The Man Behind the Curtain

by Melanie Rodgers

A royal by blood, Amelia Royce’s life is far from any fairy-tale imaginable. For her entire life, she has been taking the path of least resistance in her attempt to find that place of peace she calls home, even if it means blindly following into all the wrong directions. But everything starts falling apart when her beloved brother, Grant, is killed. In the turmoil, she meets Jack, the detective assigned to her brother’s case. While not impressed with him at first, she slowly warms up to him, and if she’s not mistaken, chemistry is brewing between them.

But she couldn’t be any more wrong.

Jack, has a dark secret and with Amelia in his sights, he’ll stop at nothing to keep it. Now, while she seeks justice for her brother, she has to come to terms with the fact that she’s never quite grown up from being the naive golden child with the flawed map. All the while, Jack’s erratic new direction relentlessly leads her down a path of destruction from which she may never return.

Amelia is looking for home, but the map she’s been following has been wrong the entire time. How far away is peace?And will she find her one true path before it’s too late? Will she unveil that man hiding behind the curtain, or will he destroy her for daring to try?

396 pages, Paperback

Published December 11, 2024

Reviews

[Stella Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book really blew my mind. I haven't read a mostly-prose book in quite some time. The story begins with Amelia's brother dying from a freak accident. The reader is then invited into Amelia's world. Just as you think she's piecing together a puzzle, "the man behind the curtain" enters, and honestly? This is where the wild ride begins. I couldn't put this book down. This author's psychological knowledge of two wildly different personalities (who often find each other) dancing together in life is pure genius. She ropes readers in with this dance, and not only do you feel what the main character is feeling, but you also see her missteps along the way. I felt on the edge of my seat trying to figure out if the main character could survive this. Highly recommend!

[Christy Skidmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives an insightful look into the mind of a narcissist and what it does to the people around them. The portrayal of this character was so well done I felt like crawling through my kindle and punching this dude out more than once. The gaslighting, whew boy. So realistically written it had ME about to crash out over it! Amelia is a strong, brave female main character and I was rooting for her through the whole book. The prose is beautiful and I can't wait to see what else this author has in store for us!

[Naomi Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Man Behind the Curtain by Melanie Rodgers completely blew me away. From the very first page, I was hooked by Amelia’s journey—a woman born into privilege but living with heartbreak, vulnerability, and the constant search for peace. What really struck me was how relatable Amelia felt; she’s not a perfect heroine, but a flawed, human one, which made me connect to her even more deeply.

[Rynagh MacCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sounds fascinating...looking forward to reading the whole thing. So far it is intriguing.