BOOK REVIEW: TWISTED BOND BY EMMA HART

Title: Twisted Bond
Author: Emma Hart
Genre: Romance, mystery
Published on: June 11, 2015, self-published

I’m an Italian-Texan woman in a family full of cops. I’m passionate and shoot before I think. You only f*ck with me if you’re stupid.

Photograph cheating spouses. Hand over the evidence. Cash my check.

That was my plan when I returned home to Holly Woods, Texas, and became a private investigator.

Finding the dead body in my dumpster? Yeah… Given the choice, I think I would have opted out of that little discovery, especially since all three of my brothers are cops. And my Italian grandmother is sure the reason I’m single is because of my job.

Of course, my connection to the victim is entirely coincidental. Until I’m hired by her husband to investigate her murder and shoved bang-smack into the path of Detective Drake Nash. My nemesis, a persistent pain in my ass, and one hell of a sexy son of a bitch.

Shame he still holds a grudge from that time I shot him in the foot twelve years ago, or we could have something. In another life.

So now all I have to do is avoid my nonna’s blind dates, try not to blackmail my brothers into giving me confidential police files, and absolutely do not point my gun at Drake Nash. Or kiss him. Or jump his bones.

All while I hunt down the killer.

Sounds totally simple—until a second body proves that sometimes things that start as coincidences don’t always end up that way…

I’m familiar with Emma Hart. She is one of the first self-published authors I discovered. Hart mostly writes romances aimed at women…the kind I don’t read. So I’ve only picked up a small fraction of her works, the few ones I wouldn’t mind others knowing I own. Twisted Bond caught my eye because of its genre. I was intrigued when I found out Hart branched into mystery. It’s one of my favorite genres. I had to see whether the author pulled it off.

Twisted Bond takes place in the fictional town of Holly Woods, Texas. I would know because, well, I’m a Texan. The main character is Noelle Bond, a 30-year-old hotheaded private investigator. She’s the owner of Bond P.I., an agency that mostly handles infidelity cases. Noelle is also part Italian, and it’s a huge part of her character. She has a grandmother (whom she calls ‘Nonna’) who is bent on finding Noelle a husband. And he has to be part Italian, like them. Noelle is too independent and self-assured to  care about having a man in her life.

The second protagonist (and love interest) is Detective Drake Nash. He and Noelle have an interesting and complicated relationship. Noelle shot Drake in the foot several years ago. He still seems to have a grudge over it. But the attraction between Drake and Noelle is scorching. They hate each other as much as they want each other. I wasn’t keen on this potential enemies-to-lovers relationship. A couple who blow up when they see each other isn’t my favorite kind. Anyway, Drake and Noelle start seeing each other a lot more because of the main case in Twisted Bond.

The small, quiet town of Holly Woods has its first murder in several years. As if that wasn’t enough, the victim winds up right outside the offices of Bond P.I. This leaves Noelle shocked. Is the choice of dump location a coincidence? The police investigate Noelle and her employees, as expected. It doesn’t seem Noelle will land in any trouble. Part of the reason is that her three brothers are all cops. They’re Trent, Devin, and Brody. Of them, Brody is younger than Noelle, which made me smirk. Brody, the little brother…figures. “Brody” is just a weird name to me. It sounds like a one-word term for “little brother”.

Back to the point, the victim’s husband hires Noelle to find the killer. Noelle accepts the case, not worrying that Bond P.I. doesn’t do murder investigations or that the job will have her locking horns with Drake. He becomes the investigating officer. Drake doesn’t appreciate when Noelle gets in his way while she tries to find the killer. Things become more personal once a second victim is found. This time, there is no doubt Noelle is connected somehow. Of course, this worries her family. Noelle isn’t afraid for herself, though. She’s not a woman you cross at your own risk.

I found the characters in Twisted Bond to be compelling. Hart has a library’s worth of published novels already, so that’s pretty much a given. She knows how to create lively characters. Noelle is one of a kind. She’s a determined, fearless ex-cop. Noelle is not only a talented investigator, she can shoot straight. A funny thing about Noelle is that she loves cupcakes. I mean, it’s an obsession. Lucky for Noelle, she appears to be able to eat as much as she likes without gaining weight. As for Drake, he’s a gruff detective who can’t seem to decide whether he wants to fight with Noelle or sleep with her. He’s also just as headstrong as she is. Whether two people like this will ever end up together is anyone’s guess.

So, can Emma Hart write as good a mystery as she does romance? I’d say Twisted Bond was solid. The book keeps you guessing who the culprit might be. Whoever he or she is, they start going after Noelle at one point. She has no idea why, and neither does the reader. When the main antagonist is uncovered, it was someone I didn’t expect. And the way Noelle realized who it was felt like sheer luck. If she hadn’t done…well, Noelle would likely have caught them anyway. She is a great investigator. Still, I wouldn’t have minded if her “aha!” moment had been more impressive. For the first book in a new series, Twisted Bond didn’t disappoint. I’ll likely continue on with the rest of the Holly Woods Files mysteries.

My rating: ★★★★

4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!