I felt like this one had so much potential. The mystery itself along with the twists were good and kept me interested, however, it was slow and a bit confusing at times. I never could connect with any of the characters and I’m not sure I would want to continue a series with Vera as the main character.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eArc even though it really wasn’t for me.

Wow! So many twists. I absolutely loved Deeper Than the Dead. Definitely a series I will continue. The characters were great, the twists were great, and the ending was great. I guess what I’m saying is, it was great!
So ready for the next one.

I enjoyed this book and thought it was a good suspense book! Debra typically does it pretty well and I enjoy reading her books!

I've read some of Debra Webb's books before on Kindle Unlimited and have enjoyed them. This book was no different. I feel her writing is well-paced and gives the readers what they want, allowing for more to be desired, but in a good way. Anyone looking for family drama would surely enjoy this book.

My first book from this author! I really enjoyed this one! The story had a steady pace and kept me guessing as to who was guilty of the crimes from start to finish. There were a few loose ends that were not tied up but maybe they will be in the next book?

Thanks for the opportunity!

Deeper Than the Dead by Debra Webb delivers a suspenseful and engaging thriller with a well-crafted mystery at its core. The plot unfolds at a steady pace, keeping the reader intrigued, and the twists are effective without feeling overdone.

The characters are layered and complex, though some relationships felt underdeveloped. While it didn’t fully captivate me in every moment, it had enough tension and intrigue to make it an enjoyable read overall. Fans of psychological thrillers will likely appreciate this one.

Deeper Than The Dead is an engaging first book in a new series, a crime thriller that hooked me right from the start. The story builds with a medium pacing with some twists and turns that had me guessing till the end.
thank you to netgalley and the publishers

Deeper Than the Dead is the first book in the Vera Boyett series.

Vera gets a call that her missing stepmother has been found after all these years. She rushes home to be with her sisters. As more bodies are found in the cave Vera questions what she believes.

There were many twists and turns to the keep the reader interested. It is a little slow moving in the first half but picks up speed for a thrilling conclusion.

Having never read anything by Debra before, I went into this one with a open mind and enjoyed it - it was a good middle-range thriller

This was not slower paced thriller, than what I would usually read, however, the storyline was interesting and kept me engaged for the most part. Although it did seem a little long in sections

I would recommend it to others, I am under decided however if I will continue

I love Debra Webb's writing style. Deeper Than the Dead is the first in the Vera Boyett series and I can't wait to see what else is next.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Debra Webb has a new series out, and it is amazing! It is full of twists and turns, along with some woe is me attitude from the main character. The timing of some of the inner monologue can be awkward. The twists come together, but the way they do seems like a reach at time. At the heart of it this is a family thriller, will they come together or not?

The narrator was excellent, and helped keep the thriller aspect for listeners.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Brilliance Audio for an advanced reading and listening copies of this book.

Deeper Than the Dead was a roller coaster of surprises, mysteries, twists and turns. It was a pretty good read. It kept my interest. I highly recommend reading it!

That one was on me, I should've just stopped reading.
I like the author's writing so much, and so far, I've loved every book I've read by her.
This time, that wasn't the case.
The book had many problems that made it hard to like it.
First, Vera, the main character. She was, for a lack of a better word, pitiful. I get having your career end and your team broken, but a murder investigation involving your family isn't the time nor the place for a pity party.
It happened at the oddest times. One second we were reading how there was new updates, and the second Vera would be having a mental dialogue about how successful she once were, and occasionally, she would also muse on her past with the sheriff. Right in the middle of things. It was so awkward.
And even story wise, the plot was really weak. There are many books out there with similar plotlines that are way more intriguing than this one. A shame, considering how much I loved the author's previous books.
I'm still willing to read book 2 in the series, but I'm definitely stopped if there's no improvement from the first book.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Debra Webb has done it again! Deeper than the Dead is a well paced suspense that will keep you guessing until the end. True to form it simply kept me hooked.
This was one interesting family with some complicated characters. I genuinely appreciated all the little clues that pulled me in and made me feel like I had a stake in the outcome & the town. I hope there will be a sequel because there were a couple, tiny loose ends, that left me curious.

eeper than the dead ( Vera Boyet # 1)
by Debra Webb is a real page turner!
Family secrets and lies, mystery, dead bodies turning up, twists and turns and a small town with intriguing characters are the ingredients for a suspenseful read!
Deputy chief Vera Boyet is in the midst of trouble at work when she is called home by her sister because their since many years missing stepmother’s remains have been found in a cave. Vera goes back home to Tennessee and while protecting her family starts searching for answers while the towns new sheriff Bent, who happens to be Vera’s former love interest, does the same. More bodies turn up and more questions arise .
I was immediately drawn into the story, I couldn’t put it down!
I loved the small town atmosphere and the way the author describes the place .It really makes you feel like you are right there with the people in town.
Vera is an intriguing character, you really get to know her and her family ( secrets and all) and I’m looking forward to reading more about her in the next book.
And hopefully that will include some romance because I really like Bent !
I received this arc from the author and this review is my honest opinion.
Thank you Debra Webb for another excellent mystery!

Someone’s found the skeleton in the closet, and it’s not the only one. Wall Street Journal bestselling author Debra Webb presents an emotional new mystery. Crime analyst and newly disgraced deputy police chief Vera Boyett doesn’t visit home often, and she certainly doesn’t venture back into the cave on her family land. But when the remains of her long-missing stepmother are discovered, Vera will have to face a past that threatens all she is. She and her sister Eve had a fairy-tale childhood: good until it was tragic, with a stepmother they never found a bond with. At least they had each other, a baby half-sister, and a mutual devotion that would have them do the unthinkable. It’s a summer in small-town Tennessee, so thick with humidity it could drown you and so rife with secrets it could smother you. And deep beneath the surface, there are more bodies than you’d think…

I freaking loved this story. So many dynamic layers to it. It will keep you guessing until the very end. Cannot wait to read more from the author.

"Deeper Than the Dead" is the beginning of another thriller series from Debra Webb, who is quite renowned for her works in the romantic suspense genre. The story begins with the main protagonist police chief Vera Boyett going through a huge setback in her career, when certain traffic events at her workplace, make the public question her suitability for the job. Just when she thinks things couldn't get worse, they actually do - the remains of her long-missing stepmother are found in the cave on her family land, in the small town of Fayetteville.

Vera, who hasn't been on long visits to her family home since she had moved out, now has to face the ghosts of the past that pervade her big and old family home, all the while helping her sister Eve and half- sister Luna through the many complications this situation elicits. Her past history with the new sheriff of their town Bent only increase her inner turmoil further and make it extremely difficult to hide her secrets from him. To cap it all off, more remains are found within the inner chambers of the cave and the finger points towards one of Vera's parents as the killer.

Is Vera able to resolve the situation without her sisters getting affected by these complications? Who are these murdered people and how do they come to be in the her family cave? If not her parents, who is the murderer?

This book is quite a strong start to the series. The main characters are all quite distinctive and unique. They have all been developed very well; their personalities and attitudes are very much in line with their lived-in experience and their innate nature. Webb's descriptions of the small town are both atmospheric and very interesting. The place and the people in it seem quite real and hence, the events taking place in the book engage the reader's interest and imagination almost immediately. Webb has a crisp and descriptive narrative style, that delves deep into her character's psyche and brings them closer to the reader.

The investigation of the murders, though mostly resolved, has been left slightly open, enough to hook me to the series and make me want to read the next book in the series as well. I liked this very much and would recommend it to lovers of tense, atmospheric thrillers.

First time reading from this author and it was a good/classic who done it thriller murder mystery..the first half was kinda slow but around 50% in I can't put it down.

4.5★s
Deeper Than The Dead is the first book in the Vera Boyett series by award-winning, best selling American author, Debra Webb. Despite the success of her elite unit, a murder/suicide within her team means the writing is on the wall for Memphis Deputy Police Chief Vera Mae Boyett. Fifteen years with MPD count for nothing when a scapegoat is needed, and Vera is already packing up her personal items when a desperate call comes from her baby half-sister Luna in Fayetteville.

The discovery of her step-mother’s corpse in a cave on the Boyett farm is one of the only things that could induce Vera to return to her hometown, but she and her younger sister Eve need to get their story straight if they’re to avoid incarceration for the murder of the woman who made their lives hell two decades earlier. Twenty-two years ago, Luna’s mother, Sheree Corbin Boyett was a missing person; today, she’s the remains of a dead body.

But there are a few surprises in store for Vera: the old sheriff, a friend of her father’s, has retired and in his place is Gray Benton, aka Bent, with whom Vera has a history; when the cave is fully explored, it turns out that, while Sheree’s was the only body the older Boyett sisters dragged into the cave, it isn’t the only body there; a series of vaguely-threatening anonymous texts, a nasty message painted on their front door, and an attempt to run one of them off the road indicates that the murderer might still be around.

While Vera’s father, Vernon is now in a Memory Facility with advanced dementia, several factors make him a prime suspect for Sheree’s murder and, while her instincts vehemently deny the possibility, she has to consider that he might have been a serial killer.

Needing to know what was found in the cave, Vera approaches Bent for access. But the presence of more victims attracts not only the press, but also the TBI, and then the FBI, who seem to have summarily concluded that Vernon Boyett is the killer.

Bent and Vera decide to work together to drill down to the truth, although Vera isn’t going to reveal the role she and Eve played, but she is distracted by the strength of attraction that still exists between them, even after twenty-three years apart, unaware that he is similarly affected.

This is a very cleverly plotted tale with plenty of distractions, twists, and red herrings to keep the reader guessing. The secret that Eve and Vera hold isn’t the only one in town: lies in the name of loyalty feature prominently.

But having her protagonist, clearly a very smart woman, succumb through impatience and a little arrogance, to the temptation to do a very dumb thing that puts her in a life-threatening situation, doesn’t quite ring true, even if it does produce an exciting climax. Nonetheless, more of this cast is eagerly awaited. Addictive crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.

This is a fantastic immersive mystery! The ending is really well done and one I did not see coming. I would highly recommend this to those who enjoy thrillers and mysteries with endings that you don't see coming! Special Thank You to Debra Webb, Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.