'Truth Be Told' has drama, romance, humor

Hank Phillippi Ryan's latest entry to feature investigative reporter Jane Ryland showcases the author's ability to balance humor, gripping drama, romance and contemporary issues.

In “Truth Be Told,” Ryland is investigating families who have lost their homes due to foreclosure. While on-site at a house that a bank is taking away from a family, Ryland sees police and then the medical examiner arrive. When Detective Jake Brogan arrives on the scene, Ryland realizes there's been a homicide.

Brogan and Ryland are secretly dating. Their relationship needs to be kept under wraps because of a potential conflict of interest. Their feelings make it difficult to do their jobs effectively and spend any time together. Is their relationship doomed? Can they work on the same case — or even be in the same room?

While the murder puts them together working side by side, Brogan receives a confession from a man claiming to be responsible for the murder of a young girl years earlier. This cold case has plagued Brogan, and while it would be great to have resolution, he can't shake the feeling that the man isn't guilty. But what would make the man confess to a crime he didn't commit?

Ryan juggles a lot of story elements, and she nails them all in this high-quality reading adventure.