Review – No One Left to Tell by Karen Rose

Publisher: Signet
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: Review copy from publisher

A woman is dead and her fiance is serving a life sentence for a murder he didn’t commit. Now PI Paige Holden holds the only piece of evidence that could see him freed, and she cannot take it to the police. With the help of disarming state attorney, Grayson Smith, Paige is determined to avenge the murdered woman and set an innocent man free. But Paige has only scratched the surface of a cover-up far deadlier than she could ever imagine. A string of mysterious deaths of women with a shared past sets Paige on the trail of a ruthless killer. The problem is, the killer’s on her trail too …
*Blurb from Goodreads*

Holy Karen Rose! I read my first Rose book last year when the first in the new Baltimore series – You Belong to Me – and the only thing I remember is being blown away. Well, let me say that Rose blew me away once again!

Paige has run away from the nightmares and overbearing friends in MN to work as a Baltimore PI. When she takes a case pro-bono, she never expected it would turn into a murdered client and shady figureheads across the city. As she works to uncover the secrets left to her by her client who dies in her arms, Paige is thrown in way over her head.

Grayson is a dedicated attorney who has never doubted his skill in the courtroom. When he finds out that he may have been an unwilling pawn in a setup, he will partner with Paige to get the truth, whatever the costs. As he and Paige fight to stay alive day in and day out, they uncover dirty cops, district attorneys, politicians and a scandal decades in the making. But the closer they get to the truth, the hotter the water they are in. Will they be able to unravel the mystery, while keeping each other alive?

I have to admit, reading Rose takes a lot of concentration and brain power. There is so much going on, so many subplots, and an endless number of twists and turns. As soon as I was done reading, I had to go and veg out, because my brain hurt from trying to process all the information, read into every word said, and try to figure out the mystery along with Paige and Grayson.

The mystery and suspense aspects of the book were AMAZING. I can’t even say enough good things about how incredible Rose is as a storyteller. The whodunit aspect kept weaving this way and that and just when I thought I knew exactly who the murder was, Rose would throw in another tidbit and I would be sent back to square one, scratching my head. I loved following Paige and Grayson as they uncovered clues, but also being able to get a look at the other players was a fun bit as well.

So many times when an author excels at the mystery or suspense portion of the book, it seems as if the other aspects don’t stand out as well. But with Rose, the romance was just as vital to the book, and just as well done as everything else. I loved and adored both Paige and Grayson. They had their own flaws and idiosyncrasies, yet they were both fiercely devoted to their work, and finding the truth in everything they did. I believed in them both and when they came together – rather explosively, I might add – I believed in them together. I cheered them on, prayed for them to be together, and hoped they would open enough to each other to let them heal one another.

I am so anxious to see where Rose goes next with the series. There were so many exceptional supporting characters that I can’t wait to find out more about. Especially Daphne, Grayson’s loyal and snarky co-worker as well as the rest of the Carter clan (Grayson’s adoptive family). When I read that the next book would be about Daphne and Grayson’s brother, the stoic FBI agent, I already started counting down the days until November 8th.

All in all I was once again floored by Rose’s writing and storytelling. The characters were flawed, but written flawlessly. The story was gritty and violent at times, but also told an incredible story that took us on a wild ride. I will absolutely be making my way through the Rose backlist (although it’ll be slowly, as she breaks my brain with the awesomeness that is her writing). Romantic suspense and mystery fans alike should all check out this book.
I give No One Left to Tell a B+

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