The Cost of Betrayal is a trio of romantic suspense novellas by Dee Henderson, Dani Pettrey, and Lynette Eason.

In Betrayed by Dee Henderson, Paul and Ann Falcon (from Full Disclosure) are at an auction just for fun. Ann buys a box of perfumes and scarves as inspiration for painting. But when Ann looks through the box at home, she discovers an engraved jewelry box with a ring stuck in it and an engraved pink pocketknife. A retired Midwest Homicide Investigator, Ann puts her skills to work to search for the owners to try to return those items. She discovers the knife belongs to a Janelle Roberts, imprisoned for killing her boyfriend after a bad breakup.

But the more Ann looks into the case, the more she thinks Janelle is innocent. Ann’s husband, Paul, is the head of the Chicago FBI office, and they pool their resources to look into Janelle’s case. They find enough to free Janelle, but not enough to convict the person they think is guilty.

They graciously provide for Janelle to hide out on an island with a friend and psychiatrist who can help her process what has happened to her and help her decide what to do with her future. Meanwhile, they watch the suspected guilty party, waiting for her reaction to Janelle’s release.

In Deadly Isle by Dani Pettrey, Tennyson (“Teni”) Kent’s fiance has just broken up with her. Joining her cousin, Julia, for their regular swim, Teni falls behind due to her emotions. When she gets to their usual stopping place, she doesn’t see her cousin. But she does see her boyfriend from years ago, Callum. He picks her up in his boat and joins the search for Julia. Sadly, they find her body.

Teni is an underwater investigator and Maryland NRP officer, so she sets about documenting the accident, not realizing at first that Julia’s death resulted from foul play.

Then, back at home, Teni’s house explodes due to a cut gas line. Teni happened to be out investigating a noise, so her life is mercifully spared. But she and Callum wonder—is someone out for her family? Or was Teni the target in Julia’s murder?

As a storm rolls in, landlines are down and Teni and Callum are on their own trying to figure out what happened and avoid getting killed.

In Code of Ethics by Lynette Eason, trauma surgeon Ruthie St. John works on Detective Isaac Martinez when he comes into the ER with a gunshot wound. Hours later, when she goes to check on him before leaving for vacation, she finds an unknown orderly attempting to put something in Martinez’ IV. After a scuffle, Ruthie learns that Isaac has been investigating some bad cops. He had reported one for stealing money and drugs from the evidence room. But the security footage was altered, and Isaac has no proof. Now many of the cops on the force have turned against him. He needs to look for evidence, but he’s in no shape to.

Ruthie is the only medical person in a family of cops. She sneaks Isaac out of the hospital and takes him to the cabin she had rented for her vacation. She calls her two brothers for help and reports to her mother, the chief of police. Ruthie helps Isaac track down his main lead, only to discover she isn’t who he though she was.

Of these three authors, I’ve only read Dee before (except for another trio of novellas by these ladies which I had forgotten about). I’ve read and loved most of Dee’s novels. If you love suspense, she’s your girl. It was fun to “visit” with characters Paul and Ann again. (As an aside, I have heard that some of Dee’s theology is somewhat wonky in her nonfiction and a couple of her novels. I’ve not read those, and I don’t remember seeing anything amiss in the novels of hers that I’ve read. But, with any author, exercise discernment.)

I’ve seen some of Dani’s posts on Inspired by Life and Fiction (a group blog where ten authors take turns posting) and Lynette’s on The Write Conversation and the Steve Laube Agency blog. But I have not read their books yet.

The main connection with each of the novellas is the fact of betrayal. Dani’s was the scariest to me, making me jump at creaks in the house and such. Lynette’s story appears to feature characters from other books as well.

I was a little frustrated that the case in one of the stories remained unsolved. But that would happen in real life. I’m not sure if the author plans any more stories on those particular characters.

I’ve had the book on hand for a while, but when I saw the audiobook for free through Audible’s Pus Catalog, I decided to get it. It was nicely read by Susan Bennett.

If you like suspense, I am sure you’d like this compilation. Collections of novellas are a nice way to try out new authors.