Trace of Doubt by DiAnn Mills showcases why she’s the top of her game. Wow. I couldn’t put this book down until I’d discovered the truth.

Fifteen years ago, Shelby Pearce confessed to murdering her brother-in-law. Now she’s out on parole and wants a fresh start. FBI Special Agent Denton McClure was fresh out of Quantico when he was assigned the Pearce case. He’s always believed Shelby embezzled five hundred thousand dollars and goes undercover to befriend Shelby and crack the case. But as Denton gets closer to Shelby, he begins to question her guilt.

I don’t know any convicted felons, but it seems to me that Shelby is written perfectly. She’s quiet and self reliant, guarded but thankful for every opportunity. In fact she’s refreshingly non-entitled. But when Denton starts paying her a little attention, her intellect races to the fore and she quickly guesses his true identity.

But by then, Denton has started to feel uneasy about Shelby’s guilty verdict, and when it becomes clear she’s in someone’s crosshairs, his belief in her innocence grows. The questions are one, who’s trying to silence Shelby and two, if she’s innocent, what really happened fifteen years ago?

Finding those answers gave me two very late nights but the outcome was worth it. A tightly written part psychological thriller with a splash of romance and I’d highly recommend it. So long as you don’t have a project to finish or any kind of deadline. DiAnn Mills is a recognized authority on plotting and that becomes apparent as the pages fly by.