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Sheriff Bet Rivers #3
Kill to Keep
Not yet published
Expected 7 Jul 26
A female sheriff races against time to solve a murder at a carnival that puts her whole town at risk. Thrilling, romantic, and full of suspense!
Sheriff Bet Rivers' inspection of the carnival grounds should have been routine. Murder is certainly the last thing on anyone's mind. Then comes the sound of a gunshot. And a dead body with no signs of trauma, no witnesses and no obvious motive for the killing.
But solving the unexplained death is only part of the challenge. Bet is still grappling with her on-off relationship with town owner Rob Collier, while dealing with her feelings about her late father, the beloved town sheriff she had to replace.
As Bet launches her homicide investigation, she soon discovers the carnival is a place of whispers, rumours, resentments and lie after lie. And as the stakes build, it quickly becomes clear that protecting a deadly secret is something that someone is willing to kill to keep.
Fans of Julia Keller and Sheena Kamal will love this riveting suspense.
Sheriff Bet Rivers' inspection of the carnival grounds should have been routine. Murder is certainly the last thing on anyone's mind. Then comes the sound of a gunshot. And a dead body with no signs of trauma, no witnesses and no obvious motive for the killing.
But solving the unexplained death is only part of the challenge. Bet is still grappling with her on-off relationship with town owner Rob Collier, while dealing with her feelings about her late father, the beloved town sheriff she had to replace.
As Bet launches her homicide investigation, she soon discovers the carnival is a place of whispers, rumours, resentments and lie after lie. And as the stakes build, it quickly becomes clear that protecting a deadly secret is something that someone is willing to kill to keep.
Fans of Julia Keller and Sheena Kamal will love this riveting suspense.
- GenresMystery
279 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 7, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I kept waiting for Kill to Keep to suddenly reveal that the real mystery was whether anyone in this town possessed a single functioning brain cell. Unfortunately, that twist never came.
This book explains everything with the confidence of someone reading instructions off a shampoo bottle. Every emotion, every clue, every conversation gets dragged out and overexplained until the suspense flatlines completely. By the halfway point, I wasn’t solving the mystery so much as sitting through a mandatory workplace training video about it.
The plot somehow manages to be both painfully predictable and incredibly slow. You can see every turn coming from miles away, but the book still insists on escorting you there at the pace of a guided museum tour led by someone who just discovered metaphors yesterday.
The characters are so flat they practically arrive pre-laminated. The cops are clichés. The criminals are clichés. Side characters pop in seemingly just to remind you that yes, people can in fact survive entirely on exposition. Every outdated crime-thriller trope imaginable gets hauled out of storage and treated like it’s brand new. Endless tortured inner monologue? Oh absolutely. About a relationship you are treating like a 13 year old with her first crush? Yup.
And speaking of the main cop, I genuinely think this may be the least likable protagonist I’ve encountered in a long time. Usually even deeply flawed detective characters have something going for them: charm, wit, competence, basic human awareness. This woman has the emotional energy of a DMV line combined with the investigative skills of a raccoon knocking over trash cans.
By the end, I wasn’t rooting for justice. I was rooting for silence.
This book explains everything with the confidence of someone reading instructions off a shampoo bottle. Every emotion, every clue, every conversation gets dragged out and overexplained until the suspense flatlines completely. By the halfway point, I wasn’t solving the mystery so much as sitting through a mandatory workplace training video about it.
The plot somehow manages to be both painfully predictable and incredibly slow. You can see every turn coming from miles away, but the book still insists on escorting you there at the pace of a guided museum tour led by someone who just discovered metaphors yesterday.
The characters are so flat they practically arrive pre-laminated. The cops are clichés. The criminals are clichés. Side characters pop in seemingly just to remind you that yes, people can in fact survive entirely on exposition. Every outdated crime-thriller trope imaginable gets hauled out of storage and treated like it’s brand new. Endless tortured inner monologue? Oh absolutely. About a relationship you are treating like a 13 year old with her first crush? Yup.
And speaking of the main cop, I genuinely think this may be the least likable protagonist I’ve encountered in a long time. Usually even deeply flawed detective characters have something going for them: charm, wit, competence, basic human awareness. This woman has the emotional energy of a DMV line combined with the investigative skills of a raccoon knocking over trash cans.
By the end, I wasn’t rooting for justice. I was rooting for silence.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5* Not the first in the series, but I had no trouble getting into the tale.
This has a few decent twists that not only won't you see coming, but they appear quite late into the tale. There's a female sheriff, a deputised former-FBI guy and love interest, plus 2 decent deputies and an older lady that's the boss of everyone in the station, with some kickarse tech skills. And a lovely dog.
It's not an original tale, as it's very much like the Mercy Kilpatrick and Bree Taggert books, but it's a decent read and there's a satisfying end to the baddie.
ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Severn House for my reading pleasure.
This has a few decent twists that not only won't you see coming, but they appear quite late into the tale. There's a female sheriff, a deputised former-FBI guy and love interest, plus 2 decent deputies and an older lady that's the boss of everyone in the station, with some kickarse tech skills. And a lovely dog.
It's not an original tale, as it's very much like the Mercy Kilpatrick and Bree Taggert books, but it's a decent read and there's a satisfying end to the baddie.
ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Severn House for my reading pleasure.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
You don’t need to have read the previous books in the series which is good but very slow paced and I found it difficult to stay focused on it.
A man is discovered dead at the carnival sparking an investigation by sheriff Bet and her team.
The story was interesting just slow
A man is discovered dead at the carnival sparking an investigation by sheriff Bet and her team.
The story was interesting just slow
May 2, 2026
This is an incredible, moving mystery series with so many characters to like. Kill to Keep is another wonderful thrilling read with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. I love the small town remote setting and atmosphere. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews