Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
Right Behind Her by Melinda Leigh is a gripping read, just like her other books. Readers get sympathetic heroes and monstrous villains along with a plot that will keep them turning the pages.
Sherriff Bree Taggert agrees to travel to her childhood home with her brother Adam. She must confront the memories of her childhood that includes the cruelness of her father, being attacked by his dogs, the night her father murdered her mother, and then committed suicide.
What she did not expect to find are human bones on the grounds of the abandoned family farm. They appear to be cruelly murdered thirty years ago. She is wondering if her father, who killed himself and her mother while she hid herself, her brother, and sister, is the culprit. Suspects begin to pile up, including someone who kidnaps her niece to warn her from further investigation. Assisting is Matt Flynn, the police investigator, who is also helping Bree realize she wants a relationship with him. She begins to feel the need for family and starts to tear down the wall she has built to protect herself.
This story will keep readers captivated with plenty of emotion and suspense including wondering who committed the crime.
Elise Cooper: In this story there is more of Bree’s backstory?
Melinda Leigh: I think there will be at least eight books in the series. This is book 4. After each book my goal is to leave each character in a happy place because they need a break. This continuing character series will develop the characters and their relationships over a long term. I will continue writing the series as long as the character personal development moves forward and is never stale. For me, the highest flattery a writer can receive is being told people enjoy their books.
EC: You try to make some of the bad guys redeemable?
ML: In reality, people have shades of grey. There are various shades of grey, some darker than others, some being greyer. Every character has their own viewpoint, their own perspective. Bree in this book found out more about her family and the memories she avoided as a traumatized child.
EC: How would you describe the relationship between Matt and Bree?
ML: At first it was just a friendship, but they had a connection. Her backstory affects her feelings until she allowed herself to lean on Matt a bit. She is learning she does not have to exist all by herself. Although she is there for others, to support them, there is a back and forth in relationships and she is seeing this. Bree is finally learning not to be a loner and allows Matt to support her.
EC: There is some therapy in this book?
ML: Bree is realizing that dogs are a great companion and know when they are needed. Brody, the German Shepherd retired police dog is a hero in this story. The saying feelings run down leash applies to all the dogs in the story.
EC: There is also paint therapy?
ML: Bree’s brother Adam obtained solace from painting. He had been born into a family filled with grief, anger, and abuse. Like Bree, he carried that burden into adulthood. Darkness always filled his work. The book quote, “Dark reds, bold blues, and stormy grays dominated the canvas. Bree saw sadness and anger and lack of control in the turbulent brushstrokes. But in one corner, a shaft of light blue with just the slightest hint of pale-yellow shadow pierced the darkness… Despite being a minute portion of the overall work, the smaller sliver of brightness drew and held the eye. It was a spark of hope at the edge of overwhelming despair…that tiny ribbon of light pulled her in.”
EC: A heads up about your next book?
ML: It is titled Dead Against Her and should be out in May 2022. It is about a double homicide in which Bree is a prime suspect. Morgan Dane from my other series will make an appearance and will be in this book quite a bit.
EC: THANK YOU!!
