Author: J. T. Ellison
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 395
Date of Publication: June 30, 2026
My Rating: 4 Stars
*First published December 30, 2008
DESCRIPTION:
It was a murder made for TV: a trail of tiny bloody footprints. An innocent toddler playing beside her mother’s bludgeoned body. Pretty young Corinne Wolff, seven months pregnant, brutally murdered in her own home.
Cameras and questions don’t usually faze Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson, but the media frenzy surrounding the Wolff case is particularly nasty…and thorough. When the seemingly model mommy is linked to an amateur porn Web site with underage actresses and unwitting players, the sharks begin to circle.
The shock is magnified when an old adversary uses the sexy secret footage to implicate Taylor in a murder — an accusation that threatens her career, her reputation and her relationship.
Both cases hinge on the evidence — real or manufactured — of crimes that go beyond passion, into the realm of obsessive vengeance and shocking betrayal. Just what the networks love.
MY THOUGHTS:
Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her fiancé, Baldwin, are back from the honeymoon that wasn’t. Their wedding day was interrupted and has yet to be rescheduled, but they desperately needed to get away. Taylor is a homicide detective, while Baldwin is an FBI profiler. Death and darkness always seem to follow them, so the time away was more than necessary.
Unfortunately, they barely have their feet back on solid ground before they are pulled into two very different cases. For Taylor, arriving at her latest murder scene only raises more questions than answers. Before long, she finds herself with her back against the wall in more ways than one, as her reputation as a solid detective, even her career, are called into question. Meanwhile, Baldwin is desperately searching for a killer, one with whom he has a dangerously complicated history.
The Taylor Jackson series is a nine-book series currently being rereleased, and Judas Kiss is the third installment. The previous titles are All the Pretty Girls and 14. While each book can work well as a standalone, the overarching storyline continues to grow with each installment, making the series even more compelling when read in order.
Although the original series is nearly two decades old, it is remarkably easy to become invested in Taylor and Baldwin, both in their personal lives and in the cases they investigate. In fact, this series reminds me of a solid police procedural television series - the kind where you become invested not only in the cases but also in the characters who keep bringing you back.
I am thoroughly enjoying this rerelease, as well as book four, The Cold Room, and am already looking forward to book five, The Immortals.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
J.T. Ellison is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 novels, and the EMMY-award winning co-host of A WORD ON WORDS, Nashville's premier literary show. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 26 countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.
Social Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thrillerchick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrillerchick
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