Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Straight To The Heart
AUTHOR: S J Coles
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
RELEASE DATE: February 23, 2021
LENGTH: 112 Pages
BLURB:
What happens when the person you can’t get out of your head also happens to be the number one suspect in your murder investigation?
Derek Benson, CEO of Benson Industries, is found dead in his office at a time when everyone in the building, including him, should have been at an important meeting about the company’s future. Conveniently for the killer, the security footage from the time of the murder has vanished.
None of this fazes FBI Agent James Solomon. James knows himself, his job and how to set aside his ongoing personal problems to get the job done, even when the investigation is in a small-town backwater like Winton.
There’s just one problem—the intriguing form of young lab technician Leo Hannah, an employee of Benson Industries and a key witness, who appears to know more than he’s admitting to.
As the investigation progresses, James finds that his previously steadfast ability to separate personal from professional becomes increasingly unreliable. Can he get his head I the game before he compromises the investigation and his future career?
REVIEW:
Murder of a CEO takes FBI agents James Solomon and Lisa Gibson, to Benton Industries. While taking a break, James encounters Leo, who makes it clear that not all evidence comes out in a formal interview. Unfortunately, personal issues and feelings muddy the waters of truth.
Leo is a lab rat who, for good or bad, dances to his own tune. He likes what he sees in James and pursues him. James shouldn’t even socialize with Leo in an active investigation, but he can’t help it.
The opening paragraphs outline the crime, victim, and suspect base. Then, the story slows down while the agents do their searches, events develop between Leo and James, and more personal aspects about lives are revealed. Much of this was standard for a good story. What impressed me most was the ending – it rocked, contained plenty of drama, and had me on the edge of my seat. That’s all I’m going to say on that – wink, wink.
Straight to The Heart isn’t a short story, nor is it long on the novel stakes either – easily read in a day. With a large suspect pool, the diverse range of characters was superb. Yet, the author stays focused on the core actors, which can be hard to do. Many authors get sidetracked – not the case here.
James is an agent who is good at his job, but family issues make him vulnerable. I confess that for someone whose tough boss Lisa holds in high regard, I had to take her word over the evidence for a while. Shout out here to Lisa – a character who grew on me through the story. Leo kept me guessing. It made a change for a lab rat to be the pursuer in a detective story. The aspect kept me on the fence over his guilt/innocence, and motives for chasing James.
Overall, the story had a well-balanced mix of investigation, private life, intimacy, and drama. While parts of the tale read slower than others, they were involved with detective work’s more mundane aspects – qualities found more in written work than TV thrillers. I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie with detective novels, though, and adored the finish.
RATING: 
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