Decoding the Truth

Kansas City Crime Lab #2

by Julie Miller

This crime lab tech has enemies.
And one wants her dead…

A vicious hacker has KCPD lab tech Chelsea O’Brien dead in his sights, and Robert "Buck" Buckner won’t let his personal heartbreak prevent him from keeping her safe. But the sparks between this reserved ex-cop and the warmhearted Chelsea are as hot as the trail they’re tracking. Can their mismatched skills outwit a killer—and help them risk their guarded hearts?

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Harlequin, Suspense, Friends To Lovers

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

USA TODAY Bestselling author Julie Miller writes breathtaking romantic suspense. She's won a National Readers Choice Award and two Daphne du Maurier Awards among other prizes. She was also honored to receive a Career Achievement Award from RT BookReviews and has been a finalist for many national and international awards. Her books have appeared on the USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, Amazon and BookScan Top 100 Romances bestseller lists.

Writing about Kansas City cops, Julie has crafted bestselling, award-winning books for Harlequin Intrigue. In addition, Ms. Miller publishes romantic suspense books with a military twist. Millions of copies of her books have been sold in print and digital formats around the world.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book. I've been looking forward to Chelsea's story since her appearance in the previous book (K-9 Patrol). She is the quiet computer geek who works her magic in the background, providing critical information that helps solve crimes. For the past few months, Chelsea has been helping retired cop Buck Buckner search for his missing son during her free time. She gets suspicious when her investigations suddenly show Bobby's DNA appearing at multiple crime scenes, and that's when her life becomes very complicated.

Buck's son disappeared four years earlier, shortly after he turned eighteen. Buck blames himself and hasn't given up searching for him. He appreciates Chelsea's help and cherishes their friendship. He is also very protective of her and steps in when she starts receiving threats.

I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Chelsea and Buck. Chelsea is an introvert who, thanks to a sexual assault when she was a teen, avoids most men. A problem with her previous employer added to that issue. Since beginning to help Buck eleven months earlier, he is the only man she feels safe around. Their friendship is important to her, so she has done nothing about her growing feelings for him. Buck has always found Chelsea sweet, and her quirks are endearing. So why is he suddenly seeing her as a sexy woman? Between the difference in their ages and his refusal to believe that he deserves anyone's love, Buck is determined to ignore those changing feelings.

I loved the opening scene. Chelsea's rambling call to Buck when she finds information about Bobby is amusing, and Buck's reaction to where she is speaks to his growing feelings for her. As they worked together to unravel the mystery surrounding Bobby's disappearance and the threats against her, I enjoyed seeing them take care of each other. Chelsea watches over Buck like no other ever has, and Buck not only protects Chelsea from danger but also shows her that he likes her just as she is. Because Chelsea was aware of her feelings long before Buck, she frequently felt frustrated by how he treated her, but she also didn't want to risk their friendship by pushing for more. It took patience for her to finally break through Buck's resistance.

It took a while for Buck to accept that Chelsea's feelings were not gratitude for his protection. He doesn't have much confidence in his ability to give her the love she needs. I loved his gentleness with her and his understanding of her past and how it influences her actions now. He fights hard against his feelings but ultimately has to admit they belong together.

The suspense of the story was great. It started with Chelsea's ongoing search for Buck's son and how his DNA began appearing at crime scenes. Right after that discovery, she received a message to stop what she was doing, and someone shot at her. If Buck hadn't been with her, she would have been killed. Chelsea becomes suspicious about the sudden spate of DNA matches and becomes the target of an online stalker. I could feel her frustration at the stalker's constant harassment and her suspicion that he was involved with the DNA manipulation. I loved watching her work to stop him and identify him. The tension ramped up as she got closer to doing so. The final confrontation was intense and well done, with a believable climax.

The other part of the story is the search for Buck's son. I loved watching Chelsea's efforts to cut through the layers of concealment to find the truth. Buck's determination to make things right with Bobby was heartwarming, and I loved how he refused to give up. There were some interesting twists in the search. The ending was great. I especially enjoyed seeing Chelsea have to break through Buck's protectiveness to see the truth staring him in the face.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

[Michele F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I’ve had to add to my review. Apparently Ms. Miller has raised a question to her readers about the missing love scene in Decoding the Truth. She said ONE of the reasons she cut the scene was the quick time frame of the story. It was too quick to get it on with her man Buck. Excuse me, maybe she needs to read her own book, starting with the first page!! Four times! Again repetition, she tells us the heroine has been searching data bases for 11 months!!!! She has been working with the hero 11 months. Almost a year. They had breakfast together most mornings. During that time it is inferred that Chelsea has developed feelings for the hero. This is indicated in just the first few pages. As for being a sexual abuse survivor, I agreed with one commenter in her Facebook page it would have been interesting to see how the much addressed age difference, older man would have handled the issue of intimacy. I would have been confident Ms. Miller would be up to the task. However it’s disconcerting that she thinks 11 months is a short time frame to know someone.

I’ve been a fan of Ms. Miller for quite a while now. However, have you read an author for so long that you start to notice things that begin to annoy you? I’m at that point. I understand 2021 was a rough year for her and her family but here we are nearing 2023 and her first book out for the year, November,-was somwhat disappointing. I gave it 4 stars because I still love her older books or most of them (she’s had a clunker or two). Let me get to her newest book. I’m not a fan of the hero’s name Buck Buckner, but that’s what she went with (a name she used in her book Take Down, that character was the bad guy and a whole chapter was devoted to him). So the name is not MY personal favorite but no matter what the name she could have used, it was repeated ad nauseam. ( on one page, one page! I counted the use of his name 10 times.)She repeated his name constantly, more so than other of her books hero’s. There seems like there could be a better way of writing the dialog. The thing this book did a LOT of was repeating. For instance, by the time you have finished reading the book you will know that Buck smells “piney”. Ms. Miller writes this about 7 times in her book and at other times the heroine when not telling us he smells “piney” she references his smell. I get it, we all get it, she is comforted by his smell, but goodness doesn’t anything else register with her.
While I’m not a fan of gratuitous sex, which is why I like the authors books, she usually includes one love scene, tastefully done, but it is left out of this book. I can’t recall that happening in her books, maybe once, and that is just a guess. They did a lot of hugging.
I did like the explanation given for Buck kissing her on the forehead a lot and Chelsea’s acceptance of it. It was touching.
The other thing I was grateful for was Ms. Miller not giving the heroine a nickname. There is a trend of her assigning the heroine a nickname, to indicate a closeness with the hero, if you look back at the last several books, you will notice this, such as slugger, doc, “G” etc. not everyone uses a nickname and surely there is a way to express intimacy or closeness with out resorting to a nickname. Sometimes using their real name in the heat of the moment whether it be romantic or fear can also express love. I think of Elizabeth when she marries Darcy in Jane Austin’s novel, she states Lizzie for ever day use but that she wants him to call her Mrs. Darcy when he is thoroughly, incandescently in love with her. Sigh, that’s romance.
In the end, Julie Miller is still one of my top go to authors to read, but some of the shine is rubbing off.

[TINNGG · Rating 4 out of 5]

So our h is the crime lab hacker, and sometimes she does work on the side. Is one of these jobs that manages to trigger a cyber stalker of sorts. Actually, it’s another hacker and she managed to find something he’d been paid to hide.

Much drama ensues.

And then, near the end, you find this computer genius, this hacker extraordinaire, does not have her camera or microphone on her laptop disengaged in any way. Really? You’d think the first thing she’d do would be make sure those items were not accessible. My daughter slapped a piece of electrical tape over her iPad camera the minute she realized that was a possibility. She was just a college student at the time.

So basically while she was hacking the hacker, he was hacking her and got pictures of her and her cats, overheard the phone call telling the police they had an identity and where he lived, etc. Is like having spies not check for bugs before passing info.

All of this btw, because her client (the H) asked her to find his missing son.

The bad guy was an idiot though - he went after her while she was working at a biker bar. If the H’s son hadn’t taken him down, he might have been thoroughly perforated there.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of Decoding the Truth by Julie Miller. I admit, I got this book because the main character's name is Chelsea, like mine. I started listening though, and it was a fun Sunday read. Chelsea seems like a smart cookie and she's working in the field I got my master's degree in, justice studies. I also liked her relationship with Buck and getting to see how much our own hang ups can get in the way.

[Jeriann Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS


Julie Miller turns out another great romance in this cyber crime mystery suspense Decoding the Truth, for Harlequin Intrigue. This is a terrific age gap, cyber world romance. The nerdy heroine gets the sexy protector!

32 yr old Kansas City PD crime lab computer expert/hacker Chelsea O'Brien is moonlighting, helping retired KCPD detective Robert "Buck" Buckner find his son who went missing at the age of 18. That was 4 years ago. When her search reveals Bobby's DNA was found at a recent crime scene, she gets suspicious. She also gains an online stalker - whose threats turn very real. Buck is right there protecting her.

Buck is quite taken with Chelsea, finding her endearing & sweet. Her quirky habits (like getting lost in her cyber searches) don't bother him. (Although she seemed a tad immature for her 32 years.) She had been the victim of a sexual assault as a teen and she finds it hard to feel safe with men, but she finds a sense of security & belonging with the sexy 45 yr old Buck.

But will they get the chance to do anything about their mutual attraction? And can Chelsea make Buck realize how much she wants him?

NOTE: This is a clean romantic suspense so there is no love scene, just a promise of things to come. Normally, Julie includes just one tastefully done scene. I understand why that didn't work for these characters in the time allowed. Some might be disappointed. (I was, hence the 4.5 rating.)

There still is plenty of action & a mystery that keeps you turning the pages in true Julie Miller fashion & she remains one of my favorites.

[Barbara Schultz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Decoding the Truth
Series: Kansas City Crime Lab #2
Author: Julie Miller
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Lianne Maksin
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Genre: Mystery/Romance
Audiobook Pub Date is scheduled for - March 18, 2025.
Originally Published November 10, 2022
My Rating: 2.5 Stars
Pages: 232

Chelsea O’Brien is a computer geek who can who helps solve crimes.
She has been helping retired police officer Buck Buckner search for his missing son Bobby who disappeared four years ago, shortly after he turned eighteen and was heading off to college.

Chelsea has been doing the investigation during her free time. She was delighted when she discovers that it appears Bobby is alive. However is suspicious when her investigations suddenly show Bobby's DNA appearing at multiple crime scenes. Found it odd that his DNA was at so many places. Someone is not pleased with her discovery and send her a message to stop. Next she is shot; thankfully Buck was with her., she would have been killed. Chelsea becomes suspicious about the sudden appearance of so many DNA matches.
Buck is much older than Chelsea and very much surprised that she is interested in him. Chelsea is attracted immediately.

This was my first Julie Miller. I read the great reviews before selected this story. Since most loved this Mystery/Romance - as well as the series. My expectations were rather high.
I love mysteries, especially cozy mysteries but this was not a cozy mystery. So was disappointed as I wasn’t expecting the foul language nor the love scenes.
Of course, doesn’t mean it wasn’t good – just wasn’t what I was expecting- therefore really didn't work for me!

Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this audiobook.
Audiobook Publishing ReRelease Date scheduled for March 18, 2025

[Yvonne Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is the second of the series, but if like me, you haven’t listened/read book 1, rest assure that this one is a standalone .
Chelsea O’Brien , a woman whose childhood was one one child should ever experience, especially during her time in foster care, is a wiz lab tech with KCPD. It seems a hacker has decided she needs to be eliminated.
Robert/Buck Buckner is a jaded former cop, with tons of baggage from his past. Even though he is attracted to Chelsea , he believes she is too young and she deserves someone other than himself. His current goal in life is finding the son who disappeared years ago.Something Chelsea is helping him with.
But as the danger against Chelsea escalates , Buck is willing to not only be her protector, but also put his life on the line for her.
In the end, will he be able to keep her safe? If so, will they find their HEA or will Buck’s hang ups keep them apart? If Chelsea is able to find Buck’s son, will it be a happy reunion for father and son or will it be too late for them to reconcile?
Though this was an engaging clean suspense romance, reference to sexual abuse is mentioned more than once.
Lastly, the narrator, Leanne Maksin brings the story to life.
I was entrusted a copy of this audiobook by Netgalley and Harlequin Audio. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

[Monae Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very touching and sad and sweet story.

This story revolved around a woman named Chelsea O’Brien. She worked for KCPD as a lab tech. She was hired by an ex-cop named Robert “Buck” Buckner. He hired her to help find his missing son.

A vicious hacker has Chelsea in his sights. Buck won’t let anything happen to Chelsea. She was in foster homes in which she was molested by a foster parent. Because of what happened to her Buck is very protective of her. He is also worried about the fact that she works at a bar that he feels is unsafe because of the neighborhood it’s in. I felt that Buck almost treated Chelsea like a child one moment and a woman the next. He kind of had his head up his butt about going too far with her. Chelsea had a huge crush on Buck and she wanted to a relationship with him. She felt safe and protected by him. I really liked how the book ended with him getting with Chelsea. I enjoyed reading this book.

[Cassy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot on this book was actually pretty decent. Chelsea is a hacker who is looking into the disappearance of Buck’s son. She also works for the Kansas City crime lab.

I like how interconnected things were. The plot moved well and even though Buck and Chelsea were a slow burn, they were a well done friends/coworkers to lovers scenario.

But… IDK it seemed like at the end, the author was trying to wrap things up fast. The actions of our “bad guy” at the end didn’t seem to line up with his behavior the rest of the book.

I don’t think this really works that well as a stand alone either. Chelsea has a lot of baggage, much of which seems to have been discussed in the previous book. I also get the feeling we would have seen the start of her and Buck’s friendship.

A quick read though, and enjoyable if you just want a fast romance book.

[Lizz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not know that this was the second book in a series and that there are 5 books in the series. I had to go back and find the first book and listen to that so that I could understand the second book. I know it says that they can be stand alone books, but it kept referencing the first book so I felt like I was missing something. This audiobook was given to me from NetGalley and I appreciate the opportunity to listen to a new author. I enjoyed learning about the story and felt like it was an episode of CSI, which I loved. I did honestly enjoy the first book of the series a little more than the first book but both were like reading a CSI episode.

[Nancy Luebke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this intriguing romance. I bought this at a Goodwill store and I voluntarily chose to review this story. I've given it a 4.5* rating. This is not for the under 18 readers. There is a big age difference between the hero and the heroine in this romance but it's fun to see them work it out. Lots of action to draw you into the story including computer action, it was fun to see how it ended.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I picked up book 4 in the series because I had some time to kill before an appointment. Each of the characters from the previous books were clearly explained. One of the things that Julie Miller does so well with her series. It is a good series if you like intrigue and a happy ending.

[Dotty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story. This is a standalone book but love that this story has recurring characters. Chelsea and Buck have great dialog, funny and sexy at the same time. Definitely looking forward to the next book.

[Penny Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooooo Good!

Julie Miller’s Decoding the Truth is an exciting read. Chelsea is a plucky heroine; Buck, her hot older caring love interest; action, heat, adventure, surprises… Couldn’t put it down.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the interesting, varied characters in this book, and the settings for various parts of the story. There was plenty of suspense, action, and some romance. I like that the book is a fast read. Very entertaining!

[Sheri Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick easy read. I especially liked the main characters in this story.

[Lassandra Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

Another great read by Julie Miller. This book has all the good feels. The way she spins the characters together is amazing.

[Bob Mcbride · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was more action, more suspense than romance. I enjoyed the story, the turns, the "decoding". The main protagonist was good at her job and finding the truth.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great, a very enjoyable read. I’m enjoying Julie’s writing and story telling. I’m off to get book 3 and continue this wondrous sees. But sad face 😞 I’ll have to wait till June 27, 2023.

[Emily Mims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet mismatched lovers

A computer nerd falls for an older ex cop. Sweet story of two people who need each other. Neither is perfect. Just perfect for each other!

[Rebecca Delio · Rating 5 out of 5]

INTERESTING STORY

I have read many of Julie e Miller books but this on is definitely different. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more by this author…….

[Tinae Goodell, Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow start and then it picked up speed and then was good. Cute little read

[Irene Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

Same thing over and over. Should I date her/him...discuss and discuss chapter after chapter. They are adults move on and make a decision

[Jill Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book two of a series, but can easily be read as a stand alone.

I really enjoyed the prospective of the fmc - she is a computer tech for the crime lab in Kansas City MO. We got to hear her talk about hacking and going back and forth with someone online.

This has an age gap romance with a former KCPD officer turned private investigator.

You can feel the tension, the we shouldn’t be together vibes as they hunt to solve two cases in one.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC audio in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Romantic Suspense, and this is the second book in the Kansas City Crime Lab series. I have not read the first book in this series before picking up this book. I do think you can read this book as a standalone without any problems. I listened to the audiobook for this book, and I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters in this book, and I felt the connection between the two main characters. I loved all the action/suspense in this book, but I really loved that there were some cute and sweet moments in this book too. This book pulled me into the story, and I did not want to put this book down. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries
Kansas City Crime Lab (Book #2)

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries
Kansas City Crime Lab (Book #2)