Deadly Trust

by Barbara Phinney

When Anna LaBonte's estranged husband is found murdered, she becomes the main suspect. Only one person is willing to help her, her mysterious new neighbor, Brent Stirling. Brent knows the only reason he's helping Anna is to ease the festering guilt inside of him. But when the events turn personal, and he finds himself falling for Anna, Brent knows he can't walk away. Brent learns the police officer in charge wants to keep his perfect record, and Brent suspects that it will be at Anna's expense. He can't allow Anna to take the fall here. But if he helps her, he risks Anna learning the truth about his arrival. If he walks away, he abandons all chances for happiness for both of them. Either way, one thing is clear. His scars are visible, hers are not, but these mementos may kill them both.

Genres: Mystery Thriller, Mystery

294 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2001

Reviews

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna LaBonte wakes up in her vacation cabin and has a gut feeling her bastard of a husband, Serge, is dead. He’s not in the cabin, her car is gone and she doesn’t know where he is or why he left. She only knows that he’s dead and she’s finally free. The only problem is the Canadian Mounted Police think she offed her husband and all the circumstantial evidence is pointing directly at her.

Brent Stirling is on vacation in the cabin next door. He doesn’t believe she killed her husband, so even though his friends are telling him to distance himself from Anna, the non-grieving murderess, he decides to help her figure out who killed Serge. Can they find enough evidence to prove her innocence before the cop with the perfect record slam dunks Anna straight to jail? Let the hunt begin.

Well-written with great characters I had a hard time putting this story down since I wanted to know who the killer was. Not that Serge was any great loss, but without suspects, for a time I even suspected Anna of doing the deed. She’d have had plenty of sympathy from me if she had though. What a jerk that guy was. Anyway, I enjoyed reading about two people with pain and scars, healing and getting on with their lives. I look forward to reading more by Barbara Phinney.

*The author provided a copy of this story for me to review. Please see disclaimer page.

[Linda Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Souvenirs by Barbara Phinney is a very good and readable romantic suspense - with enough characters to keep you guessing until the end. It involves a woman who wakes up instinctively knowing that the husband who abused her is dead. She ends up being blamed - and the book goes on from there...

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serge from the first meeting he has been tutoring her, how to be the perfect wife. His controlling way and anger sessions did not help. Awaking in the cabin she sensed he was dead, didn’t know how, but a relief came over her. Going outside to breathe freely she meets a neighbor Brent, a little odd, in that he had a jacket zipped up, and was warm at the beach.
Going to the police, them telling her he had been murdered in a motor home, where was the car, he left in. They have question, she is not the grieving widow, but a suspect now. Brent steps in to help her, knowing there are scars and secrets, a losing game one way or the other.
Good plot and good characters, will look for more by the author.

[Brenda C. McAllister · Rating 3 out of 5]

GOOD!!!!!!

This is a good book. I've read better books. This one had a good plot and it was very believable, but it didn't have me turning the pages quickly to find out what happened. It just didn't challenge my mind to try to figure out what was coming next.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Deadly Trust) Souvenirs by Barbara Phinney
I am not one who enjoys murder/thrillers books so I put off reading this gift from a contest I won. Sorry I did not put everything aside to read this when I won it.
It's a super read for the detailed descriptions of locations, the storyline and the romance and the trust they give to each other.
Anna LaBonte is at a summer cabin and she knows one day that her husband is dead. She just has the intuition.
The cabin next door is Brent Stirling and he's on medical leave from his military unit in hopes of quiet and to get over the incident that left 3 others dead.
She gets a ride from him to the police station to report her husband missing.
Serge her husband has been a controlling freak, always was. even to the point he'd go to the hairdressers and tell them what he wanted. He picked out her clothes for her to wear every day and she had to be fully dressed and made up before breakfast.
She is relieved when the cops tell her that her husband was murdered in the motor home. Her car is still missing and she will notify her sisterinlaw in a few hours time.
She works in the forensic field and knows with Brent's help they need to find out who did kill her husband before the police, Luc arrested her.
Brent is snooping around to investigate the clues and things that happened prior to the murder to help her out.
As things progress and heat up between Brent and Anna he's been warned to stay away from her, if he wants a career in a few months time.
They tried to run them over on the road but they rolled to the ditch... Who would want to kill them?
They are each struggling with their pasts, trying to get over the nightmares and flashbacks.
Love the detailed explanations of why they investigated at certain places and who they talked to etc, to find out who really did the murder..
Excellent read!

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Anna LaBonte's husband is murdered, all the evidence points to her and she quickly becomes suspect number one. Despite their troubled marriage, Anna would never harm her husband, but how can she convince the police of that? Enter Brent Stirling, Anna's mysterious neighbor who's jagged scars go beyond skin-deep. Brent doesn't know why, but he's compelled to help his pretty, demure neighbor clear her name. As they delve deeper into the case, their feelings for one another grow larger than the evidence piled against Anna. But between Brent's troubled past and Anna's secrets, is their faith and trust strong enough to take their relationship to the next level?

Barbara Phinney pens another winner! Souvenirs is a fantastic blend of checkered pasts, trust and suspense. Though Anna struggles to find her independence, her faith is never shaken and her honesty makes up for the mistakes she makes. Brent's inner demons are tragic, yet his willingness to help Anna proves that he has more compassion than he gives himself credit for. The plot is quick-paced and the pages seem to fly by as Anna and Brent attempt to figure out who killed Anna's husband. The author does an excellent job blending faith into a contemporary storyline while also keeping readers on their toes. Anna and Brent's character—flaws and all—will resonate with readers.

*Originally written for

[Julie Malcolm · Rating 1 out of 5]

A woman just out of a 10 year plus abusive relationship jumps headlong into a new relationship with a man she's known for all of one week. This man cannot control his temper well enough to resist assaulting a police officer and we're supposed to believe they go on to live happily ever after?

Said assault has no consequence and we're supposed to believe this is a realistic crime story?

There were many cringe making, eye rolling moments in this story and faith elements felt like tokens thrown in to meet the inspirational book categorisation but still I managed to finish it which would normally be worth at least two stars, however the hero's use of violence to releave his feelings of frustration proved, for me, to be an insurmountable barrier to the credibility and enjoyment of this book.

[Melanie Robertson-King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Barbara painted the Canadian Maritime scenery wonderfully. I could smell the salt air and feel the soft sand envelope my feet in the protected area of the New Brunswick beach. Her characters were realistically portrayed and you could empathize with each one of them. She spun her story in such a way that the real culprit wasn't even hinted at (in my mind anyway) until she was ready to give the slightest hint as to who it could be. In the end, all was tied up neatly. The sexual tension between Anna and Brent added to the suspense.

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is bursting with action and suspense. I really enjoyed the military elements of the book, and the angst of ther hero who'd been wounded in war and is now trying to save another person, the heroine.

[Michelle LeKander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. Held my attention the entire time. Feel like there could have been more charachter development

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The romance component of this novel is SO unbelievable. I only finished reading the book to see to who committed the murderer.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abuse is never pretty. This book handles it well. I just gotta say I was surprised by WHO DONE IT.