Gosh, thank you so much - what a lovely compliment!

I always stress over whether the casefile and the character development/family drama aspects are balanced, so I'm thrilled to hear you say they both felt right.

And yes, I'm always looking to hit the sweet spot between realistic "aww" and over-the-top "Schmoop" - so thank you!

Very glad that you enjoyed it. I am SOOO far behind on reading I may never catch up.