Tainted Evidence

Rachel Grant — 2020

Some family secrets are deadly… Inventorying human remains can be difficult at the best of times without a creepy security guard hovering over Maddie Foster’s shoulder. Nervous about being stuck in the crypt with the strange man, Maddie asks a friend of a friend to drop by and pretend to be her boyfriend to force the guy to back off. Raptor operative Josh Warner recently moved to Oregon to take over as guardian to his troubled niece and open a new private security branch in the Pacific Northwest. Josh doesn’t hesitate to help Maddie and is intrigued by the brainy museologist. His protective nature kicks into high gear as he discovers she may be in very real danger. Tensions run hot in the summer heat as Josh’s work puts everyone he cares about at risk, and Maddie’s research into the museum collection raises questions better left buried. As their city teeters on the precipice of violence, Josh and Maddie find themselves embroiled in a deadly scheme that could reshape the nation.

Reviews

Nicola Sarah Brooks@nikkisbooknook

Dec 8, 2021

Maddie is a friend and colleague of Trina. She has been given the assignment to identify and inventory a morbid collection of human remains from a private museum. The guy in charge is an absolute charmer - NOT. He gives off a very arsy, white-is-right-vibe and Maddie does not feel safe with him. She puts out an SOS to Trina and before she knows it her knight appears! Josh leapt at the chance to grow Raptor in the Pacific Northwest. He kept his job and managed to move across the country to look after his teenage nice after his dip^%*& of a brother lands himself in jail. A quick friendy check on Trina's friend should be a breeze. But what starts as a fake boyfriend assignment turns into a bonafide bodyguard assignment when someone takes too much interest in Maddie and her work. This story could not be more timely. White Supremacists, racial profiling, theft of tribal artefacts, reprehensible folk with too much money and not enough humanity. Ms Grant must have had her crystal ball tuned! More than enough strands to keep you busy. The love story is very strained as both have a reason not to get involved but I loved their solution! An amazing series and well worth a read!

Lynn Braden@ftbooklover

Oct 8, 2021

Maddie Foster has been hired to inventory and research the remains in the museum at the Kocher mansion, but she is creeped out by Troy Kocher who is working there as a security guard, so she calls her friend Trina whose husband owns Raptor Security and asks if operative Josh Warner who has recently moved to Portland will act as her boyfriend in order to make Troy back off. Josh is busy trying to get his teenage niece, Ava settled after her father is sent to prison and get a new branch of Raptor Security open in Portland, but he agrees to help. When local white supremacists become involved in her mission, Maddie realizes that more is going on in the Kocher mansion than just issues with the the remains she is researching. There are parts of Tainted Evidence that I really like. Maddie Foster is an excellent protagonist. Even though she knows she is in love with Josh, when he does something that shows he doesn't trust her, she steps back from him and stands up for herself. The topics introduced are very timely, including lots of realistic details involving museology, security, teenage angst, and violent protests. Unfortunately the plot gets lost at times because there is just so much going on and so many ideas being presented. This could easily been two different books or one much longer novel and would have been a better read. Overall, however, this is still enjoyable to read.