Her First Mistake by Kendra Elliot
#1 Noelle Marshall
Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Montlake
Published: 6.10.25
Pages: 343
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Sellers: Amazon
ADD TO: GoodReads
GoodReads Synopsis:
When a very personal cold case murder is reopened, a detective’s secrets come to light in a novel of shocking twists and suspense by a Wall Street Journal bestselling author.
Thirteen years ago, Assemblyman Derrick Bell was murdered in his home by an intruder. His wife, Noelle Marshall, was left for dead. The crime was unsolved, but it wasn’t forgotten.
Today the FBI is tackling a fresh perspective on the case and looking to Noelle, now a detective for the Deschutes County sheriff’s office, for new clues. It is reopening everything Noelle thought was behind her. Memories of her escape from a traumatic childhood. A marriage that wasn’t the perfect love story she’d been promised. And a husband whose charm and privilege hid a dark side. But Noelle has been hiding something a secret about the night Derrick died that she has never told anyone.
As past and present and leads and misleads collide, one thing is frighteningly clear. Derrick’s murder wasn’t just unsolved. It’s unfinished. And only the truth—no matter the risk—can save the next victim.
Sophia Rose's Review:
After encountering, cool-headed and fab dressing Detective Noelle Marshall in previous Columbia River series books, I was tingling with excitement to finally get the deets on her mysterious past. Kendra Elliot created a layered and fascinating secondary character who is now getting the spotlight for the first time.
Her First Mistake has a split timeline-style format. There are two past (one pre-murder and one post-murder) and one contemporary. This choice makes perfect sense with this particular plot line.
Opening with Noelle being called into the FBI office in Bend, OR, to meet with two Sacramento FBI agents, Max Rhodes and his partner, who are assigned the still-open case of her deceased husband, California Assemblyman, Derrick Bell, Noelle is blind-sided by the past she thought she had successfully put behind her. This is routine and the agents have gone over the old reports, had any evidence that would benefit from updated forensic tech gone back over, and now they are conducting interviews with all the key players to see if anything new shakes loose.
As it happens, they do rattle someone who has been keeping quiet about the bludgeoning death of Derrick Bell and attack on Noelle that left her with memory loss of the day of the crime with ongoing struggles of minor memory loss. Noelle went through dark times back then and is now reliving them though still unable to recall the day of the murder. That said, she’s been keeping a secret- the vivid dreams connected with that day.
I couldn’t say why, but one sentence during one of the past timelines opened the solution to the murder and surrounding mysteries wide-open for me. I was gratified to see hints after that telling me that I had indeed nailed it. How gratifying, LOL! But, that said, Her First Mistake never lost the building tension or big climax scenes because Kendra Elliot knows how to toss in an exciting and unexpected surprise now and then to keep readers on their toes.
I really enjoyed delving into Noelle’s past and getting to know an already likeable character better. Her vulnerabilities as she saw them didn’t hold her back and I thought these added depth and hidden strength for her to go through what she did and her ongoing hidden disability that doesn’t get in the way of her doing her job as a detective. The crackle of attraction between her and Max was well done and I liked the slow build in the background of the work on the case. Max was an instant favorite and I look forward to getting to know him better in further books.
Sidenote: There are crossover characters and mentions of previous situations even though this is a first in series. If you want all those references to make sense, previous series including FBI Agent Mercy Kilpatrick and the more recent Columbia River books involving Detective Evan Bolton should be read first.
All in all, a satisfying, attention-grabbing book- as usual. Can’t wait for the next installment and recommend specifically to romantic suspense fans.
Author’s Bio:
As a kid, I read and read and read. Laura Ingalls, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden were my close companions, and I was never without a book in hand. Today mysteries and suspense are my primary reading genres. I enjoy Lee Child, Karen Rose, Robert Crais, Lisa Gardner, Michael Connelly, and Tami Hoag. But I also love to escape with a historical romance or an engrossing fantasy set in another world. Authors are always huge readers.
In 2006 I’d recently finished one of Diana Gabaldon’s novels for the umpteenth time, and I loved how satisfied and content I felt at the end. A true sign of great storytelling. Could I provide that experience for a reader? I sat down and spent six months writing a contemporary romance. Strangely I kept tripping over dead bodies in each chapter. I got the hint and my stories evolved into suspense. I never felt the need to “tell the stories cluttering my head” or “share my work with the world” like some authors. My goal was to simply see if I could entertain a reader.
HIDDEN was the third manuscript I finished, but my first book purchased by a publisher. It came out in the summer of 2012 and since then has sold a million copies. I won the Daphne du Maurier award three times and have hit the Wall Street Journal’s best seller list more than a dozen times. I’ve been an International Thriller Writers’s finalist and a finalist for Romantic Times Magazine’s best Romantic Suspense. As I update this in 2024, I’ve sold thirteen million books, and I’m working on my twenty-fourth novel. I’ve also written eleven novellas and sold the TV rights for my Mercy Kilpatrick series.
I wouldn’t trade this career for anything, and I count my blessings every day, thankful that readers have embraced my books.
https://www.kendraelliot.com/home/
Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose
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