Trace of Doubt by DiAnn Mills

Trace of Doubt
by DiAnn Mills

ISBN-13: 9781496451859
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House
Released: September 7th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Fifteen years ago, Shelby Pearce confessed to murdering her brother-in-law and was sent to prison. Now she's out on parole and looking for a fresh start in the small town of Valleysburg, Texas. But starting over won't be easy for an ex-con.

FBI Special Agent Denton McClure was a rookie fresh out of Quantico when he was first assigned the Pearce case. He's always believed Shelby embezzled five hundred thousand dollars from her brother-in-law's account. So he's going undercover to befriend Shelby, track down the missing money, and finally crack this case.

But as Denton gets closer to Shelby, he begins to have a trace of doubt about her guilt. Someone has Shelby in their crosshairs. It's up to Denton to stop them before they silence Shelby--and the truth--forever.


My Review:
Trace of Doubt is a Christian romantic suspense novel. Denton believes Shelby's guilty of theft but he's never been able to prove it. When she's released from prison, though, he realizes that this smart, brave, self-sacrificing woman didn't steal the money. He's been putting the blame for a lot of things on the wrong person. Shelby would do anything for her family, especially her older, perfect sister. She's blind to the manipulation that Denton soon begins to suspect.

The main characters were caring, engaging, and reacted realistically to events. I found it believable that Shelby was initially fooled even though she's a smart woman, but then she still underestimated just how clever that person was even though she saw the evidence firsthand. After getting to know each other, Shelby and Denton grew into friends and then to care more deeply for each other. They used their unique skills to gather information to stop the person targeting Shelby. The suspense was from the increasing physical danger to Shelby.

The Christian element was mainly some questioning by Denton about how Shelby could trust God when He let so many bad things happen to her. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this suspenseful novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.