REVIEW: Hard Evidence by Elise Noble

Hard Evidence by Elise Noble is the 7th book in the Blackstone House romantic suspense series.

Superb characterization, amazing world-building, intricate plot with carefully thought-out details, and intrigue that has you on the edge of the seat and turning the pages until the very end, leaving you wanting more... this book has it all! Which, honestly, I can say is true of every one of her books.

I have nothing but respect for our heroine, Jessie. She holds up beautifully under the weight of an abusive relationship, making the best of what she's dealing with AND very aware of what is occurring... and while she doesn't leave with a plan, she doesn't hesitate to leave when it counts — plan or no plan. Watching her bloom under Justin's careful, steady care is a joy, as she reclaims not just her life, but the calling she loves as a blogging chef.

Justin, meanwhile, has been described as having "the personality of a Care Bear" — Grumpy Bear, specifically — and honestly? That made me giggle-snort, because it's perfectly true. Kind, empathic, supportive... this man deserves better than three exes. He deserves Jessie. Watching the two of them dance their way toward each other is genuinely lovely.

The Choir... our team of, er, professionals... has a strong part to play here. They descend without hesitation to come to support Justin, and I loved watching them interact with (and get fed by) Jessie. Violet and Jessie together were a good friendship pairing, truly.

And I'm sorry, I truly love her, but someone has to say it: Jerry has the empathy of a rock. I mean, really. Love her. But... yeah. Rock.

And then there's Ava. Ava rocks, and we don't get nearly enough of her — she should absolutely get her own book, because I would never tire of reading about her. Honestly? I can see her on Team Blackwood. She'd fit right in with all the female assassins and other kick-ass types in Blackwood. I cannot wait to see where her character goes from here, and — okay, it has to be said — if she ends up having anything to do with... oh. wait. I'm reviewing, not theorizing. Moving on.

I can't say much about the suspense and mystery threads — because, spoilers — but I'll say this much:

For the book's central threat, the truly nasty piece of work that is Ridge: my innate (and possibly also morally grey) sense of justice walked away satisfied.

For the series-long mystery of who killed Ruby ten years ago: Elise Noble just demolished a theory I've been building since book one. The person I was sure was the real killer — who isn't the person currently in prison for it — turns out not to be the killer either. (Small victory, though: the guy in prison is still not the murderer, and I called that back in book one. Validation!) Which means I now have no idea who actually did it, and I'm doomed to reread all seven books trying to figure it out. Although, apparently it's not even that simple. But — oops, right, no spoilers.

The life of a reviewer is hard.

BUY this book! Don't hesitate, don't think about it, don't bother reading the back cover. Just get it. You won't be sorry!