Every Deadly Suspicion

Author: Janice Cantore
Genre: Romantic Suspence/Mystery
Pages: 352
Release Date: March 4, 2025
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Thirty years after a federal agent and two suspects disappeared in the wilderness, the case is cold, and they’ve never been found. Now their suspected killer is about to go free. But is the truth really what it seems?

In Dry Oaks, California, Chief of Police Hanna Keyes has long believed her father, Joe, is a murderer, justly imprisoned. When she’s told he’s dying and is being given compassionate release from prison, she wants nothing to do with him. But taking him in might be Hanna’s one shot at cracking the cold case, so she reluctantly agrees to oversee his care.

Joe’s arrival in Dry Oaks seems to set off a chain reaction of crimes. Then an infamous true-crime podcaster comes sniffing for information, and Hanna’s first love, Jared, shows up just when she least needs the distraction. As Hanna tries to convince Joe to reveal what he knows about the missing persons, evidence in the cold case surfaces at a suspiciously rapid pace . . . suggesting there’s more to the murders than people thought.

With Joe’s strength failing, Hanna and her colleagues look for answers, not only about the past but also about recent criminal dealings in Dry Oaks. As the puzzle pieces start to fit together, it becomes clear that there’s a sinister plot at work, far more wide-reaching than anyone suspected, and that someone is desperate to silence the truth at any cost.

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Reviewer: Paula Shreckhise

This suspenseful story starts out with a suspicious death and just gets more interesting. 

Police Chief Hanna Keyes has only ever heard stories about her father, who was convicted of two murders that took place before she was even born. 

It was a very exciting, twisty plot that brought out many moral issues. 

Hannah has a solid faith and relies on God to help her in her vocation. She is drawn to two men, Nathan, a colleague who shares her faith and Jared, a firefighter who has returned after a long absence. She counts on both to help her in her current struggles. 

Ferreting out the truth can be a dangerous game in this close-knit community. And forgiving someone you barely know can be difficult. But Hanna needs to reconcile with her father, who is on hospice, in order to have questions answered and for the daughter of the victims to have closure. 

This many-layered story, with cleverly connected characters, delves into the twisted mind of a criminal and culminates in an exciting conclusion. 

A complimentary copy of the book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers via NetGalley. I was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are mine alone.

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Reviewer: Tammy Lunsford

The past and present are about to have a major collision with life-changing repercussions for everyone in Dry Oaks.

Chief of Police Hanna Keyes has lived under the shadow of having a father who is a murderer. Everyone in town knows Joe Keyes, and what he confessed to doing many years ago. Hanna never truly knew her father. She allowed her mother and the rest of the town to provide the juicy information about her father’s felonious past.  

When she gets a phone call from the prison asking her to take care of her father during his final weeks of life. She is torn between what she believes is the right thing to do, and the fact that she doesn’t even know this man who holds the title of father.  

There is so much mystery about what really happened on that fateful day when two people died and one person was severely injured. The bodies of the two individuals were never recovered, and a federal agent was still missing as well. Joe’s arrival back in town brings the past back to light, and it appears there may be more to this story.  

This is a Christian fiction book, and the message is one of forgiveness. The mystery was interesting. It was nice to see the puzzle pieces finally falling into place as more and more secrets were revealed. There were plenty of characters that were unlikable and were on my radar as possible culprits, but you better make sure you assume nothing in this mystery.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Tyndale House Fiction through Interviews and Reviews. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Reviewer: Mindy Houng

I have loved the author’s books that I read in the past. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book and was sad to feel this way about a Janice Cantore book. 

The plot was interesting and lots of twists and turns kept me reading the book as the current murder investigation ran parallel with a thirty-five-year-old murder case. But the pace of the story was slow, and I found myself skimming some of the descriptions and characters’ thoughts to get to the investigation parts. 

I don’t like love triangles, so Hanna’s relationship with Nathan and Jared did not endear me to the romantic aspect of the story. I found it surprising that both Nathan and Jared had voices in the story since they were vying for Hanna’s heart, but the approach worked to set both men as heroes. 

There were too many characters from the onset and I had a hard time keeping track of the secondary characters. The main characters themselves got lost in the shuffle and were not fully fleshed out. The dialogue and personalities felt flat and one-dimensional. 

I did like the faith component of the story, which emphasized forgiveness, repentance and sacrificial love. However, even after putting all the pieces together, I still felt like I missed something.

Though I didn’t love the book, fans of Janice Cantore and romantic suspense will likely love it.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews via NetGalley. I was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.

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