding whether or not to help Jean write about Zack, Gabe has a change of heart. Unable to say no when he asks for her help, Abigail is soon immersed in discovering what happened that fateful day. When her father warns her off the case, she begins to doubt him and she becomes even more determined to learn the truth. However once she exposes what lies at the heart of the conspiracy, will Abigail lose the people she loves?

Heartrending and full of unexpected twists and turns, The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle is a captivating novel about love, loyalty and betrayal. Fast paced and riveting, this well-written book is ultimately uplifting and healing. An emotional and thought-provoking story of redemption and healing that I highly recommend.

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Filed under Contemporary, Harlequin, Kimberly Belle, Literary Fiction, Mira, Mystery, Rated A, Review, Suspense, The Ones We Trust

September 29, 2014 · 11:56 pm

Review: The Last Breath by Kimberly Belle

breathTitle: The Last Breath by Kimberly Belle
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Romance
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From a remarkable new voice in suspenseful women’s fiction comes an emotionally searing drama about a woman who risks her life to discover the devastating truth about her family…

Humanitarian aid worker Gia Andrews chases disasters around the globe for a living. It’s the perfect lifestyle to keep her far away from her own personal ground zero. Sixteen years ago, Gia’s father was imprisoned for brutally killing her stepmother. Now he’s come home to die of cancer, and she’s responsible for his care—and coming to terms with his guilt.

Gia reluctantly resumes the role of daughter to the town’s most infamous murderer, a part complete with protesters on the lawn and death threats that are turning tragedy into front-page news. Returning to life in small-town Tennessee involves rebuilding relationships that distance and turmoil have strained, though finding an emotional anchor in the attractive hometown bartender is certainly helping Gia cope.

As the past unravels before her, Gia will find herself torn between the stories that her family, their friends and neighbors, and even her long-departed stepmother have believed to be real all these years. But in the end, the truth—and all the lies that came before—may have deadlier consequences than she could have ever anticipated….

The Review:

The Last Breath is a very intriguing mystery and Kimberly Belle does an outstanding job keeping readers guessing whodunit right up until the novel’s conclusion. The cast of characters is well-developed with realistic flaws, but what really drives the story is the clever plot. A sizzling hot romance, long held secrets and complicated family relationships are secondary story arcs but they provide a fascinating backdrop to learning the truth about who killed Ella Mae Andrews.

Gia Andrews has not seen her father Ray since he was convicted of killing Ella Mae sixteen years ago. But when Ray is diagnosed with terminal cancer and released from prison to await a new trial, she returns to her small hometown to care for him. With her brother, sister and uncle avoiding her, Gia tries to set aside her ambivalence about her father’s guilt and comfort him in his last days. When new information about Ella Mae surfaces, Gia uncovers compelling evidence that her father’s claim of innocence might, in fact, be true.

The Last Breath is written from two very distinct points of view. Gia’s first person narration details the unfolding events in the present while third person narration from Ella Mae’s perspective reveals the events leading up to her death. Ella Mae’s last months are a tangled web of lies and deceit that have remained hidden since her death and Gia’s search for answers uncovers Ella Mae’s secrets. This newly discovered information leads to a reconciliation between Ray and his estranged children but will a shocking revelation jeopardize their tenuous bond?

The only bright spot in Gia’s homecoming is her surprising romance with bar/restaurant owner Jake Foster. Jake is not only helpful in her investigation, but his nightly visits to her family home lift her spirits and give her something to look forward to each day. Their relationship coasts cheerfully along until their conflicting plans for the future and a surprising disclosure threaten their happiness.

From the dramatic opening scene until the very last page, The Last Breath is a riveting mystery that is impossible to put down. Kimberly Belle brings this spellbinding tale of love gone horribly wrong vividly to life. A series of twists and turns carefully conceals the murderer’s identity until the novel’s incredibly dramatic conclusion.

A very smart and cunning debut novel that I highly recommend to readers of crime fiction.

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Filed under Contemporary, Harlequin, Kimberly Belle, Mira, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Romance, The Last Breath