#15. Part Of A Duology – Deeper Than the Dead by Debra Webb (Kindle)

This was my selection from my Amazon Prime First Reads UK options for July 2024. At the time it was stated that this was the first book in a duology, and I thought the blurb sounded interesting enough for there to be a second book and that I’d read it once it was released. It now transpires that this is the first book in a new detective series, but I’m keeping it here under the #15 as I began reading it when I was under the impression there were only going to be two books!
 
“Crime analyst and newly disgraced deputy police chief Vera Boyett doesn’t visit home often, and she certainly doesn’t venture back into the cave on her family land. But when the remains of her long-missing stepmother are discovered, Vera will have to face a past that threatens all she is. She and her sister Eve had a fairy-tale childhood: good until it was tragic, with a stepmother they never found a bond with. At least they had each other, a baby half-sister, and a mutual devotion that would have them do the unthinkable. It’s a summer in small-town Tennessee, so thick with humidity it could drown you and so rife with secrets it could smother you. And deep beneath the surface, there are more bodies than you’d think….”
 
Twenty-two years ago, Vera Boyett's stepmother Sheree disappeared, it was presumed she had run away with her lover.  Human remains have now been discovered in a cave on the Boyett land in Fayetteville, and Vera's sisters need her to return home as the remains belong to Sheree. 39-year-old Vera has spent fifteen years working with the Memphis Police Department, working her way up to her current role of Deputy Chief in a specialised unit. Unfortunately for Vera, everyone on her team has been suspended, following a horrific shooting that claimed the lives of two of her officers. Vera is to be the scapegoat and the unit that she helped to create will be disbanded. With her career in tatters and the recent unearthing of human remains where she grew up, she is eager to head back to see her younger sister Eve and half-sister Luna. 

As with many novels focusing on domestic drama, families often have skeletons hidden in the closet, and Vera and Eve are no exception to this rule; although their skeleton is literally in a cave they used to play in as children. Twenty-two years ago, a family drama that they would prefer to keep hidden is about to be unearthed, but unknown to them both, there wasn't just one body hidden in the cave. Further remains are soon discovered in a deeper part of the cave system; some remains were deposited before Sheree's body was dumped there, and others were deposited after Sherree. Who else knew about the complex cave system and why was it chosen to dump the bodies in? 

Vera has handed in her police badge, so she has no jurisdiction in investigating the murders, however, this is where a secondary storyline weaves through the book.  The old Sheriff has recently been replaced by Vera's ex-boyfriend, Bent. She hasn't seen him in twenty-two years, since he headed off into the military; but she is now reliant on Bent to solve the mystery, preferably without revealing her and Eve's past misdemeanours. Bent wants to complete a thorough investigation and becomes obsessed with finding out how the bodies got into the cave, who put them there, and why they were arranged in such a specific manner. He is convinced that neither Vera nor Eve are being completely honest with him, which results in some strained conversations between them. 

I really wanted to like this book. I chose it because I thought it was an interesting premise; human remains found on the family land that no-one knew about, a deputy police chief returning home to heal a family rift and solve the mystery of the remains. The tale had a great foundation to work with, but aside from the plot idea, I quickly got bored with the book. I hadn't read anything by this author before, so I looked at her bio and saw that she was a well renowned USA Today bestselling author with more than 170 novels under her belt, so I had thought I would be in safe hands with her. I think a lot can be said for quality over quantity. I found the book dull and endlessly repetitive. 

My main issue about the book is the writing (yes, the important bit!) I found the plot strong at the beginning which quickly diluted, as it meandered along with very little structure, just endless repetition and constant worrying about the secrets of the past being revealed to the Sheriff. 

“She would talk to Eve and Luna…” “You want to talk about it?” “We can talk about that too,” “I’ll have to talk to my sisters first.” “Vera had to find and talk to Eve.” “I think we need to talk.” “We need to talk. Now. In person.” 

The investigation seemed to go round in circles for most of the book, probably because everyone urgently needed to talk to someone else rather than doing anything. I don’t think I’ve read a book where so much talking and so little thinking has taken place. I had pretty much worked out who the killer was early in the novel, and there were no substantial red herrings to make me question whether I was right or not. There was no discernible feeling of suspense or intrigue throughout, and I became so uninvested that I couldn't get excited about the identification of the body (about 60% of the way through the book) and even finding out who the culprits were felt lame. 

I'm not sure what angle Webb was going for in this novel, whether crime or romance, as both felt a little wishy washy. The reader is constantly reminded that Vera is still as attracted to Bent as she was when he abandoned her all those years ago, which leads to her being easily distracted by his eyes and lips and how handsome he is, rather than concentrating on the case in hand. I did start to wonder whether so much importance had been placed on Vera's work background and her colleagues being shot because she was useless on focusing on her job, although I doubt it! 

“You killed him?” “He was a really bad guy, Vee. I wouldn’t have—” “Holy shit! What’re you now? Dexter?” 

I felt the characters were wooden and superficial and therefore unsustainable to read about. The dialogue between them was unnatural, and so were their actions. It was obvious when Bent told Vera to stay in the house that she would ignore him and get herself into trouble. I found it hard to believe that this woman was supposed to be a high-ranking cop, especially one who had been thought of so highly. She seemed so one dimensional and spent a lot of time talking and panicking about her lies being uncovered rather than being of any use. In fact, much of the book felt like it was one excuse after another to allow her to ruminate about various traumatic memories from her dark past. 

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book or the writing style. I found it OK, and I did finish reading the book, but I didn't have enough interest in the characters, and I felt the plot just dragged along. I genuinely did not care about what might happen between Vera and Bent in book two. Whether they get together or not, to be honest, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews for this book online, but it just was not for me, and I certainly don't think the characters are strong enough to sustain a series of novels. 
  
Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Adventure
Release Date: 1^st August 2024
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Pages: 392
 
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