Illusion of Truth: Volume 3

Hunter becomes the hunted

Sacramento Detective Emily Hunter is exposed to inhumanity on a daily basis--it's the unfortunate baggage that comes with police work, and she's mostly learned how to shoulder the load. But it all turns personal when her fellow cop and boyfriend, Brian Conner, is caught in the blast of a targeted church bombing.

Brian is gravely injured, suffering a traumatic brain injury. But the attacks don't stop there--soon, more officers come under fire, and Emily searches for a connection. She and her partner, Javier Medina, discover that Brian and the other injured officers share a common past--a past that now has them targeted for payback.

Battling with heartbreak, Emily has to identify who's responsible for the string of attacks and stop them before there are more casualties. Will Brian ever be the same again? Already grappling with her mother's progressing Alzheimer's, Emily can't bear the thought of losing both of the people she loves most.

Though it feels impossible, Emily must stay focused on finding the criminals who uprooted her life--and making sure that justice is served.

Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Michael Connelly

While the novels in the Detective Emily Hunter Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Face of Greed
River of Lies
Illusion of Truth

Author: James L'Etoile
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: 01/06/2026
Pages: 366
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.52w x 1.27d
ISBN: 9781608096497


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2025
Publishers Weekly 11/10/2025
Booklist 12/01/2025

About the Author
James L' Etoile is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, hostage negotiator, facility captain, and director of California's state parole system, and he uses his twenty-nine years " behind bars" as an influence in his award-winning novels, short stories, and screenplays. His novels include Dead Drop, Black Label, At What Cost, Bury the Past, and Little River. Illusion of Truth is the third book in his Detective Emily Hunter Mystery Series, following the Lefty Award-nominated Face of Greed and River of Lies. L' Etoile lives with his wife outside of Sacramento, California. When he's not writing, you can find him working with his Corgi therapy dogs.