Malevolent Intent: The Deeper They Dig, the Deadlier the Truth Becomes

R. S. Hampton

Jan 2026 · IstanbulMiami, LLC

About this ebook

After a disastrous fourth tour overseas, Army Colonel Vernon Matheson is thrust into civilian life with a forced medical retirement and a fractured mind. Hoping to rebuild, he returns to Charleston—only to walk into a nightmare: his house trashed, a dead woman on his bedroom floor, and his wife and five-year-old daughter gone without a trace.

Instead of allies, Vern finds resistance at every turn. His once-steady grandparents are evasive and erratic, the lead investigator seems determined to frame him, and time is bleeding away with every false lead. Into the chaos steps Lee Danforth—a sharp, relentless attorney assigned to his case, and the last person Vern wants digging through his shattered life. But as their alliance deepens, so does the danger.

As Lee Danforth and Vern Matheson dig deeper into Angela Matheson’s double life and trail of drugs, secrets, and betrayal, they uncover something far darker: a calculating killer who has been stalking this family for months, orchestrating every piece of their destruction. With a hurricane bearing down on the South Carolina coast, Vern and Lee must race to find his daughter, Katie, before the storm—and the man hunting them—brings everything crashing down.

Because the deeper they dig, the deadlier the truth becomes.

Ratings and reviews

I was hooked from the start and could not put this one down! I loved the characters they drew me into their world and their stories and I was just along for the crazy wild ride! Plot twists, surprises, multiple POVs there’s a lot going on but it’s just woven together so well! Definitely will be going back to read book one!! I received an advance review copy via BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

About the author

R. S. Hampton is an attorney turned novelist, weaving suspenseful stories that unfold across a variety of landscapes—bustling cities, quiet coastal towns, and places tucked just out of sight. With a legal career spanning three decades, her characters are often lawyers, their clients, and the people entangled in their search for truth—where morality is rarely black and white, and justice doesn’t always follow the rules.

A lifelong traveler, Reta is drawn to places that spark curiosity, places with history, edge, and unexpected depth. Her stories are shaped by the settings in which they unfold, each one becoming a character in its own right. Whether it’s a courtroom in a city she once called home or a hidden alleyway in a country she’s only just begun to understand, her novels reflect the intricacies of the worlds she explores.

She and her husband split their time between multiple countries, embracing a multicultural life that mirrors the layered complexities of her fiction. When she’s not writing, she’s usually on the move—seeking out the next place, the next story, and the next unanswered question.