Aaliyah's Book Corner

The poor FMC of Shadows That Linger, Abby. I cried, I bitched, and I squealed while reading this who-dun-it story. Tragedy seeks her out repeatedly and the poor thing goes through it in the book. Bell Landers crafted a great mystery novel that captures the resilience of the human spirit even through tough times, knowing who you can really trust, and sometimes second chance romances aren’t that bad.

Plot

Abby moves back to her hometown after receiving a call from her father that he was diagnosed with cancer. She had avoided going back to the small town since a prior tragedy occurred but she returns home, determined to help her father and try to build a life with her new husband. After getting somewhat settled and reconnecting with her best friend Janet, Abby receives a heartbreaking call that her husband was found dead at his workplace.

She becomes the main suspect for several reasons, the most prominent being that David died in the exact manner that Abby’s first husband Matt died. She protests her innocence but has to deal with an anonymous person posting slanderous things about her on a blog, crippling depression and grief, and her first love/boyfriend-turned-sheriff Hunter Wilson (bae!) who is bound and determined to prove that his girl didn’t do the crime. Juicy, right?!

Tropes

Who-dun-it– The book has several suspects but the twists were done well. I thought I had nailed the killer and possible motive only to sit in shock during the final sequences of the action.

Second-Chance Romance– Abby is a two-time widow and in the throes of grief and dealing with heavy suspicion. The only person who never falters is her first love, Hunter Wilson. The way he shows up for her and makes her feel even slightly better had me sighing at the pages and wishing for my own Hunter to show up and save me.

Favorite Moments

Hunter’s confession

The blog posts (oops)

The killer’s reveal (obviously)

Rating

5/5

I absolutely love this book. The beginning is slow but Bell takes the time to flesh out the characters, the situation, and give intricate details of the world they live in. Once things pick up, you will be engrossed in the pages and coming up with theories and your own suspect list.

Shadows That Linger is available as an ebook on Kindle Unlimited and as a paperback on Amazon.

Tell me your thoughts about the book in the comments; would you read this or are mysteries even your genre? I would also love it if you followed the Book Corner and joined me on my various platforms (IG, Threads, Fable, and Goodreads; psych0_4books on all of them).