NO ONE KNEW by Kendra Elliott

4* Good storyline, but I'm not feeling/seeing/believing the Nicole-Max romance. 

This author's books are a must-buy. Even without the romance that I like in my novels, this was a very readable, believable book in what's still effectively the Mercy Kilpatrick universe. 

The tale starts off slow but accelerates quickly with the discovery of bodies, connection to militias and with various law enforcement agencies coming together. There's Max - Noelle's love interest - paired up with Mercy, then there's Truman's lot, plus Noelle and Evan. I don't profess to understand much about the US's law enforcement agencies' jurisdictions but it wasn't that clear that all were needed, although it's always nice getting a Mercy fix. Her prepper past brought insight to the bad guys, although it also brought back the trauma of her time undercover with preppers/militia. 

Noelle didn't have an awful lot to do in the tale, although it's nice that she's coming back to life. There's an 'adopted' daughter/niece on the horizon, and there's progress with Max. For me, sadly that doesn't stand out like with Morgan Dane and her guy, or Mercy and Truman, and tbh, had she been resolutely single, that'd have worked more realistically than this passionless pairing. 

It's a decent police procedural, but I'm not convinced on the romance front.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Montlake Publishing for my reading pleasure. 

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