Kendra Elliot’s fans will recognize Noelle Marshall as a minor character in her Columbia River novels. In Her First Mistake, Noelle takes center stage and it’s quite a performance. Buckle up!
Noelle is working as a bartender when she first meets Derrick Bell, a member of a respected Sacramento family. Noelle is not in Derrick’s league. She lost her parents when she was still a child. Along with her two sisters, Eve and Lucia, Noelle was raised by her grandfather and Daisy, a great aunt.
Noelle’s first marriage lasted a nanosecond, so she’s reluctant to plunge into another serious relationship. But the attraction to Derrick is too strong. Although Derrick is working for Bell Construction, his father’s company, he tells Noelle he loves politics and hopes to run for office. Having the beautiful Noelle by his side would certainly be an asset.
Once they are married, Noelle has a lot of catching up to do. Since she is now in the public eye, she has to watch how she dresses, how much she drinks, and who she meets for lunch. In the beginning, it’s a heady ride. Their home, complete with Derrick’s collection of model elephants, a love he developed after visiting Africa, is perfect for entertaining.
Soon, however, things began to go south. Derrick has bouts of depression and lashes out at Noelle. Although he never hits her, he comes close. Her family and her best friend, Savannah, become concerned about her safety. Then the worst happens. Derrick and Noelle are attacked in their home. Derrick is dead, struck many times with a crow bar. Noelle sustains a serious blow to the back of her head which leaves her with no memory of what happened.
Two FBI agents are assigned to the case, Special Agent Alice Patmore and Special Agent Oscar Wilson. While Derrick’s family believes Noelle was involved in killing her husband – during the funeral, his brother, Jason, never mentions Noelle’s name – Patmore, from the beginning believes in her innocence. When Noelle begins to put her life back together, Alice suggests she look at law enforcement.
Thirteen years after Derrick left Noelle a wealthy widow, she now lives in Bend, Oregon, and is an officer in the Deschutes County’s sheriff’s office. Alice never caught Derrick’s killer so the FBI is reopening the case. Special Agent Keaton and Special Agent Rhodes appear in Noelle’s office on a “fact-finding interview.” After all this time, does Noelle remember anything about what happened that night? Who killed Derrick and left her for dead?
Over the years, Noelle has tried to remember something, anything, about that night. She even was hypnotized. She often has dreams where that heavy elephant that the police feel was the murder weapon pops up. Members of her family often appear, too. But Noelle can’t make sense of what it all means.
News travels fast that the FBI is investigating the case. There’s another victim and Noelle’s car is fire bombed. Someone, most likely the person who did kill Derrick, is afraid the truth will come out and is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen.
As a sheriff, Noelle tries to be objective, but she’s too close to the case and worries about what the FBI might find. Jason is still blaming Noelle and when he shows up in Bend she’s worried he may be out to harm her. And why do members of her family appear in her dreams? Noelle knows her grandfather was worried about Derrick harming her. Could he have killed Derrick to protect her? Her grandfather is now dead so she can’t ask him. Noelle’s sister, Eve, and her husband Adam, a union which produces many comments, moved to Bend to be near Noelle, along with Daisy and Lucia She finds herself leaning on her family for support.
Elliot skillfully bounces the narrative between past and present time. Noelle emerges as a likable, complex character who, we assumed, we will meet again in the next mystery in the series.
Her First Mistake
Kendra Elliot
Top photo: Shutterstock
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