After losing his wife and retirement from news writing, Jake Scott’s life seems to be lacking purpose. After a discussion at his weekly breakfast club, Jake warms to the idea of writing a book and explores a potentially wrongly solved murder conviction. Suspense quickly builds as this proves to be dangerous business and the true guilty party will surprise you.

This was a good introduction to a new mystery series. It was definitely a great slow building start allowing you to get to know the characters and then became a medium pace book. I definitely enjoyed reading this story as I gave it a 3.5 story. What I loved the most was that it was set in Canada. Which can tick of another country in my world map of reading. I love reading books from all love the world like this one as it offers great culture. I did like the story although there were lots of names in the dialogue because 2 people were already talking so didn't need to be there.

There was a great range of different characters that really developed well throughout the story. I really likedhow the book reminded me of a true crime type format. Where one particular crime was looked into to form the bases of a book and then inconsistencies are found in the case and the main character then becomes intrigued into solving the case. This added another layer to the book.

Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating this very interesting story.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/searching-for-truth-by-barry-finlay-booksgosocial-independant-author-3-5-stars

This is my first by Barry Finley and not my last.
Jake is a retired journalist widowed and his daughter has moved away
With a suggestion to write a book, more as a hobby in his retirement days, from a beautiful police detective, he decides to give it a go
Researching a convicted murderers case he uncovers something that may be wrong. This is where the book gripped me. I didn't put it down after that.
Well written.
I love the character Jake Scott.
Once he gets his teeth into something he won't let go.

Looking forward to reading more from Barry Findley; and hopefully Jake.

Great book, by an author I will read more of! Thrilling plot, great writing and brilliant characters. Highly recommend to others.

Former journalist Jake Scott relies on his weekly breakfast gatherings with friends and a temperamental tabby cat named Oliver to keep his spirits up. He has lost his wife, retired from his job and watched his daughter move to Toronto with her boyfriend.

Things change when one of the breakfast attendees, a beautiful and tenacious police detective with a troubled teenage daughter, suggests Jake should write a book. When he takes her advice and researches a convicted murderer’s case, he finds out something is terribly wrong. Could a member of the breakfast group be hiding a secret deadly enough to commit murder?

This is truly an unstoppable read! And I loved every minute of it!

Jake Scott is a retired journalist. After lost his wife and his only daughter has moved away, he and other friends having a breakfast every Saturday. Nope. Not the Thursday Murder Club.



Their new member of this meeting is Danielle Perez, a Homicide Detective. Dani suggested him to write a book. A crime book to be exact. Something to do with murders that happen three years ago. The convicted murderer Gary Thomas was led away to serve a life sentence for second degree murder of his wife, Melissa and her lover, Matt Pawsloski.




But Dani think Gary is not guilty. As one of the officers investigating the case, Dani claimed that the evidence sounds overwhelming and her former partner who just retired after the case just wanted the case to be over, quick and clean.

So intrigued by the plot. What can Jake do about this? A former journalist always full of questions. A man with a cat is a great combo, I guess.

I give 4 ⭐. Can't wait to read other Jake Scott mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving arc in exchange for an honest review.

Four and a half stars.

Searching for the Truth was a very enjoyable book.
It was well written. The story line was credible and the characters were both credible and likeable.

Usually these days the characters are damaged, dark and cynical, so this was a refreshing change to have the main character, Jake Scott, to be a kind and decent human being.

I would read more books by this author and I would recommend this book. I would give it 4.5 stars if there was a half star option!

Thanks to NetGallery for providing an e-copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

My first time reading this author and series. I enjoyed it. The book grabs you right at the first doesn't let go until the end. Wonderful characters and a little romance also help make it good. Look forward to more.

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This story is a detective story mixed with friendship, a hint of romance, and a mystery to be solved. The characters are varied and multi-dimensional. This book starts with a bang and is filled with non-stop action. I recommend this story to readers who enjoy a good adventure filled with friends determined to dig for the truth - no matter the consequences.

The cat side kick is enough to make this book worth reading! This book will quickly draw you in with an intriguing mystery and cracking prose, but the characters are what make it great. I loved Jake and his tabby cat.

Searching for Truth: a Jake Scott Mystery is a very good story to start a new series. This is the first book I read by Barry Finlay and I really enjoyed his writing style which is easy to read. The plot is well put together and the mystery keeps on growing and keeping the reader's attention. Jake has to find a new challenge in his life after retirement, and he also needs more friends and companionship. But as reality is settling in, more and more doubts as to whom he could trust and whom he should not keep on getting mixed up and it becomes difficult to find a safe path. Jake is easy to get accustomed to and friendly enough, he needs now to get a good grip of his retirement years and move on.
I downloaded a free copy of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Jake Scott was previously one of the most well-known journalists in the area. These days he's retired, his wife has passed, and his daughter has moved away. Other than his car, Oliver, he's mostly alone. He does, however, attend a weekly breakfast gathering with several friends, new and old.

One of his newer friends is Danielle, a Homicide Detective. At one of these morning meetings, she suggests that Jack write a book .... and she has just the thing for him.

Several years ago a man was accused, charged, and found guilty of murdering his wife and her lover. Danielle is of the belief that the man is innocent. Her partner at the time, was anxious to retire and wanted this case closed ..Pronto.

As Jake starts to investigate, he finds discrepancies, and as he questions, friends, families, co-workers, the closer to danger he gets. Someone out there wants Jake to stop poking his nose in ... his house is broken into, he's assaulted, and he's receiving threatening notes.

This is well written, a nicely paced mystery with solid characters. Intrigue and suspense with twists and turns lead to an explosive conclusion. The is the beginning of a new series for this author and I look forward to seeing what happens next to these engaging characters.

Many thanks to the author / BooksGoSocial / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Searching For Thruth was my first attempt to read a mystery novel that wasn't cozy and I've really enjoyed it. It was challanging, but after the prologue that made my heart rate spike high and made me so anxious I was scared to keep reading, it was all downhill.

The writing is addicting, the plot is intricate, the freezing Ottawa scenery goes perfectly with the story's tone.
I've never read a Barry Finlay novel but I assure you this won't be the last.

Jake Scott is a retired journalist, widower who lives with his grumpy cat. He interrupts his loneliness and boredom meeting some friends for the Saturday breakfast. One day at the table someone suggests to Jake to write a book as a hobby to be more active. That's why Daniela, one of the most recent member at their breakfast table and Staff Sergeant of the homicide squad, tells him to take a look to a murder case that has some shadows. Will Jake be more happy now that he has something to keep him busy? Or the risks to be involved in something bigger than him are too high?

It was interesting to see how the relationships between these characters changed throughout the story, as everyone is a possible suspect at one time or another.

I particularly liked the growing friendship between Jake and Dani and her daughter, I hope to read more about these characters.

A very good character driven murder mystery novel set in Ottowa.

Jake Scott is a retired journalist with too much time on his hands. His regular Saturday breakfast crowd includes an attractive police detective and through her Jake hears of a double homicide. Everyone seems convinced that the convicted murderer is guilty but Dani has her doubts.

Jake investigates, thinking of writing a book on the case. At the same time he is getting closer to Dani and her teenage daughter. But as the case develops he gets more than he expected ...

This is well written and fast paced, with a cast of well developed characters. Barry Finlay is a new author to me, and I'm hoping to read more of the Jake Scot series soon.

First, let me just say that this is an author that is new to me, and I have to say that I will definitely be reading more works from Barry Finlay.

Searching for Truth was from the moment I started at page one to the very end was one that kept you engrossed and kept you glued to the book wanting to know what happened.

As Jake investigated and researched this case that he was writing about for his book, it became clear to him that things weren't what they seemed. I also wanted to figure out what had happened and who was the murderer.

Great book with great characters, and an interesting premise. It takes you on the roller coaster along with Jake, and that means it becomes hard to put down as you want to know more, and more. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I kind of went back and forth on this book! Thus book had a little bit of everything! It had a great storyline, A great who done it, suspense, action, intrigue and a few twists and turns! I definitely enjoyed reading this book! It wasn't to bad of a heart pounder, it had my heart racing a few times but not to much of a nail biter! But it's definitely worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!