Final Truth: A Novel of Suspense

At the start of the fourth novel of romantic suspense in Stewart's Truth series (after 2005's Dark Truth), Regan Landry-the daughter of a deceased true crime writer who's followed in his footsteps to great acclaim-is floundering around for a new book idea. When fraud at a DNA lab is uncovered and several rape and murder convictions are overturned, Regan thinks she's found her story. She'll write about Lester Ray Barnes, wrongly convicted of murder, now set free. But shortly after Barnes is released from prison, several dead bodies turn up-women whose lips have been smeared with blood and who hold a clump of flowers in their lifeless hands, just like Barnes's purported first victim. Is Barnes, in fact, a ruthless killer, or is someone trying to set him up? Regan, working with her delicious beau, FBI agent Mitch Peyton, is determined to find out. While a revelation about Regan's family comes out of left field and the culminating scene in which the real killer is unmasked isn't exactly surprising, Regan's charm and the novel's fast pace will keep readers turning the pages.