Empty Shell by Ashley Fontainne

What They Say:

A pair of pink, silk underwear…

The quiet world of Melody and Jack Dickinson is about to be turned upside down. Twenty years of marriage hangs in the balance when Melody finds out about Jack’s infidelity. The betrayal is made worse when Melody discovers his lover is Serena Rowland, a young woman who works at Melody’s law firm.

A receipt from an overpriced hotel…

Harsh words are exchanged before Melody storms off to work, determined to have Serena fired. But when Melody hears Serena was murdered over the weekend, everything changes. Serena’s body is found beaten and strangled with a pair of pink, silk panties, in the same hotel that Jack had admitted staying at over the weekend. Within seconds of hearing the news, Melody’s life spins out of control when Jack calls in a panic. The police are at their home to arrest him for Serena’s murder.

Pictures of a young woman’s scantily clad torso on a cell phone…

Was she married to a monster? One who beat and strangled the young woman to death, or was Jack set up? Did Melody’s own dark secret, hidden inside her heart for years, have something to do with the nightmare they suddenly find themselves in?

Melody and Jack are about to discover that one fateful mistake will destroy many.

What I Say:

I would like to thank author Ashley Fontainne for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Ashley contacted me and asked me to review her latest book I immediately said yes, I had read and reviewed The Lie by Ashley last and really enjoyed it, so how could I say no.

The first thing I want to mention is the cover, how intriguing is it?

When we first meet Melody, she is happily married to Jack, soon her world comes crashing down around her.  She discovers Jacks affair with her co-worker Serena but worse is to come when Serena is found dead.  Jack is then arrested for Serena's murder.

Ashley tells the story from Melodys POV and also in parts as though the reader is watching from the outside in when following other characters.

With every page I was gripped by the whole story, had Jack really killed Serena? Had past transgressions come back to haunt Melody and others in this gripping mystery?

I really liked Melody and felt so sorry for her being thrown into such a nightmare, not wanting to believe Jack had done such a horrible thing and trying get everyone else to believe her that he was innocent.  Mel struggled as the story continued knowing who to trust.

A throughly gripping story that had me hooked from the first page to the last page.

About The Author

Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of mostly the classics. Ashley became a fan of the written word in her youth, starting with the Nancy Drew mystery series. Stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters that lurk within us are her favorite reads.

Her muse for penning the EVISCERATING THE SNAKE series was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Ashley's love for this book is what sparked her desire to write her debut novel, Accountable to None, the first book in the trilogy. With a modern setting to the tale, Ashley delves into just what lengths a person is willing to go when they seek personal justice for heinous acts perpetrated upon them. The second novel in the series, Zero Balance focuses on the cost and reciprocal cycle that obtaining revenge has on the seeker. For once the cycle starts, where does it end? How far will the tendrils of revenge expand? Adjusting Journal Entries answered that question: far and wide.

Her short thriller entitled Number Seventy-Five, touches upon the sometimes dangerous world of online dating. Number Seventy-Five took home the BRONZE medal in fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards contest and is currently in production for a feature film.

Her latest release, the suspenseful thriller The Lie, took home the GOLD medal in the 2013 ILLUMINATION BOOK AWARDS for ebook/fiction.