Exposed by Anna J. Stewart
Circle of the Red Lily #1

What lurks beneath the glitz and glamor of Hollywood’s façade? This is the first in a series introduces the Circle of the Red Lily that is a secret society that requires human sacrifices and will kill to keep their secrets. Little does Riley Temple realize that old negatives she buys to take to her dark room will expose the final moments of one woman’s life.

What I liked:
* Riley Temple: photographer, lost her parents when she was very young, raised by her grandfather and Aunt Moxie, grew up in Temple House, strong, impulsive, tenacious, likes mysteries, attracted to Quinn
* Quinn Burton: homicide detective, from a family of police officers and chiefs of police, has a new partner he is getting to know, fit, intelligent, caring, attracted to Riley
* The development of the relationship between Riley and Quinn, that they were “real”, I cared about them, and liked them for and with one another – they were well rounded and have good support systems…really liked them
* Aunt Moxie: octogenarian, a star in the golden age of movies, slowing down but still vibrantly alive
* Cassie, Mabel, Laurel, and Sutton: four who live in Temple House and are good friends of Riley’s – hope they each get a book of their own.
* Blake Redford: new building manager, ex-Navy-special deployment, finding his way after retiring, mad skills, looking forward to hearing more about him in the future
* Wallace “Wally” Osterman: new Detective, paired with Quinn, liked him and hope to hear more about him
* Others that were introduced
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* Getting enough but not too much detail on the murders and also about the secret society – can’t wait to find out more
* That though there is more to the series, this ended in a comfortable place and not on a cliffhanger
* Reading a new-to-me author I would gladly read again

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about how callous, evil, and awful some people can be

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely

5 Stars ( )

Full disclosure, I interviewed the author, Anna J. Stewart, for Luv-a-Palooza in June of 2022, at that time she told me about Exposed and I immediately wanted to read it. Her "elevator pitch" was right on target, building interest in her upcoming release.

From the first sentence of the prologue, I was hooked. It was a great storyline with most of the action and plot being believable.

The prologue starts out with a woman being held prisoner and while there is sexual assault mentioned, it is not on the page or described in great detail so no worry about triggers. The premise hooked me, I wanted to know more about the story and see where it would go.

The main story centers around a historical landmark in Los Angeles - a building that was originally sort of like a rooming house for Hollywood starlets. This building called Temple House, had been turned into apartments when the studio sold the building when they no longer kept their starlets under the contract system. I loved how the author wove real-life Hollywood history into the storyline of Temple House.

This storyline has a multitude of characters - makes sense since this will be a series - and I did find myself getting confused a bit. The author did a good job of introducing each character but of course, more attention was paid to this storyline's main male and female leads.

There was no slow lead-up to the action and mystery, from the first page til the last, I was guessing. (And I can hardly wait for Vanished - book two in the series.)

RECOMMEND?
I absolutely recommend this book to readers and non-readers of romance. The mystery was central to the story, the romance was secondary. If you are a fan of J. D. Robb's "In Death" series, this will be right up your alley and should be on your Kindle or bookshelf.

This review appears on my website.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.” ( )

After photographer, Riley Temple, purchases a tin of old film from her local pawnshop, the owner, her friend, Merle, is attacked and a local homeless man is murdered. Riley is determined to find out who hurt her friends. Riley's distrust of cops due to events in her past make her wary of sharing information with homicide Detective Quinn Burton, but her insight compels her to believe in him. Once Riley develops the pictures, she realizes that what is on them might lead her to more than she can handle alone, so she seeks out Quinn to help her navigate a twisty investigation and their growing mutual attraction.

Exposed is a gritty, entertaining mystery that manages to equally balance the romance and the suspense. The characters are well developed and aided by interesting supporting characters, and I assume some of them will have their own stories in future books. The plot contains a story line that isn't completed by the end of the book, but it seems as though it will continue in the books that are to follow, however there is an HEA for the leads. The pacing does slow in parts of the book when the history of "The Temple House" is described, but it is clear that Hollywood secrets are going to be a major part of the mystery moving forward. Another issue is when some of the characters suddenly find clues off page, but overall, Exposed is a enjoyable romantic suspense with well executed elements. ( )