"Truth Be Told"

I was pleasantly surprised by "Truth Be Told" by Carol Cox. It is a romance novel but contains no smut. In fact the only intimacy is a barely there kiss on the last page. (If you're looking for 'heat', keep looking.) "Truth Be Told" is about a woman who inherits a newspaper business from her father and tries to investigate the misdeeds of the evil mining company.

Romance novels are rarely believable so why should this one be? Having said that, fortunately, it was missing the lame woman-hates-man-until-he-kisses-her routine. If nothing else is said, that alone redeems this novel.

I enjoyed the relationship between the main female character and her sole employee - a protective old friend of her father. It was well written and endearing. everyone needs a protective old uncle figure in their life. The bad guys came across as creepy without there having to be anything graphic as well - another bonus. Of course lone rangers rarely take down large mining tycoons and heroes don't really ride in and save the day just in the nick of time by so what? This is a romance novel and it's exactly what romance readers are looking for.

BTW, I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.