Tangled Webs

by Beth Strauss

Karen Cappelletti, a gritty, battle-tested, battle-scarred, middle-aged detective in a small town outside of Philadelphia, finds herself immersed in another dysfunctional relationship. While she has an issue persevering in unhealthy relationships, bigger problems loom. She learns the man she arrested for a brutal felony assault, imprisoned ten years ago, is scheduled to be released on parole the next day. To make matters worse, the ex-con's daughter, Tam, is publicly expressing her attraction to Karen.

When the ex-con's daughter reports a dead body on her driveway, a week after her father's release, things take a bizarre turn. As the lonely detective professionally dives into an investigation with few clues, she struggles to understand the unexpected twists and emotional turns in her empty personal life.

With the town's safety and her love life on the brink of disaster, Karen finds herself entangled in both a personal betrayal and the cunning brilliance of a sociopath. She must sift through a tangled web of lies to save her town from a heartless killer and save herself from becoming the next victim.

Genres: Mystery

1 pages, Audio CD

Published October 21, 2025

Reviews

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about Karen a police detective in a small Pennsylvania town. She's divorced and her daughter is away college. Her town has very few murders so when one happens the whole town is on edge. She is working on the murder of a homeless man who dies in the driveway of an ex con that she arrested 10 years ago for a stabbing. The book focuses on this murder and the mystery of who did it for 75% of the story.

I especially liked Karen's daughter Chelsea. She was wise beyond her years and I would have liked to have had more dialogue between her and Karen.

The home where the body is found has the two adult kids of the ex con living there now. Bobby has worked hard to clean up the old house and hates his dad (who has just been released from jail ) and Cameron who's just moved back to town after being gone ten years. Cam starts hitting on Karen during the investigation and Karen is shocked but deep down likes the attention. Karen is a straight woman who is obsessed with her social appearance and doesn't want anyone to think she's bisexual.

Later in the story Karen meets Ari, a pottery artist, and they have an instant attraction. For the remainder of the book Karen battles with herself over her feelings for Ari. These thoughts of her's were my favorite part of the book, I thought it was very realistic. My only complaint was that this book dragged a bit over her internal battle and with the murder investigation.

Thanks to Bella Books for the opportunity to read read and review this ARC.

[Della B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tangled Webs weaves together the genres of police procedural and later-in-life coming out story. What distinguishes this novel is its dual commitment: the murder mystery is crafted with meticulous precision, while the romantic and personal journey of the protagonist is treated with equal care and insight.

What makes the novel particularly noteworthy is its refusal to reduce either storyline to mere trope. The romance that develops is neither rushed nor simplistic as it reflects real complexity and vulnerability. The care given to character development means readers are invested not only in "whodunit" but also in "who finally will be true to themselves." This dual narrative invites readers to reflect on themes of identity, courage, and the many tangled webs people navigate in both crime and life.

I received an advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley.  I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good mystery, romance and coming out story.
The first half is all about the investigation of a murder. This part was interesting but I have to say I was getting a little bored. Too much detective work, not enough human interest. BUT then the story gets very interesting. Karen, a straight detective meets Ali, a gay ceramic. There is instant chemistry. But Karen is straight, has been married, has a daughter and is in a long distance relationship with Miles.
Their new relationship and Karen’s internal battle with her new feelings is very interesting and believable. She's falling in love, confused and scared of these new feelings and being discovered.
Now the combination of murder investigation and romance get very interesting and I start reading faster.
When the murderer was discovered I was not surprised but who, how and why all came together. No loose ends.
I was just a little disappointed in the ending. I turned the last page and was sad there was not one more chapter. You'll have to read it to understand why.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sue Plant · Rating 3 out of 5]

karen has lived in her town all her life never moving but she loves her job and her family.... and has never thought about moving

she has raised her only daughter to be strong and resourceful and who is now flying the nest and starting out on her own adventures

but karens life has stopped and apart from the murder she is investigating nothing holds her interest

now the murder is another thing.. the circumstances and where it happened are very weird but the murder remains unsolved but the questions still keep coming

and then theres tam who reported the murder. she keeps throwing attention at karen who is trying to keep her distance and get on with her job but there is something about tam .....

its the journey of discovery and coming out for karen which took second place to the murder but on the whole it wasnt a bad storyline it just took a while to get there

[Kimberly Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually read crime or suspense novels, so I didn't know what to expect when I started this. The first thing I noticed was how well-written it was. Strauss has a gift for description and for building a story's setting. I then noticed that her understanding of crime scene procedures was very well researched. This is not to say that she overwhelms readers with her knowledge of how evidence is collected, nor are her explanations overwhelming.

Strauss spends the first half of the book interweaving the murder investigation with her detective's (Karen) search for who she is now that her daughter has gone off to college and her often-absent boyfriend is nowhere to be found. What she comes to realize is that in both her investigation of the case and her personal life, there is more to the story than meets the eye. Karen is a rule follower who fears stepping outside society's expectations.

The story takes off when she meets a local artist (Ali) who makes her question her sexuality. The development of their relationship is organic and unhurried, and presents as believable. Can Karen step outside of her comfort zone and rule-following ways and embrace the happiness that is right in front of her--which also happens to be the case with the murder investigation? Sometimes, if you open your eyes, the answer is staring right back at you.

For a debut novel, I was quite impressed.

[Elizabeth Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The twists and turns of figuring out "who done it" will keep you page-turning and guessing. This author wrote fantastic characters with backgrounds that fit each and leave you wanting to know more. The plot is driven by well-written scenes and dialogue. The detectives balance each other well, including an antagonistic officer. I hope this becomes a series in which I can look forward to more twists and turns. Complications, dangers, and questions, oh my. Highly recommend.

[Patti Hollenback · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story for this first time author! She took the time to carefully introduce and describe the characters and locations so I felt like I was right there in the story, seeing and feeling what they were experiencing. Then every time we thought we had it figured out, she threw a curveball into the plot. Once I got into this book, I couldn’t put it down. I ended up shriveled like a prune, sitting in my hot tub till 4 AM to finish it. Had to find out how it ended or is it just beginning?
I hope there’s another Karen story soon!

[Fiona Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tangled Webs proved to be a rather different reading experience and one which I actually enjoyed partly because of that difference. While it is a police procedural (one of my all-time favourite genres), the structure of the story, particularly from the romance side, proved to follow a path I’ve not come across previously. In my opinion, that made for quite a refreshing change.

The story is based around Karen Cappelletti, a middle-aged detective living in a small town outside of Philadelphia. She has a history of dysfunctional relationships, and her current relationship definitely fits within that category. She has always put her career first and getting caught up in a multi-layered murder investigation gives her something to focus on while she tries to ignore her loneliness and the train wreck that is her private life. Before long she is caught up in an investigation that has a surplus of potential suspects and a distinct lack of clues while at the same time finding herself drawn into the orbit of the daughter of an ex-con that she arrested and imprisoned ten years earlier by the young woman’s public expressions of attraction to Karen.

The two questions that arise are:
1. Can Karen navigate her way through the tangled web of lies arising from the investigation before she gets sucked in by the machinations of a cunning sociopath.
2. Can she let go of her fears of judgement form those around her to open herself up to new possibilities on the personal and relationship front.

One of the aspects of this story that I really appreciated was the extent of the author’s research into the world of police procedure and investigation processes and this was clearly demonstrated in the level of detail provided as the story delved into the numerous twists and turns that emerged during the investigation.

I am grateful to Beth Strauss and Bella Books for providing me with an ARC copy of Tangled Webs and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always into reading a crime story if it always involves an intriguing police detective and preferably a bit of romance added. This book has the perfect story combo of a police detective solving a murder and at the same time realizing the truth about her sexuality. Karen is a divorced police detective in her 40s with so many dysfunctional relationships in her baggage. She is good at her job, has a great friend in Judy and her relationship with her family and adult daughter Caiden is healthy but she wants and deserves something more in her life.

The story starts with a bit of a mess in town when the awful Kenny McPherson is released from prison, someone Karen had made sure was put there. She goes to see his son Bobby to check out how things are, he is really concerned about his dad being back and she then also meets his little sister Tam that shows a huge interest in Karen, something that has so many implications in the story and for Karen.

Soon after a homicide of a homeless man, Cliff is reported, he is found on Bobby’s driveway and several suspects around are investigated, Kenny, Kevin, Doyle, Bobby. To follow Karen’s work to solve the crime is very interesting but it is when she meets the amazing artist Ali that things get even more captivating. Karen feels so much for Ali but is she prepared to sacrifice her safe world, being socially accepted for her. Is she ready to come out at her age and what about her on again off again boyfriend Miles and what the hell is Tam up to? It all gets so messy for a while.

Ali’s mantra so great to think about while reading:
“I have a choice. Be authentic and be happy, or live the life that others think I should live and be miserable. To me, it’s a no-brainer.”


I received a free ARC from Bella Books and leave a review voluntarily.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good police procedural novel. Karen Cappelletti is a seasoned police detective in a small town near Philadelphia. A body of a homeless man is found on the driveway and is the first murder she has investigated. The house once belonged to a man she helped put in jail who has been recently paroled. His two adult children live in the house now. The investigation plugs along following any lead. A smaller part of the story focuses on Karen meeting Ari who does pottery. She is drawn to her but struggles with the idea that she could be anything less than straight. She doesn’t know if she could be out at her work. It is extra complicated because she is in an ongoing relationship with a male traveling nurse who lives with her between jobs.

I enjoy police procedurals and I guessed the murderer quite early. There were promising leads that went nowhere which felt very real. I like that Karen’s daughter and best friend are more open to her having a queer love interest than she is herself. The case gets wrapped up nicely. The ending is a little more open than I’d like. I’d prefer an epilogue to see how Karen was doing further out in time. And I know it is me being picky, but in my mind Karen wasn’t free to date Ali until she dealt with Miles. She is honest with Ali so I didn’t take off my rating for cheating. I did want Karen Ali to be together.

This is a debut novel from Beth Strauss and I enjoyed it very much. Thank you to the author and Bella Books for the digital copy and I am leaving an honest review.

[This · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut is a police procedural where we kind of sit on the shoulder of the lead detective.
It is not structured like other similar types of books that I've read though. Perhaps this should be confusing, but it wasn't - it was intriguing as it didn't go as I presumed it would. And I liked that a lot.
When you read 3-400 books a year, you get used to the various trope conventions - and this one broke the rules. In my opinion, it benefitted from that rule breaking.
The crime was not overly complicated. The reader makes a better detective than the lead - Karen. We can see what has happened but we have to wait for her to catch up with us.
Karen is also dealing with understand her feelings about her relationship with a man that appears to work away and just pop back when he needs somewhere to stay. She is attracted to a woman but can't entertain coming out - especially at work. She struggles with a sense of needing to comply with her internal rules which seem to be comphet and internalised homophobia. While you could say that is all a bit 1990s - I suspect it could soon be a valid concern again as misogyny and homophobia rears it head much higher in the coming years.

This book is interesting, a good debut and enjoyable.

Thanks to Bella Books and the author for an ARC - this is an honest review.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a crime novel where the detective doesn't just stumble onto clues, she actually has to work for them. Strauss clearly did her homework and it shows in every detail of how Karen Cappelletti pieces together her case.
Karen's a mess in the best way. She's carrying baggage from old cases and bad decisions, and watching her personal life bleed into her work feels authentic, not manufactured. The "tangled webs" aren't just the murder, they're also the emotional knots she's been avoiding for years.
The setup grabbed me immediately: a guy Karen put away years ago gets paroled, and days later his daughter Tam reports a body. Then there's Ali, an artist who gets under Karen's skin in ways she wasn't expecting. Just when you think you know where it's going, Strauss yanks the thread and you realize you've been looking at the wrong person the whole time.
My only complaint? I need to know what happens with Ali. I hope another book is in the works!

Smart, twisty, and character-driven. Definitely worth your time.