Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A tenacious reporter won't let personal ties to a decades-old case stop her from finding the truth. On the advice of her agent, Savannah Sentinel reporter and author Nikki Gillette is looking for fodder for her latest true-crime novel when she realizes that the perfect subject is about to be released from prison. Savannah's notorious Blondell O'Henry has been locked up for some 20 years for the murder of her oldest daughter and Nikki's childhood friend, Amity. Now that Blondell's son Niall has recanted the testimony that put her away all those years ago, it looks as if she'll be a free woman unless Nikki's fiance, Detective Pierce Reed, can find a reason to keep her detained. Pierce and Nikki both work to discover what happened years ago at that cabin in the woods, though Pierce bridles at Nikki's rather unconventional--all right, illegal--research methods. It seems to Nikki that the more she investigates, the more connections she discovers to her own family, beginning with the fact that her Uncle Alex was the original defense attorney on the case. But all of these uncomfortable connections make Nikki still more determined to learn the truth, even if she doesn't like what that may mean. You'll need your own detective's notebook to keep tabs on all the characters and connections on display here. Even so, Jackson (You Don't Want to Know, 2012, etc.) shows a mastery of the true-crime thriller formula that will please fans.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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A case that true crime author Nikki Gillette is considering for her next book strikes too close to home in bestseller Jackson's loosely constructed third romantic suspense novel set in Savannah, Ga. (after 2004's The Morning After). Notorious Blondell O'Henry was convicted 20 years earlier of killing her pregnant teenage daughter, Amity, and seriously wounding her two younger children, Niall, then eight, whose testimony was key to the prosecution, and Blythe, then five. Now Niall recants his testimony, which means Blondell may soon be free. Amity was Nikki's best friend, and Nikki's uncle was Blondell's lawyer. Now Nikki's fiance, Det. Pierce Reed, and his police partner are charged with reviewing the evidence against Blondell. As Nikki probes the O'Henry family past, she encounters people, both sleazy and respectable, with secrets-and someone who's willing to kill to keep those secrets hidden. Readers new to Jackson should be prepared for cliche-ridden prose and strained plotting. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Everyone loved Nikki Gillette's first two true-crime books, but Nikki's agent turned her latest proposal down flat since it lacks the up-close-and-personal touch of her other books. While desperately scrambling for a new idea, Nikki learns that notorious Blondell O'Henry is about to be released from prison. Twenty years earlier, Blondell was convicted of killing her daughter Amity and seriously wounding her other two children. Not only had Nikki been one of Amity's friends in high school; her uncle was Blondell's attorney, and Nikki's fiance Savannah police detective Pierce Reed is reinvestigating the Blondell case, which makes it the perfect choice for her next book. However, as soon as Nikki begins digging into the past, she discovers that someone else is equally determined to keep her from finding any real dirt. In the third entry in her Savannah series, best-seller Jackson gives a subtle literary nod to Ann Rule's true-crime classic Small Sacrifices (1987), and the spookily atmospheric plot is jam-packed with scary chills and sexy thrills.--Charles, John Copyright 2010 Booklist