ARC Review: Bones Don't Lie by Melinda Leigh

Bones Don't Lie
Author: Melinda Leigh
Series: Morgan Dane, Book 3
Publication: Montlake Romance (March 13, 2018)

Description: Shocking evidence hits close to home for attorney Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger as Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s acclaimed series continues.

Private investigator Lance Kruger was just a boy when his father vanished twenty-three years ago. Since then he’s lived under the weight of that disappearance—until his father’s car is finally dredged up from the bottom of Grey Lake. It should be a time for closure, except for the skeleton found in the trunk. A missing person case gone cold has become one of murder, and Lance and attorney Morgan Dane must face the deadly past that’s risen to the surface.

For Lance, the investigation yields troubling questions about a man he thought he knew. But memories can play dirty tricks. For Morgan, uncovering each new lie comes with a disquieting fear that someone is out there watching, because someone is killing every witness tied to this decades-old crime. Morgan and Lance follow in the shadows of a relentless killer and walk right into the cross fire.

My Thoughts: For twenty-three years Lance Kruger has been wondering what happened to his father. He left one evening to go to the grocery store and never returned, leaving ten-year-old Lance to care his mother who had and has a variety of mental illnesses including anxiety and agoraphobia. Lance was mentored by Lincoln Sharp who investigated the disappearance and has since formed his own private investigations business. After Lance was shot in the line of duty, he left the police force and joined Sharp as a private investigator. 

This is the third book in this series. In the earlier books, Lance meets widowed lawyer Morgan Dane and her three young daughters. Now Morgan is in private practice as a defense attorney and renting an office from Sharp. Together they have investigated a few cases and have been building a relationship. Not an easy thing for a harried mother of young children and a man who has a mother who still suffers from a mental illness.

As this book begins, Vic Kruger's car has been discovered in a nearby lake and there is a body which has been reduced to bones in the trunk. At first it is thought to be Vic's and the placement indicates that he was murdered. They soon learn that the bones don't belong to Vic but rather to a young woman named Mary Fox who disappeared the same day Vic did.

Sharp, Lance and Morgan go back to the beginning and look at all the information about Vic's disappearance and now have a new disappearance to investigate. It also looks like the murderer has decided it's time to clean up any possible witnesses and more murders take place. Lance's mother is also attacked in what first looks like a suicide attempt.

This story is fast-paced and intense. The chapters from the murderer's point of view are chilling. I enjoyed the relationship that is building between Lance and Morgan. They are both great characters - strong, smart, and fierce.

Favorite Quote:

"Since you seem to be a little confused about the mechanics of a relationship, I'm going to lay it out for you. Straight. No bullshit." She caught and held his gaze. "A successful adult relationship requires support and sharing on both sides. It's not a one-way street where one person does all the giving and the other does all the taking."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.