Truth Will Out

https://optimumm.blog/2019/10/27/review-of-truth-will-out-by-k-c-wells/

Jonathon de Mountford is visiting his uncle Dominic at Merrychurch. A lovely English village where Jonathon looks forward to spent some quiet time with his uncle. But, when he finds Dominic dead in the manor, what is supposed to be a lovely and peaceful weekend turns out to be one of the worst weeks of his life.
Someone has murdered his uncle, and Jonathon has every intention of finding out who did this with the help of the sexy ex-policeman Mike Tattersall.
Truth Will Out by K.C. Wells is book one in the Merrychurch Mysteries series. It was a lovely mystery novel that I really enjoyed.

Merrychurch is a quiet village in the English countryside. Nothing happens in Merrychurch, until the death of the lord of the manor, Dominic de Mountford. Jonathon de Mountford is a famous photographer; he runs around the world searching for the perfect cliché. He’s gay and out, and despite his family’s and his father’s disapproval, Jon refuses to live in a closet.

As Dominic’s nephew and heir, Jon wants to know the truth about his uncle’s death, and while investigating his murder with Mike’s help, Jonathon opens the door to a world of secrets in this quiet village.

Mike is the pub’s owner. After being a policeman in London, Mike had to retire after losing his foot on service. He settles for the quiet and lovely village of Merrychurch. When Jonathon crosses his path and they discover Dominic’s body, the ex-copper inside of him can’t say no to investigate this murder, and it has nothing to do with the growing attraction between the two of them.

I adore Mike and Jonathon. They’re intelligent and funny. They barely know each other, but from the beginning, a connection is made between them, like their minds know each other before they realize.

I love how, while investigating, they discover each other and get to know each other until what they are trying to avoid happens, and they succumb to their desire. I adored them.

The book was super interesting. It had the atmosphere of a classic Agatha Christie, with one murder, a list of potential murderers, and throughout the book you eliminate some of them, add others, etc, etc.

It was funny and easy to read, and the growing feelings between Mike and Jon were super sweet to follow. I recommend this book. It’s a change of our usual read.

It’s 4 stars for the photographer and his ex-copper.

K.C. has once again hit it out of the park. I love a good murder mystery and this was great. Had really good characters, damn good plot, and I love that even though there was chemistry, it wasn’t all about sex. Obviously there was some lol, but it got skipped over. It was more about the mystery and I loved it.

Johathon, that poor boy. He just finished a photo book he was planning to give to his uncle, but what he finds instead is that his uncle didn’t pick him up from the airport and he’s nervous why. Thankfully, Mike was searching for something and gave Jonathon a ride to the Hall. Sadly, it’s not a happy reunion. His uncle is dead. At first, the police think there is no foul play. But Mike being an ex-cop, knows something is off. And he’s right. It was murder and they find themselves in the middle of an investigation. (And their not supposed to be). And they need to find the killer before it’s too late.

This is some funny stuff mixed in with the seriousness of the case. You will meet in this book a complete and utter dick that has taken over this case. Mike is an ex-cop. He’s not supposed to be investigating anything, much less Johnathan, who is a civilian! Of course, they both want to know what happened to Dominic, Johnathon’s uncle, but being able to stick it to this DI cracks me up so bad I can’t see straight. It is so funny. This book is full of surprises, for sure. The more these guys dig, the more the find out about what’s really going on in this town amd with these people. Which makes quite a few suspects.

I feel for Johnathon though. He can’t even breathe in order to grieve. Not that he would stop long enough to let himself. And I get that. Stopping would mean it’s for real. That he’s gone. And that’s so hard. But what I love is how supportive Mike is. Sure, it may have started out as his investigators nose sniffing things out, but the more info they find, the more it hurts Johnathon because he feels like he didn’t know his uncle at all. And he thought they were close. Then again, they were closer in some ways than he thought.

The mystery, the plot just keep going. It kept you hooked. I mean there were so many people who could have been suspects. And in a small town, that’s definitely a possibility. I’m usually pretty quick to pick out who did it, but this one threw me for a loop until one thing was revealed and then I got it. Of course, they pretty much had it by then lol. But that’s how good it was. Just when you think you have it she sneaks a little twist in there and throws you off the scent. Very good book.

I loved it. I think you guys will too. I couldn’t put it down at all. I even took it in with me while I was cooking lol. So good. Get this!

I was excited at the opportunity to read a good old-fashioned murder mystery set in a small town in Britain, adding in a nice romance. Jonathon is adorable and Mike is extremely appealing as the older, retired cop who now owns a pub in town. The murder and its subsequent mystery were well done and I enjoyed this first book in a new series by a beloved author.

Jonathon is twenty-eight and on his way to a very promising photography career. In fact, he has just published his second book of photographs even though his father calls it his “little hobby”. That’s because Jonathon didn’t go into law like all the other men in his family to become a barrister. Of course, Jonathon’s dad also wants him to carry on the family name and isn’t too pleased that Jonathon has no interest in women.

Mike is medically retired as a Detective Inspector from the London Metropolitan Police Force after working there many years. He was injured in an incident and his sister convinced him to move to Merrychurch and buy the pub that was going under. Both of these men are out and proud (although not shouting it from rooftops) and I was happy about that because the focus of the story lay more with solving the murder and less with the angst of coming out.

I enjoyed this first foray into a murder mystery by the author. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series. I really hope the author stays with Mike and Jonathon as the two main characters who continue to stumble across mysteries because they are both great characters and I won’t mind seeing more of them. Until then I’ll just have to think fondly of ‘Truth Will Out’ and remember how it reminded me of some old British mystery shows on TV.

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**

Truth Will Out is the first book in the Merrychurch series by K. C. Wells. I don’t know anything about this series so it will be interesting to see if it follows the same characters throughout or if there will be new characters in each book.

When Jonathan visits his uncle in Merrychurch he gets more than expected when, along with Mike, the owner of the local pub and former police detective, he discovers his uncle's body. And that begins Jonathan’s investigation into Dominic’s life and death. I really liked Jonathan and Mike and the relationship they build. But that’s not the focus of this story, it’s a side element, as it should be in a mystery, in my opinion.

The author does a great job of introducing characters and motives and clues throughout the story, slowly building to the finale. Though I knew who the killer was and suspected the why from fairly early in the book, that did not affect my enjoyment of the story, at all! The investigation is really subtle in the story, and seems slow moving because it doesn’t seem like an investigation but it was cleverly done.

The relationship between Mike and Jonathan did not take away from the mystery of the story and that was really important to me. A lot of times when reading the first book in a series there can be a serious overload of information and characters. Not so with this one even though you meet a lot of characters. The way the author handled the weaving of the story, introduction of characters and overload of information was seriously well done! This is a book I highly recommend!

Rating: 5 stars!

Jonathan deMountford has come to Merrychurch to visit his uncle Dominic to find him a no-show at the bus station which is very unusual. He is picked up by a friendly man, Mike, whom he finds owns the local pub and is an ex-copper. When Jonathan gets to his uncle's he finds him dead in the study, this leads to a mystery of who killed Dominic in the study with what. (I couldn't resist) There are many suspects and they just keep piling up, with many twists and turns. Sex-wise it is all off the page and it is a slow burn romance-wise. which is all fine to me, since the story is charming ( I love English settings and voice), interesting, and twisty. I cannot wait for more mysteries in Merrychurch!