Susan FurlongRezensionen

Fractured Truth was my second read/listen from author Susan Furlong. Even better than the first book! The story and characters are slowly & methodically developed, drawing the reader in. Narrator Amy Landon adds greatly to the listening enjoyment with her wide variety of entertaining voices & inflections. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018). (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

Splintered Silence was my first read/listen from author Susan Furlong. The story and characters are slowly & methodically developed, drawing the reader in. Narrator Amy Landon added greatly to the listening enjoyment with her wide variety of entertaining voices & inflections. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

Mona Ellison is hosting the last book club evening in her suburban home with her dearest friends, all neighbors. The last time book club members are together as Mona and her husband are moving to the city. The women are worried about Mona, but everyone hopes the move will be a new beginning.

A page-turning ride of psychological suspense! Have you ever cruised down the highway, and without warning, the lanes are blocked, and everyone is directed to exit with those directing, giving signs it is imperative to comply? Yet, there is no indication anything is amiss up ahead. At that very moment, I felt adept in knowledge of the plot; the author directs the ride with urgency to the exit with a resounding twisted turn, building another layer of intrigue into the story. I loved the intensity streaming through the chapters to the very last line!

Thank you to Susan Furlong for selecting me as the Tag-a-Library-Contest winner on Instagram and inviting me to select one of your stand-alone titles. The novel was beyond all anticipation in an extraordinary way! Thank you!

Kerry’s husband Lucas is accused of being the Hatchet Man. He murders young ladies and chops them to pieces. Kerry has served time in prison for being his accomplice. She was found with a finger in her car. She is now out of prison but Lucas was never caught. She now believes he is after her to get to their son.

Kerry broke my heart on more than one occasion. She has definitely gotten a raw deal. Then there is her parole officer, Adam Nash. Something is just not right about him. But, as the reader, you cannot quite put your finger on it.

Now, this novel is unique in more ways than one. And just wait till the end of this book…there is a big twist. Sounds like the author may be planning a sequel! We shall see.

Need a thriller that moves like lightning….THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

It is easy for a great cover to lure me into grabbing a book and the title for The KIller’s Wife made me curious. Why would I care about her? I do watch a lot of true crime shows and The Killer’s Wife has ‘show’ chapters that, to me, share a lot of the problems with the mishandling of the investigation into the serial killer, Lucas, and his wife who was accused of being an accessory, Kerry Grey.

I had all kinds of thoughts running through my mind, but Susan Furlong was not going to make this easy and nothing was as it seemed. I did have my suspicions early on and some of them came to fruition. Things seemed too cut and dried and we can’t have that. LOL In a small town, it is easy for the residents…and the police…to make the accused fit the facts.

I wondered about Nash. There was something off about him, but things with him didn’t play out the way I thought they would. I love it. Wyatt always seems to be hanging around and gives me the creeps. An old boyfriend hanging around while Kerry marries Lucas and has a child by him and after her serving four years in prison he still wants her? Could we label him obsessive?

How could Kerry Grey not know her husband was a serial killer? More than one wife, in real life, has been asked that very question. Their son is steadfast in his belief that his father is no killer. Could they have it wrong?

Kerry decides to find out the answers for herself. I knew it was coming, but the way things went down was not what I expected. Susan Furlong has a vivid imagination and she let it loose in The Killer’s Wife. I love endings that can earn that extra praise from me, that shock me, surprise me and make the familiar unfamiliar. Well done, Susan.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Killer’s Wife by Susan Furlong.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com

Thank you to the author which I won on Wild Sage Book Club.

A good psychological book that played with my mind throughout the book. Just when I thought something would happen it would twist and turn into something else.

What's strange is that the last book I read which was general fiction has one circumstance that was the same in this book. Maybe it's a growing trend. i won't give it away but it was interesting.

Wow! What They Don’t Know is certainly out of my normal reading genres. I wanted to venture out to a new author (Susan Furlong) and a rarely visited genre, so I chose this book. Now I know why I don’t read a lot in the psychological thriller category. I get creeped out easily! But wow. In a good way.

I love a story that makes me feel something – whether happy, sad, sympathetic, insightful, or even fearful. And seeing the world through Mona’s eyes made me feel a lot. Porcelain dolls have always given me the heebie-jeebies, so that mixed with a murdered woman, a questionable suspect, and the psychological undertones made me sleep with a nightlight.

This is a nervy, unnerving, twisting, intriguing, page-turning tale that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let loose. I questioned everything and was kept guessing. I enjoyed the author’s unique writing style and hope to revisit her writing again. (Eek. Did I just say that?)

Disclosure: #CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book.

OK, maybe, but I didn't really enjoy it

WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW begins with the investigation of a murdered young girl that would lead Mona down a haunting path where some dark secrets and lies are lurking, waiting to surface and fracture her picture-perfect life!
I am instantaneously draw in from beginning, and each chapter ends with some surprising twists and turns that keep you in suspense.. The suspense intensifies as pages turning and the ending is phenomenal!!

Susan Furlong has adeptly crafted this spellbinding WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW that is brimmed with surprising twists and suspense! I loved this thriller as much as, if not more, of her Bone Gap Travellers series! I highly recommend it to thrill-seeking fans - you wouldn’t want to miss this perfect summer read!

I sincerely thank Susan Furlong for this fascinating ride that I enjoyed tremendously!

In What They Don't Know, author Susan Furlong weaves a riveting domestic psychological thriller that will captivate the reader's attention from beginning to end.

The reader follows the story of Mona Ellison, a fifty-two year old married woman who had the perfect life: husband Ben, a successful child psychiatrist, and Gus, their eighteen year-old son. But all isn't what it seems in the Ellison household: Gus has run away and is a person of interest in the murder of seventeen year-old homeless girl named Mia Jones. Mona is determined to find Gus and prove his innocence, but there is a darker side that simmers underneath the surface, and Mona spirals dangerously down the black hole of madness, barely holding on but determined to seek the truth at all costs.

What They Don't Know is a slow-building, multi-layered, gripping, and complex story set in Belington, Illinois, that has a great mixture of intrigue, secrets, deceit, manipulation, paranoia, dark pasts, suspenseful twists and turns, and enough tension and drama that will keep the reader thoroughly engaged and riveted until the surprising conclusion.

You can't help but feel for Mona, and worry if she is unstable and spiraling down the black hole towards a mental breakdown as she searches for Gus and the truth. And if you think that's bad, just add in the creepy obsession with her Madame Alexander doll collection, her paranoia with her husband and friends, and this story will keep you turning the pages and wondering what will eventually happen, because it isn't what it seems!

You can't help but feel Mona's angst as you follow her traumatic story. As you turn the pages of this very harrowing and dark story, the intensity of the story grows until the unexpected surprise ending that will simply leave you stunned and at a loss for words.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/06/what-they-dont-know-by-susan-...

What starts out as a book that could be considered predictable ends up nothing but. Mona and her husband are selling their house so they can downsize and get closer to the clinic that he has. Well with some of her money of course. They appear to be the perfect family, he is a psychiatrist, she has a collection of dolls, and their son Gus has started to act out. Nothing perfect there.

Mona and her neighbors have their last book club meeting before Mona moves out of the neighborhood. They have all been friends for a long time so it is bittersweet. Mona is worried about her son, Gus, he has left home and no one knows where he is. Then a body turns up, a friend of Gus, Mona thinks that he had something to do with her death.

Nothing is as it seems as the story goes along, Mona's husband Ben goes off to a convention, or so he told her. Mona starts to unravel when she thinks her husband is cheating on her with one of the neighbors. Two detectives, Reyes and his partner, Meyers arrive to question Mona regarding her husband and the dead girl, Mia. Plus she found that her husband had been overmedication her to the point that she was becoming delusional. Then there is her obsession with all of her dolls.

At this point, I was getting a bit confused about who the bad guys or good guys were. Then another body turns up, Tara, a good friend to both Mona and Ben, bludgeoned to death in a barn. As the investigation continues, the reader finds out that Gus, did not just leave home, he actually committed suicide. Did he have anything to do with Mia and her murder? Mona finds that she has been a victim of her husband's narcissism, he is manipulating her entire life even as to what she thinks is real or not.

The twists and turns in this psychological thriller just keep coming in this fast-paced read. What you think you know or have figured out, is deceiving. The ending threw me for a loop for sure. If you like this kind of story, well even if you don't, give it a try. It will make you rethink what you know about loving families! What they don't know?

I give it 4 stars! I think that I will read more by this author!

What They Don't Know by Susan Furlong is a highly recommended domestic psychological thriller.

Mona and Ben Ellison live in a Victorian home in suburban Belington where their neighbors are all close friends of Mona and everyone keeps an eye on everyone else, but now they are selling and moving to a condo in the city closer to Ben's clinic. Ben, a child psychologist, has a flourishing career, however Mona and Ben are having a trouble in their marriage. Their son Gus has fallen in with the wrong crowd and left home, breaking Mona's heart. Mona is obsessed with her vast collection of dolls and is constantly looking at social media to locate Gus.

To make matters more interesting a young woman who was a friend of Gus has been murdered in the area. The police are wanting to question Mona and Ben, but Ben is out of town. Mona seems overwhelmed and confused. Ben has been medicating her and she is trying to follow any clues on social media that lead to Gus's whereabouts while hanging out with her dolls.

Readers won't know who to trust or believe in this creepy domestic psychological thriller and the police have their work cut out for them. Suspects are plentiful and no one can be believed or trusted. Do you trust the woman who talks to her dolls and might be crazy? Or do you trust the neighbors who seem to be watching everyone and then jumping on the phone or stopping by the house? Or do you trust the husband who lies about where he is and seems too smooth to be real?

The plot moving along at a fast pace while including plenty of twists and turns along the way in this well-written thriller. This is a good choice for escapism, as long as you can handle a woman who talks to her dolls, which is never a good sign in most cases.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/05/what-they-dont-know.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4702194310

Nola Mae Harper is returning to her hometown to take care of the family peach farm while her parents enjoy a 3-week cruise. Her mother won the cruise with a peach chutney recipe in the National Condiments Competition, and the timing for the cruise is perfect for her parents to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Departure for the cruise is set for immediately following a party given by their children. As Nola's older sister Ida Jean is pregnant and has twin toddlers she has her hands full, and her brother Ray is an attorney. Party clean-up is Nola's task, but she didn’t envision finding a dead body in the orchard.

At the beginning of each chapter, there is a "Georgia Belle Fact" described by Nola as "little gems of advice" or Southern advice that is passed down through the generations from Southern mothers to their daughters. These gems are unique to Nola as she knows that everything her mother does is given her own special spin. These gems add a touch of Southern whimsy to the cozy and a nod to the scenes within the chapter.

For all who love to cook and bake and especially for peach lovers, the recipes in the back of the book will be a special highlight after being tantalized by everyone in Cays Mill, making every reader's mouth water and swoon in their imagination of a taste or better still a full serving.

A cozy filled with love and loyalty of family, friendship, neighbor helping neighbor, small town gossiping and rumors, bartering, romantic possibilities, investigative twists and turns, laced with Southern charm, add to a wonderful series opener. I can't wait to read what's next for Nola and her family.

Nola Mae Harper has been away from home for fifteen years. She's come back to visit occasionally, but never stayed long. After her boss downgraded her job to a different position, she's not happy. But it's her parents fiftieth wedding anniversary, and she's come to stay for the party and take care of the family peach farm while they're on a cruise.

What she finds when she returns is that the farm isn't in as good shape as she thought. There's the mower that needs to be fixed, irrigation lines need to get running, and then there's the dead body leaning against a peach tree in the grove...

When it's discovered that he's a customer at the bank that her brother-in-law Hollis is president of, and that there's been problems with the man's lumber mill, and also that he was seen arguing with Hollis, there's a bigger problem. Especially since no one knows where Hollis is, and her sister Ida is about to give birth. Now Nola has to figure out how to get the farm running again, keep Hollis out of jail, and keep her thoughts from her old friend Cade, who seems to have changed through the years, and for the better...

To be honest, I really liked the beginning of this book. It started off well and kept me interested in watching how Nola was going to get the farm up and running again. I liked the idea that the people in this small town welcomes her back home (most of them, anyway), and that she was able to do things on her own, including caring for her older sister, who needed her. I enjoyed the fact that she'd lived the life she did, learning how to stand up and do things, which helped her in the projects she needed to fix to get the farm running. I also liked Joe and how he bartered to get things done, it seemed that this is a good form for a lot of people to get through life, and it's nothing to sneeze at.

I did like the way she'd decided on searching for the real killer, but I sure don't hope that Maudy turns out to be one of those sheriffs that want to pin things on people just because she doesn't like them. That would ruin the small series that it is, completely.

What I didn't care for was the ending, and that's why I gave it three stars instead of five. It left too much unsaid, too many things hanging in the wind. I will place them in a spoiler below so that those who've never read the book don't have it ruined for them:

You can find the spoiler here: https://joannesbooks.blogspot.com/2020/03/peaches-and-scream-georgia-peach-myste...

Because of what's in the spoiler, I felt that I couldn't enjoy the ending, and because the murderer wasn't much of a surprise, I was so let down that I don't think I'll even read the rest of the series. Sorry.

Earlier today, I DNF'd "Children Of Time" which was one of the books on my "Thirty Firsts" reading challenge. I picked up "Splintered Silence" because it's also on that list.

I was fairly sure I was going to like this one: the plot had a lot of similarities to "Blood On The Tracks" which I enjoyed. It has a strong but damaged female lead, a loyal but damaged dog, a murder to solve and a unique culture (Irish Travellers) to delve into.


I only made it through the dedication and the first chapter before I understood that this book wasn't for me or rather, I'm not for this book.

I'm not nice enough to read this. It had barely started and I was already being distracted by how... wholesome the book felt. The writing was fine and the story was developing OK but I felt like I was watching one of those programs from Christian Television where the FBI agents all smile a lot and have hearts of gold.

My view on the world is a little more jaded. I tried being an optimist once, but I knew it wouldn't last. I put the book aside because I knew I'd end up muttering "Yeah, right" and "Like that's going to happen" and that wouldn't be fair on me or the book. Lot's of people will enjoy this, I'm just not one of them.

Brynn Callahan is at a wedding bachelorette’s party in a bar, together with her distant cousin, Maureen (Mo) Black.. There are booze and sexy cowboy dancers to entertain.. and Mo has just riding off with one cowboy, with a G-string and a horseshoe stud in his earlobe, on his stick horse..

Next day, a pair of severed ears is found dangling from a monkey bar in a playground, with a message “Hear no evil” spray-painted on the concrete pad… and a horseshoe stud is pierced on one of the lobes.

While Pusser, Brynn and the team are busy with the investigation, another message “Speak no evil” is discovered with a piece of human tongue..
What is it? A horror puzzle? Are there more to come?

Shattered Justice is the 3rd book of Bone Gap Travellers series. The talented and amazing Susan Furlong, once again, does not disappoint in spinning a thrilling page-turner loaded with secrets and lies to fuel your craving of suspense and mystery. And you will fall in love with Wilco!

4.5 stars.

Fractured Truth by Susan Furlong is a compelling mystery which is set in a small community in the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee. This second installment in the Bone Gap Travellers series can be read as a standalone but I also highly recommend book one, Splintered Silence.

Former Marine Brynn Callahan now works for the sheriff's department but she still does not fit in with the townspeople or the Irish Travellers. She and her cadaver dog, Wilco, are a formidable team but Brynn's substance abuse issues and post traumatic stress are becoming a problem on the job. The latest case she is investigating with her boss, Sheriff Frank Pusser, is the particularly gruesome murder of seventeen year old Maura Keene, who is from Brynn's community. Brynn immediately runs up against her close-knit community who feel she has betrayed her clan by becoming a police officer. She does not fare any better in the "settled" world whose prejudices against the Travellers run deep. Brynn nonetheless presses on and with the help FBI profiler, Joe Grabowski, they follow the puzzling clues. Having infuriated the Mayor, whose son Hatch is a suspect in Maura's murder, Brynn's personal demons could lead to the loss of her job. Can Brynn kick the addictions that she relies on to make it through each day? Will she, Joe and Frank unravel the truth about Maura's killer?

Brynn's troubled history continues to plague her as she settles into her new career. Scarred both inside and out from her military service, she ignores the warning signs she is not as in control of her life as she believes. Her return to Bone Gap remains uneasy as she walks a fine line between life as a Traveller and her police career. Brynn is quite intelligent with superb instincts but her drinking and pill popping are definitely becoming a liability. When her beloved Gran is caught in the crossfire, Brynn's overwhelming guilt puts her in an increasingly downward spiral that could cost her everything she holds dear.

The investigation into Maura's death reveals some very troubling details about the teenager's life. When another young woman is reported missing, Brynn and Sheriff Pusser are fairly certain the two cases are connected. However, since the other teenager is from another town, they are at a loss as to find definitive evidence to link them. As Brynn digs deeper into Maura's life, she becomes increasingly unsettled by the prejudices expressed by both the townspeople and the Travellers. She is also reminded of her own unhappy school years as the investigation takes her into to orbit of her former friends from high school.

Fractured Truth is a fast-paced mystery with an interesting cast of characters, a unique storyline and an intriguing murder to solve. Brynn is a deeply flawed but incredibly likable lead protagonist. The mystery surrounding Maura's murder is quite perplexing and the investigation is filled with unexpected twists. An outstanding addition to Susan Furlong's Bone Gap Travellers series that I highly recommend to readers of the genre.

4.5 stars.

Shattered Justice by Susan Furlong is a baffling mystery with a flawed yet likable lead protagonist. Although this latest release is the third installment in the Bone Gap Traveller series, it can be read as a standalone.

Deputy Brynn Callahan's month long sobriety is tenuous and she is skeptical the addiction sessions ordered by her boss Sheriff Frank Pusser's will help her. But since she wants to keep her job, she does her best of tamp down her cravings and attends the meetings. But when Katie Doogan begins stalking her and threatens to reveal information about Brynn and her beloved Gran, she is hard-pressed to stay away from booze.

The Sheriff's department's current case is a much needed distraction as she, fellow deputies Nan Parks and Harris and Sheriff Pusser investigate the troubling discoveries of a pair of severed ears and a severed tongue. Along with the body parts are the messages "hear no evil" and " speak no evil". Brynn and her fellow lawmen fear a serial killer is on the loose but with little evidence and no bodies, will they find the person responsible for what is shaping up to be a grisly crime?

Brynn is fighting a difficult battle in her attempt at maintaining sobriety. She is some scornful of her fellow meeting attendees and she is still justifying her problems with alcohol and pills. The surprising discovery that Assistant District Attorney Jake Sheehan is a recovering alcoholic leaves Brynn fighting yet another means of dealing with her problems. She is under extreme stress as Katie ratchets up her efforts to destroy Brynn. She is also determined to uncover the link between two missing men and hopefully clear fellow Traveller Hughie Black of any involvement in her current case.

The investigation is slow moving due to lack of evidence, no bodies or clear motive. Tracking one of the missing person's movement leads to an uneasy confrontation with a militia group in the surrounding forest. Attempting to find a connection between the two men who have disappeared, Brynn and Parks engage in a disquieting but potentially valuable interview with an elderly teacher from the local high school. Will the information gleaned from the eccentric teacher provide them with the lead they have been waiting for?

Shattered Justice is a dark and gritty mystery that is quite puzzling. Brynn is making progress dealing with her past but whether or not she will conquer her demons is uncertain. The main storyline is complex but dogged determination and painstaking investigating yield viable results. The secondary story arc with Katie adds another layer of suspense to the unfolding story. With shocking twists, Susan Furlong brings this engrossing mystery to a jaw-dropping conclusion. Old and new fans of the series are sure to enjoy this newest addition to the Bone Gap Traveller series.

Splintered Silence is a well-written, strong mystery that I wish I had liked more. It's fast-paced, with plenty of misdirection, and a strong sense of place. There are three things I enjoy most in my reading: setting, story, and characters. It's that third category of character that I had trouble with-- and not because the characters are badly written. Quite the contrary.

Yes, my subjective likes and dislikes have reared their ugly heads, although I will say that poor, battered Wilco is probably my favorite fictional war dog. (He's deaf, three-legged, has PTSD, and a list of strengths a mile long.) No, it's the humans I really didn't like. The townspeople who hate the Travellers even though they haven't bothered to learn a thing about them are just the sort of people I have no time for. The Irish Travellers themselves, with their endless lists of do's and don't's, are just as prejudiced as the folks they refer to as "settleds". And Brynn herself, on a downward spiral aided by prescription drugs and alcohol, highlights one of my many shortcomings-- my utter lack of patience for drunks. At least she begins to shed her dependence on them the more involved she becomes in the investigation.

If you do not share my personal and very subjective dislikes, you should really enjoy Splintered Silence. It was named one of the Top 25 Mysteries of 2017 by Strand Magazine, and I can see why. My reading self wants to love this book. Unfortunately, my emotional side has overruled it. This is most definitely a case where your mileage can (and probably will) vary!

Shattered Justice by Susan Furlong is the third A Bone Gap Travellers Novel. I have not read the other books in this series and I did feel I was missing important details especially at the beginning of the story. I picked up Shattered Justice because I enjoyed the author’s A Novel Idea Mystery series (written as Lucy Arlington). Shattered Justice is not what I expected. I like that Brynn Callahan is a veteran along with her dog, Wilco. They both suffered injuries in an explosion and, understandably, have PTSD. Poor Wilco suffers from nightmares as does Brynn who has been self-medicating with large quantities of alcohol and pain pills. If Brynn wants to keep her job, she need to give up both and begin attending AA meetings. I was not a fan of Brynn. My main reason is she feels she can take the law into her own hands (plus her addictions, attitude, etc.—felt like a cliched character). It was interesting to learn about the Irish Travellers or Pavee as they prefer to be called. It is a terrible shame that people are prejudiced against them because of their heritage. The mystery was complex with active investigating. I liked the action which helped propel the book forward which was helpful since the pacing was slow. The mystery can be solved before all the clues are revealed. As the law enforcement professionals uncover evidence, there are some descriptions that are best not read while eating (fair warning). Shattered Justice does contain graphic violence along with foul language and spousal abuse. My favorite character in the story is Wilco. I found him to be sweet and courageous. It is amazing what dogs can accomplish with training. As you can tell, Shattered Justice was not a good fit for me. Shattered Justice is a grim, tension filled story with a disturbed killer, surprising secrets, a clever canine, the amazing Appalachian, a dogged deputy, and a caring granddaughter.

Shattered Justice by Susan Furlong
Bone Gap Travellers #3

Well done addition to the series that sees Brynn Callahan wrestling with demons that are not easy to beat. She and her dog, Wilco, were together when they were injured by an IED, both suffer flashabacks and PTSD and they rely on one another to remain grounded when triggers are pulled.

Brynn has grown up in the Traveller/Pavee community but straddles the cultures of her childhood and those they called The Settled. She has suffered and seen much with loyalty sometimes divided between her “people” and the people she works with. She has coping mechanisms that have caused her boss to require her to attend AA whether she thinks she needs to or not and that is a deeply embedded bit of her life and also it would seem of the Pavee. This is a murder mystery but it is so much more!

What I liked:
* The telling of the story – hooked me and kept me interested
* The sense of family being there for one another
* Brynn – flawed and damaged as she is
* Wilco – a K-9 companion in more ways than one – a dog that will not give up...just like the woman he lives with
* The twists and turns and surprises
* The slow revelation of who everyone was and what they had been doing
* The men who care for Brynn...even when she doesn’t realize it
* Wondering what will happen to Brynn in the future and how she will get her life together – I really hope she does
* Hoping it won’t be a LONG time till book four comes out

What I didn’t like:
* The bad guys I was meant not to like
* The prejudice and bigotry that exists in life and in this story
* The grim reality of the lives of some of the people in the story

What I want to know:
* More about the private militia – Viper seems to be a person that might be interesting to hear more about
* How Brynn will get her act together
* What will happen to some of the women Travellers mentioned in this book
* What will happen next

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Being discharged from duty abruptly, former Marine MP Brynn Callahan returns home with PTSD, as well as her battlefield canine buddy, Wilco (which means “Will Comply”, a military term – what an appropriate name!), who is missing a limp and has become deaf.
Brynn is not yet ready to return to the secluded community of Irish Travellers of Bone Gap, Tennessee of which she had escaped from at the first place.
While she is trying to deal with her often flashbacks and recurrent nightmares of wartime combat, Brynn is also constantly battling the tension between her clan, the Travellers, and the “settlers” – the non clan people.
When Wilco, the well-trained Human Remains Detection, discovers a dead female body in the woods, it hits close to home and sets loose Brynn’s family long buried secrets and lies!
Splintered Silence by the master of suspense Susan Furlong, is book #1 of the Bone Gap Travellers series, and an excellent mystery with an unexpected twist of ending! It is a must-read for fans of mystery-thriller!
I am intrigued by the people and the culture of Bone Gap Travellers! Ms Furlong describes the scars of battle and the struggle of PTSD so vividly, that it tugs at my heart and I fell in love deeply with the flawed protagonists Brynn and Wilco!
I would like to thank Susan Furlong and Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this thrilling Bone Gap Travellers series!

Ex-Marine Brynn Callahan and her human-remains-detection canine Wilco, are called in to investigate when a female body is found in a cave in Bone Gap, Tennessee, where the Irish Travellers (some refer them as gypsies) live in a close-knit community.

The crime scene is gruesome : a symbol of pentagram marked on the entrance, dead chickens scattered around, burned-out candles surrounded the body, more blood-scrawled symbols on the rocks … looks like some sort of satanic occult has been practiced!

Brynn is horrified and taken aback when she discovers that the dead girl was her neighbor, and one of her own – a Traveller! And this is her first official homicide since she has sworn in as deputy sheriff! What a fate! To further complicate the situation, there is another female body being found in the nearby water ….

Through her course of investigation, Brynn is faced with intense hatred and resentment from her Traveller clan, in addition to her own struggle with PTSD. Is she fit enough to do her job as deputy sheriff to solve these homicides?

“Fractured Truth” is the second book of the Bone Gap Travellers series by Susan Furlong but can be read as stand alone.

Susan has done a great deal of research about veterans and the struggling of their PTSD, and has expertly incorporated these components in this crime thriller, with unexpected twists and mystery. It is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys good reads!

I would like to thank Susan Furlong and Kensington Books for introducing me to this interesting Bone Gap Travellers series! I enjoy it tremendously!

I personally love the characters portrayed by Brynn and her three-legged Wilco, as well as the culture and custom of Bone Gap Travellers! I am looking forward to reading the next novel of this series.

I love the setting and cultural aspects of this story. Susan Furlong beautifully captures this group of people known as Travellers. We see how prejudice works from both sides, enforcing stereotypes and ensuring the Travellers remain on the margins of society. We also see how difficult life is for people like Brynn, who straddle the middle ground of the two while not completely fitting into either.

The mystery unravels at a good pace, held my interest, and kept me guessing all the way through.

Brynn's relationship with Wilco is one of my favorite aspects of this series. Anyone who has ever loved an animal will appreciate their bond.

The only issue I had came with Brynn's emotional unraveling and erratic behavior. She has a major chip on her shoulder, and is moody and difficult throughout the story. The reasoning is sound and it's handled well. But the book is written in first person, from her perspective, and so it becomes grating to spend the entire time with her this way. The setup for this began in book 1, but here in book 2 her problematic behavior takes center stage, often overshadowing the murder case. Consequently, while I sympathized with her plight, I found her more difficult to like. That being said, there is a profound honesty in the way her situation is handled.

I think this book works fine as a stand-alone read. The author does a great job of weaving bits of the past into this story, and the plot itself is resolved with no cliffhangers. Still, I recommend starting with Splintered Silence, book 1, in order to get a firm sense of Brynn and the Bone Gap Travellers.

*The publisher provided me with an advance ebook copy via NetGalley.*