I found the plot interesting and easy to read... It caught my interest from the first pages and to the end pages.
I liked reading how Vera and Eve were in the story.
I recommend this book as well as all the author has written.
Thanks to Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer for my arc.

Closer than You know by Author Debra Webb, Book 2 in the Vera Boyer series! Release Date May 5th!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review

This book had me turning the pages so quickly! And not only the pages but I listened to the audiobook!

Moving back to her home town after a change in her career as chief of police was not easy!

And neither were things the things from her previous cases!

As the story unfolds about a missing reporter things become more personal than she ever thought they would!

Debra Webb's Closer Than You Know is the second installment in the author's gripping Vera Boyett series. This mystery-thriller saga blends intense police procedural elements with emotionally charged family dynamics. It takes place mostly in the State of Tennessee. Closer Than You Know follows crime analyst Vera Boyett, a former deputy police chief whose career was derailed by tragedy. After returning to her small-town Tennessee roots in Deeper Than the Dead, Vera is now carving out a new path as a crime analyst, leveraging her sharp investigative skills.

The story starts when local sheriff Gray “Bent” Benton, a figure from Vera’s past, enlists her help in investigating the disappearance of a reporter named Nolan Baker. Baker is the son of Vera's high school bully, Elizabeth. Baker thinks he is on the trail of the Time Thief, who has been taking people and returning them a few days later. What begins as a seemingly straightforward missing-persons case spirals into a labyrinthine mystery with ties to the Messenger, a serial killer Vera put behind bars twelve years ago.

Now dying of cancer, the Messenger is orchestrating a final act of revenge, with Vera as his primary target. After all, Vera stumbled upon uncovering who the Messenger is 12 years ago and stopped him from killing another innocent woman. The investigation uncovers dark secrets, unexpected connections, and a web of deception that keeps readers guessing until the final pages. Vera’s journey is as much about confronting her own demons—professional failures, fractured relationships, and unresolved trauma—as it is about solving the case.

The novel explores the ripple effects of choices made in desperation, a theme introduced in Deeper Than the Dead with the discovery of bodies in a cave on Vera’s family land. The emotional depth of the narrative is amplified by Vera’s relationships, particularly with her sisters, Eve and Luna, and her complicated history with Bent. The theme of revenge is personified in the Messenger, whose terminal illness fuels a chilling determination to settle old scores. His presence looms large, even from behind bars, making him a formidable antagonist whose psychological warfare tests Vera’s resilience.

Vera's journey from disgraced deputy chief to crime analyst reflects a woman reclaiming her agency while grappling with self-doubt. Vera’s rekindled connection with Bent, her high school sweetheart turned sheriff, adds a romantic subplot that feels organic rather than forced. Bent is a grounded counterpoint to Vera, his steady demeanor masking his own unresolved feelings. The sisters, Eve and Luna, bring depth to the family dynamic, each wrestling with their roles in the events that shaped their childhood.

I am loving this series! I want at least 10 more books with Vera. Her story could go so many ways! So good! I want to know more about her sisters and I want a love story with Bent!

I give this one 3.5⭐️. This is book 2 in the Vera Boyett series. Vera is a consultant to the police now since leaving her job with Memphis pd and moving back home to Fayetteville. Things are settling in. Then she is asked to help on the Time Theif case when the son of her his school nemesis goes missing. The more she and Sheriff "Bent" Benton investigate, the more things aren't adding up, and things start taking unexpected turns in both Vera's personal and professional lives. Can they find the missing in time and solve the case?
I enjoy the characters and seeing what is happening to them now as this book is set about 7 months after the first ended. I did have some things figured out, but others were a surprise. Fast paced and will keep you reading.

Secrets can be deadly and danger is closer to Vera than she realizes. This thrill ride of a story starts out with Bent asking Vera to help find a missing person. As they investigate, Vera quickly figures out something is not what it seems and deception is the game going on. Joining in the game is a person similar to one called The Messenger she put in jail years ago. There are issues from her past that are being uncovered that combine with danger surrounding her and her family. It is a fast paced and complicated story with several red herrings thrown in for good measure. The story is one that had me staying up late reading. All the characters are complicated and you definitely judge their decisions at times while wondering what you'd have done in the same situation. A captivating read with hints at the future cases that Bent and Vera will find.

3.5 stars

This is a well-crafted mystery novel, filled with misdirection, alternate suspects and dangerous situations. Vera is again working with Bent, a former lover (20+ years in the past), as she has for the past 7 months. I didn’t read the first book in the series, but the author provides a lot of details and background so I didn’t feel lost.

In fact, the author provides a lot of details about everything. Her way of describing a scene draws in the reader and makes you feel like you’re right there, seeing and experiencing it with the characters. It makes for an immersive experience for the reader. I also understood the conflicted family dynamics.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the chance to read an ARC of Closer than you know by Debra Webb. This is the 2nd book in the Vera Boyett series, and I couldn't put it down! While it can be read as a standalone, it does pick up right after the series premiere, Deeper than the dead. After Vera's career as a deputy police chief is destroyed she has come home, to be closer to her sisters. When her ex-boyfriend, now the Sherriff requests help in a serial kidnapping case, it brings Vera's past front and center. We find out more of Vera's past, and family secrets; and the tension, and twists are non-stop! I recommend both this book, and the author!

Closer than You Know is the story of Vera Boyett, crime analyst turned private eye, and her return to her hometown. Unfortunately her hometown has seen its share of crime. Since she is a good friend of the sheriff, she gets called in to assist on an investigation into multiple abductions. Suddenly she realizes it is someone trying to get her attention. I loved that there was a lot of action. But I predicted most of the twists. Also loved the romance thrown in to the mix.

This is the second in a series but will be totally fine as a standalone (although those who read the first one will see some growth in Vera's character). Vera is shocked to discover that a serial killer is back and that he's targeting her through her sister Eve. Luckily, she's got a good relationship with Bent and a sharp mind. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's a fast paced, slightly implausible but quite entertaining read.

Headline: Recommended!

Book Review: Closer Than You Know (Vera Boyett, Book 2) by Debra Webb
Published by Thomas & Mercer, May 6, 2025

★★★★★ (4.5 Stars, rounded up. Rave!)

// Flashback: ...That dreary night, more than twenty years ago, two young girls and a baby were fated to be tasked with a deed that would forever haunt them — the internment of their stepmom, buried shallow in a cave... - From: Vera Boyett, Book 1, "Deeper Than the Dead", (2024) by Debra Webb, A 5-Star read!//

YEARS HAVE PAST, yet the stigma of the Boyett Farm cave burials endures as less-than-flattering stories about the notorious Boyett sisters, Vera, Eve and Luna, still abound in whispers.

VERA BOYETTE thrives, notwithstanding. She remains a master at her craft —cracking criminal cases, lending key assistance in solving local crimes. The former detective and 15-year veteran of the Memphis PD is recognized as a reliable civilian crime analyst with a local profile heightened by consulting frequently and effecting with local law enforcement.

In Fayetteville, the county seat and the largest city in Lincoln County, TN, her main criminal consultation contact is Lincoln County Sheriff, Gray Benton, the same man who just so happened to be Vera's first love, also one of the main reasons she'd fled her hometown years ago to seek a law enforcement career in Memphis. Inevitably, this leads to complications.

The Mystery of the "Time Thief".
With a pretty clever twist in suspense writing (which readers don't see coming !), it doesn't take Vera much time to solve the shenanigans of the so-called "Time Thief", a local criminal responsible for three disappearances whose modus operandi consisted of sneaking up on victims, drugging them, holding them for 48 hrs before releasing them, generally unharmed, in some random areas.

// "Helping find the bad guys was her job.
And, she might not be a hero, but she was damned good at her job...!"
- From "Closer Than You Know" Vera Boyett, Book 2, by Debra Webb (2025) //

Nemesis: The "Messenger" Strikes Again.
15 years prior, Vera Boyett solved her first big case as a Memphis detective, putting a serial killer called the "Messenger" behind bars for life. Local doctor, Palmer Solomon, MD, now a lifer had been actively killing for ten years. He'd carved each of his victims up, — always women, inducing incredible pain, but never deeply enough to cause a quick death.

Now locked-up in the penitentiary, Dr. Solomon appears to be back from the dead, with county citizens brutally murdered in methods identical to his modus operandi.

Then, evidence of trespassing and tampering happens right in Vera's own backyard and abode...

// "...What fun I'm having with the Vera Boyett series!
Using my new hometown of Fayetteville, Tennessee, as the setting is just the best..."
— Debra Webb //

A suspense thriller with a strong female protagonist in a fabulous real life setting, by a best-selling suspense and romance author of 175 novels and recipient of numerous prestigious awards. What a treat for readers!

Recommended!

Review based on an advance review copy courtesy of Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley.

This is book 2 of the Vera Boyett series and I feel you should have a read of book 1 in the series first in order to fully understand the characters and settings in ‘Closer Than You Know’.
In ‘Closer Than You Know’ Vera, who made the decision to stay in her hometown at the end of book 1 ‘Deeper Than The Dead’, now has a new job as a crime analyst and is working on her relationship with her sisters. When the police get called in on a missing persons case for a journalist, the local sheriff asks Vera for her assistance and expertise. It turns out involving Vera in the investigation is a good idea as the case begins to have links to Vera’s past and her present.
For the most part I liked this book, but I wouldn’t say I loved it. Just like book 1, I again struggled with the first half of the book. And I think it’s because I don’t really like Vera. I just feel she was a bit one dimensional, a bit standoffish. Which made this a slow read for me. But I do like Debra Webb’s writing style. I’m a big fan of her books. ‘Closer Than You Know’ is solid work from a great writer.
3.5 stars from me.
** I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher**

Another amazing suspenseful read by Debra Webb. Debra is a favorite of mine. But this book to me really shows her skill. This is a sequel to DEEPER THEN THE DEAD. however, it can be read as a standalone. And that’s because of Debra‘s amazing skill. She can weave in parts of book one so that you don’t feel as though you’ve missed anything in this book. But at the same time if you’ve read book one you don’t feel like there was any wasted words. She was able to inform new readers of the series in very few words.
Vera is being targeted by a serial killer. It seems like it may be The Messenger, but how is that possible when she arrested him and sent him to prison already. Is there a copycat killer out there? When Vera’s sister Eve gets taken, Vera vows that she will find out what is going on. This time she will end it!
Family dynamics, twisted, gruesome killings, a definite edge of your seat, thriller! I would love to be able to give this more than five stars. I definitely cannot wait for the next book in the series.
I was given this book by the author herself for a contest that she was holding. In no way did that sway my opinion or my review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

I love a good mystery, thriller, and a little romance thrown in. Add in a serial killer and some forensics and I am good to go. This book kept me captivated and on the edge of my seat. Definitely one I would recommend.

Vera Boyett is a crime analyst in Fayetteville, Tennessee. She often works with sheriff "Bent" Benton, her ex-boyfriend from twenty years ago. An old case of Vera's surfaces, maybe a copycat, and now they're after Vera and her family.

This is the second book in the series. There's a lot of history there, and I would have benefited from reading the first book. This book worked well on it's own, though. The mystery is great and the tension stays up until the very last page. This is an edge of your seat thriller with lots of action and violence. I did not really like Vera, or her family for that matter, but she sure was tenacious and determined.

Vera moved home after her career was destroyed. She is working on her own as a crime analyst. The local sheriff reaches out for her help on an active case. She decides to help him look for a missing reporter. Then she notices links back to a serial killer named the Messenger. Vera’s sister Eve is kidnapped, but the Messenger is out for Vera.

I tried to guess who was behind the crimes. I kept guessing but the answer was well disguised. It was well paced thriller. This is the second book in the series but you can read it as a standalone.

Thank you to Debra Webb, Thomas Mercer, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Debra Webb brings crime analyst Vera Boyett back in a high-stakes, emotionally charged thriller that’s packed with twists and non-stop action.

After tragedy derails her law enforcement career, Vera returns to her Tennessee roots, rebuilding her life as a crime analyst. When Sheriff Gray “Bent” Benton—an old flame—asks for her help with a missing reporter, Vera agrees, only to discover the case is tied to a serial killer she put behind bars years ago.

Now dying, the killer wants one final act of revenge—and Vera is his true target. When he pulls her sister into the twisted game, the stakes skyrocket. Vera must outsmart a killer and save her family before time runs out.

This story is a thrill ride, with strong characters, emotional depth, and heart-pounding suspense. Debra Webb is a master of keeping you on the edge of your seat! Highly recommended!

If you're a fan of Criminal Minds, you'll love this book! I felt like I was watching an episode from start to finish. Despite being the second book in the series, Debra Webb did a wonderful job outlining what happened in the previous story so you don't feel like you're missing big pieces of the puzzle. This could definitely be read as a stand-alone if the first one doesn't interest you. With that being said, I am definitely adding the first book to my TBR list!

Pulse pounding suspense with complex, fascinating characters. This one kept me guessing. I love this author and am excited whenever there is a new book. Vera is unique and I felt like I was right there with her unraveling the mystery. And I adore Bent. This author writes stories that keep you coming back for more.

Closer Than You Know is the 2nd book in the Vera Boyett series. As with most of Debra Webb's books once started its hard to put down until you finish. Vera is back home after many years working in the big city, helping out the local sheriff whom happens to be her first love until he leaves her heartbroken. A missing reporter, brings out a search for him and what follows is a twisted story line. You will find some romance in this book, but its more a suspense thriller. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. I received and ARC from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer the publisher, I am leaving my review voluntarily.