December 10, 2025 - fundinmentalfundinmental

MY REVIEW

I am familiar with James L’Etoile’s name, but I have never read any of his work. His books sound right up my alley, so when I saw Illusion Of Truth and had the time to read it, I grabbed a copy. James does not disappoint.

Detective Emily Hunt is used to running towards danger, so when her boyfriend, also a cop, Brian Connor, is hurt in a church bombing, she will stop at nothing to find who is responsible. She has no idea how deep the conspiracy goes. By choosing to go slow with their relationship, did she lose her chance at happiness? She also has to cope with her mother’s dementia. How long before she doesn’t recognize who Amanda is?

It seems the villain is targeting the police. Why? What grievance could they have that would cause them to go to such extremes? Mystery and danger abound.

James L’Etoile supplies us with a hefty dose of suspects. I looked for the villain through a process of elimination, but he was not on my radar when James finally exposed him. I do love a story that keeps me guessing until the end.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Hunter becomes the hunted
Sacramento Detective Emily Hunter is exposed to inhumanity on a daily basis—it’s the unfortunate baggage that comes with police work, and she’s mostly learned how to shoulder the load. But it all turns personal when her fellow cop and boyfriend, Brian Conner, is caught in the blast of a targeted church bombing.
Brian is gravely injured, suffering a traumatic brain injury. But the attacks don’t stop there—soon, more officers come under fire, and Emily searches for a connection. She and her partner, Javier Medina, discover that Brian and the other injured officers share a common past—a past that now has them targeted for payback.
Battling with heartbreak, Emily has to identify who’s responsible for the string of attacks and stop them before there are more casualties. Will Brian ever be the same again? Already grappling with her mother’s progressing Alzheimer’s, Emily can’t bear the thought of losing both of the people she loves most.
Though it feels impossible, Emily must stay focused on finding the criminals who uprooted her life—and making sure that justice is served.
Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Michael Connelly
While the novels in the Detective Emily Hunter Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence
Face of Greed
River of Lies
Illusion of Truth

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Police Procedural
430 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication January 6, 2026 by Oceanview Publishing

ABOUT JAMES L’ETOILE

James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his award-winning novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s state parole system. His novels have been shortlisted or awarded the Lefty, Anthony, Silver Falchion, and the Public Safety Writers Award. River of Lies, Served Cold, and Sins of the Father are his most recent novels. Look for Illusion of Truth coming soon.