"Fabulous romantic investigative thriller"
Nine years old Melinda Egan vanished without a trace. Not
long afterward her older brother Jason, a nasty youngster,
also disappeared. The locals assume they just ran off. Years later, a section of the Stiles farm is sold. To the
shock of the new owner, human bones are found that are
later identified as those of Jason. At about the same
time Lorna Stiles has returned home to settle her late
mother's estate. She is totally unsatisfied with the
police investigation because she demands to know what
happened to her best friend Melinda. Her friend Regan
Landry introduces Lorna to former FBI Agent T.J. Dawson, a
private investigator, who agrees to look into the murders
especially the disappearance of Melinda. As Lorna fears a
family member is a serial killer who used or perhaps still
using the Stiles farm as a personal cemetery, T.J. soon
believes his job is to keep Lorna safe from this murdering
psychopath who he feels still lives. Mariah Stewart is simply amazing as she has over the past
few months consistently kept the quality level of her
thrillers stratospherically high though she has released
several novels. Her current tale, HARD TRUTH, is a
fabulous romantic investigative thriller that never slows
down from the moment the first corpse is found until the
climax. Fans will want to read the previous tale COLD
TRUTH and look forward to the next story DARK TRUTH as
this is an author who provides fantastic serial killer
tales that keep the audience's attention throughout. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 9, 2005
SummaryIN MATTERS OF CRIME, THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS OF THE TRUTH
Two children who mysteriously disappeared twenty-one years
ago are the last thing on Lorna Stiles's mind when she
returns to her Pennsylvania hometown to sell the old family
property in the wake of her mother's passing. But along with
her memories, Lorna finds the fields where she grew up yield
something utterly chilling.
All those years ago, when nine-year-old Melinda Eagan
vanished on her birthday, her foulmouthed older brother,
Jason, quickly became the lone suspect. Yet when he went
missing, too, the case turned cold. But Jason, it seems,
never got far: His bones have been moldering on the Stiles'
land for more than two decades. As far as the local police
are concerned, the book is closed on Melinda's
murder—and Jason's death is justice served. But Lorna
refuses to let the dead rest uneasily. When Jason's mother
is accused of his murder, Lorna turns to private eye T. J.
Dawson to dig up the dirt of the past and see what lies
beneath. Only there's someone out there who hasn't
forgotten—and who won't be the least bit forgiving
about being exposed as a killer.
| 
