Deeper Than the Dead (Vera Boyett)

I loved this first book in Debra‘s new series (Vera Boyett #1)

This book definitely has the wow effect. It grabbed me from the very first page, and I truly could not put it down. It’s full of suspense and definitely keeps you questioning. Talk about sister drama this one definitely has it!

Crime analyst Vera Boyett has possibly lost her job and is debating on what to do. She gets a call from her half sister Luna. Luna’s mother had went missing many years ago. But now she has been found! In a cave on the family property. Vera has home to console her sister Luna and to get her story straight with her sister Eve. Vera and Eve may have some knowledge as to how Sheree’s body got in the cave. But the plot thickens. They have now found four bodies on their family property. Now her whole family is under suspicion and to top it off the new sheriff investigating just so happens to be Vera‘s ex-boyfriend Bent. Debra did an amazing job. It’s definitely beyond five stars. The description was so good that I felt I was a part of the Boyett family. Her characters were as always very believable. I can’t wait to see what Vera gets into next.

Debra Webb does not disappoint. I thought the story started out a little slow, but I quickly changed my mind. Very entertaining. Loved the story. Even had me believing the sisters were "up to no good" for a little. Deeper Than Dead lives up to the Debra Webb books I've read before. Loved all of them and can hardly wait until the #2 comes rolling out. I recommend this book for an entertaining read.

A disgraced police detective returns to her hometown when her step mother's body is discovered. She had disappeared without a trace over 20 years ago. And not only is her body discovered but three more are found, one relatively recently deceased. Vera Boyette must deal with the new sheriff who happens to be a childhood boyfriend. And she must reconnect with her sister and her step sister. The mysteries and relationships in this book slowly reveal themselves and Vera must help the sheriff solve these crimes and uncover the secrets of the past. At times the story seems to drag a little but by the end you are vested in these characters and in solving the mysteries. A very good summer read.

First and foremost: yes, I will be here for Vera Boyett book 2. The bulk of this was a very engaging, well-constructed, twisty crime thriller. There were a few times where I thought the author had given away the twist early on, but no, she had not. More than one twist caught me off guard. There were plenty of signs throughout that a twist was coming, but it was hard to know what it was.

I also greatly enjoyed the perspective of a whodunnit from the one who, ya know, dunnit. I had a hard time getting into the book at first and then that last line in Chapter 2 grabbed me and wouldn't let go. The characters were beautifully well developed.

Well, most of them, anyway. There was a sudden influx of every single character in the last couple of chapters and I was kinda fuzzy as to who was what. Mothers, sons, husbands, drifters, I got them all mixed up, and I just kind of accepted the ending on faith. I have no doubt that every one of these pertinent characters were mentioned earlier in the book, but there were many. And, yes, as other reviewers have said, the poor decision made towards the very end of the book was too obviously a poor decision. Without it, no plot development, so I guess it had to happen, but it wasn't believable.

Well worth reading and i'll be around for version 2. Some tighter editing and fewer characters would easily make this a 5-star read.

I only review books I love, and this mystery kept me turning pages. Every chapter had me second guessing who the killer was. Somebody in the small, family oriented town of Fayetteville, Tennessee, has been murdering for years and stashing the bodies in a cave on Vera Boyett's family's farm. The first body is discovered over 20 years after it was placed in a cave. Vera and her sister, Eve, knows exactly who did it. They can't dare tell what happened the night their stepmother died. It seems as if this whole town has dark secrets to hide as more bodies keep making appearances. Vera and Eve once had a normal life with a normal mom and a normal dad. That was before their mom died of cancer, and everything took a very bad turn. Dad quickly married a wicked woman named Sharee, and she was already pregnant with their stepsister, Verna. The wicked stepmother is the first of several bodies discovered over 20 years later in a cave on their property. As more bodies began to be discovered, Vera, who has become a cop, knows she must figure out who did this to clear her family's name. The only problem is that her family has a secret in the cave as well. "Deeper Than the Dead" gets four stars from me. It has well developed characters with whom you can really get to know and plenty of plot twists and turns to keep you guessing all the way through the book. My only problem with the book was that my guesses kept changing, and often, I was wrong. Shame on you, Debra Webb, for making me wrong most of the time.

This is a good read, with an interesting story and some well developed characters. There’s a little too much in the way of foreshadowing, but I can handle that. The worst fault is the need to suspend belief toward the end of Chapter 42, into Chapter 43. I really hate it when, after developing a character as intelligent, professional, experienced, and savvy, an author then resorts to having them take a whole series of ludicrously stupid actions. There is always a better way to bring the action from point A to point B (or point W to point X), than making the hero or heroine behave like he or she suddenly doesn’t have the sense God gave geese. This was followed by what I felt to be a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion, on several levels, but I won’t go into that as to do so would give away too much about the story. Anyway others might feel differently about it. We all look for something different from our reads.

I love the Finey O'Sullivan series by this author so when I saw this book as a Kindle First choice, I grabbed it right away. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as good. I liked the story and the characters, and I was invested in the mystery but there was a lot of repetition. Vera kept thinking the same things over and over again, which is realistic, but not fun to read. Also, the way she kept getting distracted by Bent, think about his lips or his eyes or how he was too handsome for his own good was a little silly considering the events that were happening. So overall I thought it was a good story, but without all the repetitive filler it could have been a lot shorter, faster paced and generally more enjoyable. I give it 3.5 stars and I would read the next book in the series.