The Night She Came Home

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Summary: kept me guessing...
Review: A good mystery keeps the reader guessing until the end. "The Night She Came Home" by Lori Derby Bingley did just that, kept me guessing.Finding your husband dead gets the book off to a readable start.... I had no clue what was going on and who done it and all the usual cornerstone question marks that make up a good suspense story and keep you wanting to read on. Bingley has crafted a well written novel and is an author whose novels will be ones to keep an eye on. She will do well.The writing formula is there and the subject is appealing. Good job, Bingley.

Rating:
Summary: The Night She Came Home
Review: Imagine having your best friend and protector turn out to be your most terrifying enemy. Imagine discovering the man you loved more than anything else in the world is not who you thought he was. Imaging fallling in love with the man you believe murdered your husband. Any one of these scenarios would stand alone as an interesting story line. Lori Derby Bingley, in her debut novel, THE NIGHT SHE CAME HOME, manages to weave all three masterfully into a thrill-a-minute read that you won't want to put down. The fast-paced action will have you turning pages to an exciting climax you never see coming. THE NIGHT SHE CAME HOME is an intriquing first novel that leaves you waiting breathlessly for the next story by this skilled and talented author.

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Summary: AuthorZone.Com Book Review
Review: The course of Jesse Saunders' life changed in a single night: the night she came home to find her husband, Dave, lying in a pool of blood, the victim of a fatal stabbing. A year later, Dave's final words to her still haunt Jesse -- his blue-tinged lips pleading for her forgiveness, his cryptic comments followed by a warning that she's not alone in the house. Jesse has since moved on with her life, reverting to her maiden name of Brooks to dodge the notoriety of her husband's murder, but she's still living in a kind of limbo, constantly aware that Dave's killer has yet to be caught.

As a successful defense attorney, Jesse has dealt regularly with people guilty of such crimes and has even managed to set some of them free, sending them on their merry way in a salute to the justice system and all of its inherent ironies. Having transferred from a New York law firm to one in New Jersey, she has built up a solid reputation for professional excellence, in fact. Jesse never dreamed the man suspected of killing her husband would seek her representation, but Dr. Kyle Whitman has done exactly that, albeit unknowingly.

Although it would be unethical to represent Kyle in a court of law, and could even result in a mistrial, Detective Paul Rawlings has urged Jesse to play along with Dr. Whitman's wishes and agree to consult on his case. The evidence against Kyle is purely circumstantial, and the police are in need of evidentiary proof that will hold up beneath the court's careful scrutiny. Jesse reluctantly offers her services to the handsome doctor, hoping that she is doing the right thing by doing so, and begins to dig deeper into a case that's painfully personal.

Is Dr. Kyle Whitman guilty or innocent: a victim of sabotage or the perpetrator of a cunning crime? Jesse has only her instincts to guide her, and the escalating fatality rate to warn her that evidence can lie, and love can bloom in even the darkest garden.

Taut, tense and terrifically suspenseful, The Night She Came Home is Lori Derby Bingley's debut novel, and what a fabulous first impression she has made! Fooling readers about a killer's identity - and the motivations behind such a crime - can be an incredibly difficult task to master, but the ample twists and turns of Ms. Bingley's plot baffled and befuddled this reviewer as few novels of recent memory have done. Jesse and Kyle's relationship has a dubious beginning, it's true, as secrets and suspicions taint what they tentatively share and color their perceptions. There's also a faint whiff of implausibility to their quickly developing relationship: precisely where, when and how they fall in love is a mystery best left unsolved.

I recommend you focus instead on Ms. Bingley's clean, precise prose and the plot's mounting tensions, both sensual and anticipatory. Time is tick-ticking away, and with every new obstacle placed in Kyle and Jesse's path, a new challenge must be analyzed, thought through and overcome. Disappearing evidence, physical threats, and encounters in dark alleyways are sharp counterpoints to the embedded love story. Eventually, readers will learn that the past and present are tied together with a neatly intertwining bow, but not before Ms. Bingley leads readers on a merry chase. The Night She Came Home will have you reading into the wee hours of the morning, so plan your day accordingly, and indulge yourself with a fictional foray into the "danger zone" -- where love, greed and murder collide with calamitous results.

Reviewed by C.L. Jeffries