What She Doesn't Know

I was all ready to dislike this book. I have never before read a book by Beverly Barton and I usually stick to authors that I have read before since I know their writing style and what type of story to expect. The only reason I picked-up this book was because of a good review, and I am glad that I did. "What She Doesn't Know" begins with Jolie Royale coming home for her father's funeral, the father she has not seen in years because of his marriage to the woman he was sleeping with on the day Jolie's mother and aunt were murdered. The town assumed that it was a murder-suicide, but Jolie knew the man blamed and never believed he was capable of murdering her family. Jolie comes home to a step-brother, Max, a step-sister, Mallory, and the woman who married her father only 9 months after her mother was murdered. There is a lot of anger and resentment all-around and no one hides it. Jolie and Max decide to look into the murder, and they find that for some, the past is bester left hidden because they all have secrets that they would kill to keep. This book was so captivating that I finished it in one sitting. It had depth and there were so many different suspects that I had to get to the end to find out who the murderer really was. The relationship between Max and Jolie grew throughout the story, they found that things they once assumed about the other was not right and that they needed each other. I found myself rooting for them. My only problem was the step-sister and the guy she dates. The jerk leaves her after sleeping with her and she is heart broken. It upsets me that at the very end of the book, we find out that he comes back to town and they are together again. If a jerk left me like he did to her, I would certainly not invite him back in my life! Overall, this is a very good read and I hope that you take a chance to read it- You won't regret it. :)

At the tender age of fourteen, Jolie Royale had two traumatic events occur that forever altered the course of her life: She witnessed her father's liaison with his mistress, Georgette, and she discovered the lifeless bodies of her mother and aunt in their house (Belle Rose), right before the murderer shot three bullets into her and left her for dead. The police rule it as a double-murder-suicide, stating that Lemar, a black man and long time resident of Belle Rose, murdered the two sisters in a jealous rage because of his love for Jolie's aunt. And to fuel an already precarious situation with his daughter, Jolie's father married Georgette six months after her mother's death. That was enough for Jolie to cut him out of her life. Fast-forward twenty years and Jolie is now a very successful fashion designer living in Atlanta. She receives news that her father has passed on. Jolie returns home to exact some revenge on her stepmother and her kids, but winds up joining Theron, Lemar's nephew, in his quest to reopen the murder case. Jolie had never believed that Lemar was behind the murders. Almost from the start of their investigation, Theron's and Jolie's lives are threatened, and as the bodies and attempted murders start to pile up, Max, Jolie's stepbrother, steps in to protect Jolie. So now Jolie has two battles to fight: The person who wants her dead and her overwhelming attraction to Max. Secrets, secrets, secrets. The plot of this story is rich with secrets and mysteries that will keep you glued to the book until the very end. I absolutely loved it.

I have every book she has written and I rank her up there with the best.

Shot and left for dead when she was 14, Jolie Royale was the only survivor in a massacre at her family estate, Belle Rose. She immediately left when her father turned around and married his mistress Georgette and returns for the reading of his will after a more than 20 year absence. Her animosity towards Georgette is warranted - the night her mother was murdered, the two were having sex on the estate. Knowing that the estate belonged to her murdered mother, Jolie has no doubts that the home will be left to her - she is just itching to send her father's second family packing. Complicating matters is the manner with which her father bequeathed the estate - his new family is not go be ousted, and her growing attraction to bad boy Max Devereaux, who she always had a crush on, and he is now her step brother. When she joins forces with the nephew of the man accused of the murder-suicide (which was never fully investigated; three bodies, one of them a black male - you do the math), someone is taking great pains to thwart their investigation, and will stop at nothing including attempted murder to keep them from pursuing the truth. Max goes into full protection mode, as his feelings for his bitter step-sister are becoming far from brotherly. Author Barton provides equal parts tension, suspense, and romance to tell the contemporary gothic mystery with plenty of plot twits to keep you guessing.

Nineteen years ago, the Belle Rose massacre deprived a young girl of her mother, her aunt, a family friend, and left her near death. The deaths were called a double murder and suicide by law enforcement anxious to close a case that divided the entire town along racial lines. In the aftermath, fourteen year old Jolie Royale separated herself from her once beloved father because of her tortured memories of his adultery, which she witnessed just before stumbling upon the bodies of her family. His subsequent marriage less than a year after her mother's death led to Jolie going off to an expensive boarding school and refusing to ever visit home. Indeed, after nineteen years she only returns to her hometown for her father's funeral. She stays, following the reading of the will, only to exact her revenge on her stepmother Georgette, stepbrother Max, and half sister Mallory.Max Devereaux predicts trouble if Jolie comes home. When her presence puts pressure on his mother and sister, Max steps into the role of the proper southern gentleman caring for his women folk. But he never allows their attitudes to affect his growing attraction for Jolie. When the will names Jolie the inheritor of the family home Belle Rose, with a provision to allow Georgette and her children to remain in residence, Max becomes the peacemaker. It does not take him long, however, to become sympathetic to Jolie's determination to reopen the Belle Rose massacre case, or to rush to protect her when her life becomes threatened. Too bad she is adamantly opposed to exploring the growing passion between them.Beverly Barton's second romantic suspense novel for Zebra explores the tortured past of characters with deep psychological wounds in WHAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW. Demonstrating her characteristic flair, Barton's characters struggle with the past, with their well-deserved resentment, and with the power of love. Even when small developments are anticipated, Barton puts an unexpected spin on them. Secondary characters each conceal secrets, and their combined hidden motivations are incredibly intriguing. Further, Jolie's transformation from revengeful to truth seeking is especially convincing, and lends the novel terrific depth. Her determination to fight her feelings for Max likewise lends the novel a nice tension, especially since he is equally determined to overcome her reticence. Further, the unexpected plot developments move the story along a terrific clip, deftly holding the reader's interest. Readers who enjoy well developed characters and intrigue penned with a lively hand will be quite satisfied. Very highly recommended.