I am not sure whether this is a police procedural with a private investigator slant or more of a psychological mini thriller. The important aspect is that this book kept me engrossed from beginning to end. There are multiple storylines that parallel and cross and then mesh beautifully. Walking a tight line that sometimes wavers over the edge you have to keep thinking about that old ends vs. means conundrum. Was it all lies? Remember “There was no way to find the truth until you understood what you knew was a lie.”

Well done Ms. Webb for tackling a difficult and thorny moral dilemma and offering an ingenuous solution. Thank you Thomas & Mercer & NetGalley for a copy. ( )

Finley is involved with some very strong women ( )

In the second book of the Finley O'Sullivan series, Finley is still recovering from the death of her husband and her rape. Jack Finnegan has hired her as an investigator. They are hired by Ellen Winthrop, an extremely wealth and successful woman with lots of secrets to defend herself from the murder of her husband Jerrod Graves. Jerrod has defrauded her of 7.8 million dollars. Finley quickly becomes aware that Ellen is not telling them everything. As Finley investigates the circumstances and relationships around the murder of Jerrod, she is also investigating her own rape and her husband's murder instigated by a very powerful pharmaceutical manufacturer whose son she put in prison for rape and who was killed in prison. Finley's best friend Matt along with her mother, the Judge, her father.and her parents' life-long friend, Jack, are around to help out when needed. ( )

The Nature of Secrets by Debra Webb is a highly recommended investigative thriller and the sequel to The Last Lie Told (2022).

Finley O’Sullivan is a legal investigator for her friend and mentor, attorney Jack Finnegan. She is still recovering from her husband's murder a year ago, which caused her to leave the district attorney's office. Their new client is wealthy businesswoman Ellen Winthrop. She is the head of a financial consulting firm in Nashville, Tennessee. Ellen is accused of killing her new and much younger husband, Jarrod Grady. Ellen had recently discovered her husband had wiped out her bank accounts, which is a clear motive for killing him in their home. The murder weapon was a titanium hammer which was given to Ellen from a friend to mark her breaking into the Fortune 500, so naturally she is the main suspect. It is Finley's job to learn everything about Ellen so the firm can defend and protect her

This complex and engrossing investigative thriller is a sequel to 2022’s The Last Lie Told. There are plenty of secrets people are holding and they aren't all cooperating as much with Finley's investigation. At the same time, Finley is still trying to uncover information about her husband's murder. She knows he was lying to her, but she needs closure to move on. The Nature of Secrets is an intricate, fast-paced thriller that will grab your attention and will hold it throughout. You will root for all the many secrets to be exposed and see the light of day.

The main characters, especially Finley, are flawed, but fully realized. Finley is a wonderful, tenacious character that should appeal to most readers. This holds up as a stand-alone, but reading the first novel will likely provide more background and additional information about the characters and especially Finley's ongoing investigation into her husband's murder. The ending ties up all sorts of loose ends and provides closure.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/03/the-nature-of-secrets.html ( )

A solid, energizing mystery. The twists and turns are fast-paced and often stunning. The amazing degrees of cunning, deception and betrayal - as well as love - are key in this novel. I didn’t realize this was part of a series so obviously it survives admirably as a standalone.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this great ARC. ( )