Customer Reviews

Final Truth

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I like books like this, full of twists and turns and a page turner besides. As with the other books by Stewart, her character development is without peer. I am certainly not going to go into a plot review with this review as that has already been done here. I will say though that for a throughly enjoyable read for those that enjoy this particular genre, you cannot go wrong with this one. This is a simple read though, one that is good for a couple of nights on the weekend. This too is a plus for me. Recommend this one highly.

Mariah Stewart is one of the best authors on the market today. This final installment of the "Truth" series was a good read that I found hard to put down.

My only problem was that I thought the culprit was a bit obvious due to one scene early in the book where they didn't seem to fit.

Other than that, there was a great cast of characters and it was a good wrapup to the "mini-series."

Mariah Stewart is my absolute favorite writer in her field of writing. Her books grab me from the first few lines and don't let go until the end. When I find a series of books she has written, I make sure I order all of the series at the same time so I can continue my read right on thru to the end of the series. Final Truth is ,as usual, an excellent book, one I have passed along to all my reader friends along with the other books in the series. THIS IS A MUST READ

The truth has come out and it is NOT pretty. Eugene Potts worked at the Fremont lab in Florida. He is the one who tested evidence and then testified to his findings, putting several awful criminals in prison. Now Potts can no longer hide the fact that for almost two months he has been mixing or losing samples, fudging reports and results, then committing perjury in the trials. Due to this, Potts's career is over. But the really bad part is that those criminals are contacting their lawyers to see if their DNA samples were tested by Potts during that time.

Erwin Capshaw was the first to be released. He was sentenced to life in prison. Now he is free. His prison buddy, Lester Ray Barnes, is on Death Row. He has only a matter of weeks before he dies. Taking Erwin's cue, Lester Ray has his lawyer, Roland Booth, pull strings to have a judge look into his case quickly. There was no time to lose. That was how Roland Booth ended up on the famous legal talk show, "And Justice for All". The show not only succeeded in getting Lester Ray's case heard and the man released, but also ensured that Roland would become a famous and rich lawyer.

Regan Landry has continued her late father's legacy of writing true crime novels. Since he was murdered not too long ago, Regan is still trying to sort out all the reports, notes, sketches and pictures that her father has left in boxes. The boxes are stacked everywhere, including the attic and basement, and nothing is organized. Her fiancé, FBI Agent Mitch Peyton, talks her into hiring an assistant, Bliss McKinley, to help organize her father's work.

Regan tunes in to "And Justice for All" and is intrigued. Unable to decide if she would like to write the story, she meets with Roland and Lester Ray. Regan is still undecided when Lester Ray is released from prison. Roland, sure that Regan will make him even richer, gives Lester Ray one of his credit cards. Thus the man accused of being a serial killer is free and heading to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a vacation.

Within a short time, bodies are showing up. The female victims all share Lester Ray's MO. But since all Lester Ray's DNA has disappeared, no one can prove that he is up to his old ways again. Regan and Mitch, along with Mitch's FBI co-workers, begin the horrid task of following Lester Ray and trying to pick up evidence as they go. Will Regan be able to help prove Lester Ray is killing again? If Lester Ray finds out what she is doing, will he kill her too? Or will Lester Ray decide she is too valuable to kill since she will publish his story?

***** If you enjoy the hot television shows of crime scene investigators, ER, police or law enforcements, or just plain enjoy drama, then this is for you! You do not HAVE to read any of the other "Truth" novels to fully understand and enjoy this story; however, if you have been following them, then you already know how Regan and Mitch got together. You will also recognize several of the secondary and minor characters that help in this investigation. It made the story seem much more realistic. I, as the reader, followed Regan in her search to learn more about the elusive Eddie Kroll (whom her father was obsessed with) and in her involvement with investigating Lester Ray with the FBI. The author's extensive research in forensics and law show on almost every page of the book. I finally got answers about Kroll and I got to see what the main characters from the previous novels in this series were up to. Mariah Stewart is going to hit the best seller charts all over again with this gem. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Regan Landry loves a mystery. As a true-crime novelist, she finds all the pieces of a crime and puts them together for the reader. That includes the life of the criminal, the life of the victim, details of the crime itself, and the final outcome. Once something has caught her interest, she can't let it go. She has to find all the answers.

While going through her father's papers, a true-crime writer who was murdered by one of the serial killers he was investigating, Regan stumbles across a report card for a boy named Eddie Kroll. Most of her father's papers had to do with cases he had researched in the past. The report card was out of place; a mystery waiting to be solved.

The search for Eddie Kroll takes Regan to Chicago. While spending an evening in a hotel room, she catches the TV show And Justice for All. The guest on the show was a lawyer representing Lester Ray Barnes. Lester Ray was sitting on death row, weeks away from his scheduled execution. It now appeared that his conviction was based on the false testimony.

The story catches Regan's interest. The man was falsely accused of murder and then railroaded by a bunch of lies. With the help of her FBI boyfriend Mitch Peyton, they track now the lone witness, and yes, she was coerced into changing the maybes in her statements to fact. Regan takes the revised statement to the DA.

With the laboratory admitting they messed up the DNA samples and the coerced eyewitness statement, Regan knew Lester Ray would be a free man soon. She arranges to meet with him shortly after his release. He's thrilled by the idea of a book, but after years of prison life, wants to take a vacation before they start.

When bodies of women raped and murdered start surfacing along Lester Ray's route to the Outer Banks, Regan fears she help set a monster loose. Riddled with guilt, she does what she can to help, including setting herself up as bate.

Final Truth is a fast paced suspense novel that will keep you guessing right up to the end. Her characters have depth and the scenes are realistic. This is the first time I've read Mariah Stewart's work, but it won't be the last. She's an awesome storyteller.

Very good book...You don't have to read the other books first, to read this one!

This suspense novel follows Regan Landry, the bestselling author of true crime stories, as she embarks on researching her next book. She decides to write about a death row inmate who gets released from jail due to mixups at the lab where the DNA testing was done. But soon after the inmate is released from prison he goes missing and then a string of murders occur just like one the prisoner was originally convicted of. Now Regan is wondering about her part in helping to get a suspected murderer released from prison. Riddled with guilt over the new victims she is able to keep up with the investigation through her boyfriend, Mitch, who works for the FBI. She also sets herself up to help bring in the killer until an unexpected turn of events that shakes Regan to the core.

**** Final Truth grabs the reader's attention right from the beginning and keeps you turning the pages. I really enjoyed the relationship between Regan and Mitch, and the very unexpected plot twist had me racing toward the last page. This was an enjoyable suspense novel and would be a great beach read. ****

Reviewed by Barbara Stabler.

Regan Landry is used to solving puzzles. Her job as a true-crime writer is to find all the pieces of a crime and put them together to present the reader with all of the little details, from the life of the criminal to the shocking details of the crime itself to the outcome. She is used to digging to get to the heart of every mystery she encounters, and once she is interested in something she will not rest until she has found all of the answers.

When her father, bestselling true-crime writer Josh Landry, is murdered Regan becomes determined to pick up where he left off. When she stumbled over a report card for a boy named Eddie Kroll, she became determined to get to the bottom of his identity, and even more so when she found out that she was being lied to by his family. She is visiting his family again, trying to get them to talk to her. When she turns on the TV in her hotel room to see a taping of And Justice For All, she learns about Lester Ray Barnes. Immediately she calls the man in her life, FBI Agent Mitch Peyton. Together they decide to find out as much as possible about Lester Ray.

Lester Ray is on death row for the alleged rape and murder of a woman. But, it appears that he may have been convicted because of the false testimony of a man at the lab where his DNA was tested. Regan instantly becomes interested in his case, a man falsely accused of murder and railroaded into jail by a number of lies. She decides to write a book about him, unusual since she normally writes cold cases.

When Lester Ray is released from prison, Regan sets out to meet up with him. But when women start being raped and murdered, all the evidence points to Lester Ray. Mitch and Regan are even more suspicious when Regan cannot contact either Lester Ray or his lawyer. Now Regan has to face the possibility that she helped set free a monster. But is Lester Ray the killer, or is there a copycat out there, one who has a vendetta against Regan herself? When she is threatened, Mitch is the only man who can save her. And when she learns the truth about Eddie Kroll, Mitch is the only man she can turn to.

Ever since reading about Regan in Dead Even, I have been waiting for her story to come out. In Final Truth, Mariah Stewart has written an incredible story full of intrigue, chilling murders and a touch of romance to provide a ray of hope amidst all the death. Regan and Mitch are a fantastic couple, they mesh well together and Mitch is a wonderful man, when Regan is threatened he stops at nothing to protect her. Mariah Stewart has long been a favorite of mine for her realistic portrayals of the men and women who dedicate their lives to catching murderers. Final Truth is an excellent addition to her wonderful collection, and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Shannon

reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I am a big fan; Mariah Stewart is an auto buy for me. I was worried though after the first couple books in the "Truth" series. They were not as good as I had come to expect. However, this one seems to be back on target for me. Although I was disappointed that the bad guy was so obvious. At least Regan's mystery was finally solved. That one was also obvious a few books ago.

All in all, I highly recommend this author. But if you've never read her stuff, start with the set that has "Dead" in the title. Those are much better. Here's looking forward to her next set of books with "Last" in the title. I already have the first one and am getting ready to start it.

Although it is not necessary to read the other three books in this series, if you have, Final Truth provides a very satisfying conclusion to the story of Regan Landry and Mitch Peyton. In this book, the story focusses on Regan and her quest to find out about her late father's (a famous true crime writer) fascination with Eddie Kroll. At the same time, Regan is trying to come up with an idea for a new book and becomes interested in the story of Lester-Ray Barnes, a convict on death row who may have been wrongly convicted after a major foul up with DNA evidence. A series of grisly murders and Regan and Mitch (an FBI agent) are on the trail of a killer...is it Lester-Ray? If you enjoy suspense, forensic science and well thought out character development, this book is for you!