Dead Giveaway - Brenda Novak

The sequel to Brenda Novak’s Dead Silence is Dead Giveaway. As in the previous book we know at the beginning of the book that the main character – Clay – is a also a victim. If not a direct victim of the villain a victim of the circumstances who made him cover up a murder. 19 years after he is still guarding the place where everything happened.

Allie is the sheriff’s daughter. A cold case detective who just returned to her hometown after a messy divorce she is approached by Madeline to discover what happened to her father all those years ago and to clear up her family. The problem is that as soon as she starts investigating she finds that not all is as it seemed and some truths are better left alone.

As in the previous book I feel a bit manipulated because I’m siding with Clay and Grace from page 1, because of what happened it’s difficult to deal with how the town’s people treat them and I find myself wishing Maddy would give it a rest and Joe Vincelli to come to a bad end.

In terms of the mystery this book doesn’t move forward much but the suspense is still very much there. The reader is kept wondering what their enemies will uncover and due to the testimony of one of Clay’s ex-lovers for a time it seems they will succeed in prosecuting him. This book let’s us know Clay better and see how he and Allie manage to build a relationship in the middle of so much distrust. I thought he was a wonderful character by the way, not too hard around the edges even after everything that happened and still willing to dream of a future. One good thing about Novak is that her descriptions and characterization are so good that we really care about them.

We know a bit more about Reverend Barker’s sins but mostly this is Clay and Allie’s story and despite the suspense being very good this book is much more about the characters than about the murder plot. At least in my view! A B+ and I can’t wait to read the last one.