Closer Than You Know

by Debra Webb

Overview

From USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb comes the riveting return of crime analyst Vera Boyett, fighting for justice—and her life—amid her Tennessee roots.

Vera Boyett is a master at cracking a case.

After tragedy destroyed her career as deputy police chief, she felt lost. Moving back home near her sisters, she put her skills back to use as a crime analyst, and now her star is finally back on the rise. Vera’s work really begins to heat up after the local sheriff, Gray “Bent” Benton, calls to ask her for assistance with a pressing case.

Pushing aside their complicated past, Vera agrees to help Bent search for a missing reporter. But their investigation uncovers an improbable connection to the Messenger, a serial killer she put behind bars twelve years ago. The killer, who is dying of cancer, wants his final revenge. And the reporter is merely a distraction—Vera is his true target.

When the Messenger pulls her sister Eve into his twisted game, Vera vows to stop him for good. But can she find Eve and the reporter before it’s too late?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662516191
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	05/06/2025
Series:	Vera Boyett , #2
Pages:	317
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Debra Webb is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 170 novels. She is the recipient of the prestigious Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense, as well as numerous Reviewers’ Choice Awards. In 2012, Webb was honored as the first recipient of the esteemed L.A. Banks Warrior Woman Award for her courage, strength, and grace in the face of adversity. She was also awarded the distinguished Centennial Award for having published her hundredth novel. Debra has more than ten million books sold in many languages and countries. The author’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood, when her mother bought her an old typewriter at a tag sale. Born in Alabama, Webb grew up on a farm and spent every available hour exploring the world around her and creating stories. To learn more about Debra and her work, visit her website at https://debrawebb.com.

Editorial Reviews

Deeper Than the Dead

“Expertly plotted and whip-smart, Deeper Than the Dead is an exceedingly clever crime thriller filled with secrets, betrayals, and complex characters. Webb manages to hit that sweet spot between family drama and police procedural. This one is sure to be a hit in the crime thriller genre. A wild and massively entertaining ride.” —Christina McDonald, USA Today bestselling author

The Last Lie Told

“A complex case fraught with angst and danger ends with surprising revelations.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Debra Webb writes the kind of thrillers I love to read. Sure, there is a murder or more. Yes, there’s a twisted mystery to be solved. Once again, in The Last Lie Told, her characters are fully rendered and reveal themselves authentically as her novel unfolds and careens to its stunning conclusion. The Last Lie Told is her best yet. Webb is the queen of smart suspense.” —Gregg Olsen, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Can’t Go Back

“A complex, exciting mystery.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Police procedural fans will be sorry to see the last of Kerri and Luke.” —Publishers Weekly

“Threats, violence, and a dramatic climax…good for procedural readers.” —Library Journal

Gone Too Far

“An intriguing, fast-paced combination of police procedural and thriller.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Those who like a lot of family drama in their police procedurals will be satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly

Trust No One

“Trust No One is Debra Webb at her finest. Political intrigue and dark family secrets will keep readers feverishly turning pages to uncover all the twists in this stunning thriller.” —Melinda Leigh, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Cross Her Heart

“A wild, twisting crime thriller filled with secrets, betrayals, and complex characters that will keep you up until you reach the last darkly satisfying page. A five-star beginning to Debra Webb’s explosive series!” —Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author

“Debra Webb once again delivers with Trust No One, a twisty and gritty page-turning procedural with a cast of complex characters and a compelling cop heroine in Detective Kerri Devlin. I look forward to seeing more of Detectives Devlin and Falco.” —Loreth Anne White, Washington Post bestselling author of In the Deep

“Trust No One is a gritty and exciting ride. Webb skillfully weaves together a mystery filled with twists and turns. I was riveted as each layer of the past peeled away, revealing dark secrets. An intriguing cast of complicated characters, led by the compelling Detective Kerri Devlin, had me holding my breath until the last page.” —Brianna Labuskes, Washington Post bestselling author of Girls of Glass

“Debra Webb’s name says it all.” —Karen Rose, New York Times bestselling author

From the Publisher

2025-03-08
The second case for Tennessee freelance investigator Vera Mae Boyett is both more and less than a sequel.

A series of bizarre kidnappings introduces the Time Thief, who’s drugged and abducted three victims, held each of them for 48 hours, and then released them unharmed in remote locations. The disappearance of Nolan Baker, a local reporter who’s been following the case hoping to strike it big, moves Vera’s first love, Lincoln County Sheriff Gray Benton, to pass along an urgent message from Nolan’s mother. Elizabeth Bogus Baker has overcome her disdain for Vera—who, along with her sister, Eve, has long harbored unsavory family secrets—long enough to plead with her to find Nolan and bring him home. Hardly has the search begun when Vera begins to get messages eerily reminiscent of taunting notes she received from the Messenger, a serial killer she brought to book 13 years ago after he captured her and her then–Memphis PD colleague Lt. Eric Jones. Dr. Palmer Solomon, the psychiatrist who confessed to being the Messenger, has been aging in prison ever since and is now dying of cancer. But the spate of new messages, along with other details of Nolan Baker’s kidnapping, so completely echoes his earlier M.O. that Vera must face the unnerving question of whether the recent crimes are the work of a copycat or an accomplice of the Messenger. Webb, who’s much more interested in multiplying than resolving complications, unmasks a minor-league perp and then quickly moves on to supply more details about the Boyetts’ family history, plunge Vera and Eve into mortal danger, and reveal the identity of the killer, who despite the title, is not someone closer than you think.

Generic thrills for fans who don’t want to look too closely.

Kirkus Reviews