All the little truths

Webb's third Finley O'Sullivan book (following The Nature of Secrets) is told from two timelines, the present and 13 years ago. In the year-plus since her husband's murder and attack that almost killed her, Finley has finally healed, thanks partly to her work at her godfather's law firm, where she's investigating a 13-year-old reopened cold case murder in which their client Ray Johnson, eldest son of a crime boss, is implicated. The deeper Finley digs, the more the case muddies because of time passed--and the fact that everyone involved, including the client, the victim's friends, and Finley's father (who apparently knew the victim), is lying to her. The storyline is engagingly convoluted, set in a Nashville filled with real places but fictionalized enough to keep the veil drawn. Finley is unsinkable and fearless and will have readers cheering her on. There are many notable supporting characters, including Finley's new love interest Matt, who is the yin to her yang. VERDICT The novel stands well on its own, but as in connected tales, it's best read in order to experience character growth and story development. Webb's fans and those who like Lisa Jackson will enjoy.--Debbie Haupt

Finley O'Sullivan--attorney, dogged investigator, and survivor of unspeakable horrors--gets a new case that changes her life, and not for the better. After finding her husband's killers, Finley has begun a romantic relationship with her best friend, Matthew Quinn, and started working as an investigator for primo lawyer Jack Finnegan. Jack owes a favor to mobster Raymond Johnson, whose son Ray is a suspect in the cold-case murder of Lucy Cagle, the daughter of a famous investigative reporter who was a high school senior when she was murdered 13 years earlier. Now her purse turns up, along with some cigarette butts, in an empty warehouse owned by the Johnson family. When Ray denies any connection to Lucy, Finley sets out to uncover the truth. She's fortunate that the detective on the case is Eric Houser, with whom she has a good rapport. Finley manages to turn up a lot of information that eluded the police and a private investigator at the time. When, on top of her already packed schedule, she finds her reclusive neighbor facedown in a flowerbed, she has her rushed to the hospital. Finley has a fraught relationship with her mother, a renowned judge, but she's shocked to learn that her father knew Lucy and is withholding information. Yet another unanswered question is what happened to Ray's younger brother, who vanished after Lucy's death. When Finley puts all the pieces together, the answers are more shocking than she could have imagined. A convoluted, fast-paced mystery whose intrepid heroine faces plenty of danger. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.