Books & Spoons Review: Cold Deception by D.B. Tait

Secrets, lies, deception. That's what it takes to stay alive.

At 20, Julia Taylor went to prison for murdering a man who deserved it. Ten years later, she's ready to put the past behind her and get on with her life. But someone won't let her. Someone will do anything to drive Julia away, including murder.

As the body count rises, Julia is forced to accept the help of Dylan Andrews, a cop with dark secrets of his own. Unfortunately help has a cost. Dylan is digging into Julia's past, uncovering secrets she is desperate to keep.

Julia must keep Dylan at a distance, or else risk her own safety, and the safety of everyone she loves…

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An original plot in a story that took me for emotional roll-a-coaster. The author paints a picture of the events in a clever way, you can see it all happening, you are right there with the characters. Julia had gone through so much, and wanted to just leave it all behind, and start her life anew. But it isn't that easy in the small town in the Australian Blue Mountains, where everyone knows each other, and all are aware of the past. The adjustment back to normal life wasn't easy, even though Julia was doing her best. And when trouble started to find her in every corner, it just got more difficult.
There are so many secrets, everyone has one. There wasn't a character in the story, that didn't have major struggles in their life. That started to seem a bit overwhelming after a while.
Dylan and Julia were attracted to each other from the first moment they meet, but their situation seems impossible. He is a police officer, she is on parole for murder, and more bodies start to show up, and all the murders are somehow connected to Julia. With all the secrets unraveling, investigations going on, and family drama to be dealt with, not to mention Julia's adjustment to the life outside, the romance between Dylan and Julia doesn't get that much focus, it is developing more on the back burner, and left for happy for now.
The mystery behind all the murders, the drug running, and other crimes committed in the small town, seems to all point into one person. There's enough plot twists in the story to keep it interesting, even though the story moves on rather slowly. At the end, all the events are twisted in together, and some of the crimes and mysteries are solved, with one major criminal still on a run.
The story was interesting, maybe some editing to tie it more together, would have made it move a bit faster, and I wanted just one person in the story to not have any major issues with them, but I guess this way, it was more lifelike. The romance was believable, real, and honest. I'm glad Dylan didn't choose to hide his feelings at the end, but came forward, no matter what the cost. Lots of drama and crimes in the tale, that kept the interest to the end
~ Three spoons with a teaspoon on the side