REVIEW: Virtue Falls by Christina Dodd

In Virtue Falls (Virtue Falls #1) by Christina Dodd, when Elizabeth’s father was convicted of murdering her mother, she was sent from Virtue Falls to live with her aunt. Now, all these years later, Elizabeth is back living in Virtue Falls. Divorced from FBI agent Garik, her reasons for returning to Virtue Falls are two fold. She is a geologist studying there, and her father, who is suffering from dementia, has been released from prison into a care home there. Elizabeth has her scars, and she hides her unsociable self behind her work.

Garik is on an enforced leave from the FBI. He had a traumatic childhood also, and the walls he’s build up are impenetrable, even by Elizabeth. He wouldn’t let her in, and this led to their divorce. He still cares though, and when a devastating earthquake shakes Virtue Falls followed by tsunamis, Garik is quick to find his way there. It’s where he was saved by his foster mother, and where his ex-wife is. He has to go, has to make sure they are both safe.

When Elizabeth ends up staying at his foster mother’s inn because her apartment was destroyed, her and Garik are in close proximity to each other. Feelings that were never forgotten, heat that hasn’t extinguished and mysteries from the past that surface after the earthquake soon have Garik and Elizabeth together in more than one way. Because suddenly it seems like her father might not be a killer after all. As they come together again, getting to know each other again and knocking down walls from the past, they also work together to find out what really happened to Elizabeth’s mother. They want the truth, but someone doesn’t want them to find out the truth, and Elizabeth is in a lot more danger than she ever anticipated.

With her father’s dementia and someone who wants the past to stay there, will they ever find out the truth? Will they have a chance for each other again, or is it too late?

Virtue Falls has a lot of great characters and a real small town feel. Garik and Elizabeth are both strong main characters. Garik is protective and caring, but is afraid to let anyone too close. He also carries a lot of guilt about what happened on his job that put him on leave. I really liked Elizabeth, from her social awkwardness to her unresolved feelings about both her father and Garik, she is real! They both carry a lot of emotional baggage and there is a lot of inner conflict. I liked how Christina brings them together again and gives them the opportunity to have a second chance. The character growth and development of both the hero and the heroine individually and as a couple is outstanding!

There are a lot of secondary characters in Virtue Falls, and to start with it was a bit confusing, but as I read deeper into Virtue Falls they all found their place and the focus was definitely on Garik, Elizabeth and the mystery of the past. All of these secondary characters had unique characteristics and intriguing stories. There is a real small town feel to Virtue Falls with all the different characters and secrets. I really liked that Christina wrote in Elizabeth’s father so strongly and what he was going though. The back ground story of him and Elizabeth’s mother really added another dimension to Virtue Falls, I really enjoyed it.

Christina blends the suspenseful plot well with Garik and Elizabeth’s relationship, and the flow is smooth. Everything is so intricately woven together, and she kept me guessing with numerous twists and turns in the plot. Christina has obviously done her research, and her descriptions of Virtue Falls are vivid and realistic.

Virtue Falls can be read without reading the prequel (The Listener novella). I’d recommend Virtue Falls to any romantic suspense reader.

Book Info:

Published September 9th 2014 by St. Martin’s Press | (Virtue Falls #1)

Twenty-three years ago, Misty Banner was brutally slashed to death in her home in Virtue Falls, Washington. Her husband was convicted of the murder. Their four year old daughter Elizabeth witnessed the crime, but has no memory of the killing. Now, two decades later, Elizabeth is back in Virtue Falls. She soon discovers her father is innocent. The real killer is still out there. And her investigation has stirred dark and deadly resentments that could provoke in another bloody murder—her own—in this riveting novel from bestselling author Christina Dodd.