She Treads Softly: Judas Kiss

Friday, June 5, 2026

Judas Kiss

Judas Kiss Book Cover

Judas Kiss by J. T. Ellison
6/30/26; 351 pages (reissue)
Thomas & Mercer
Taylor Jackson #3

Judas Kiss by J. T. Ellison is a highly recommended police procedural/thriller and is the third novel in the Taylor Jackson series. It can be read as a standalone novel. This review is for the reissued and revised edition of a novel that was originally published on 12/23/2008.

Twenty-six-year-old Corinne Wolff, seven months pregnant, is found brutally murdered in her own home by her sister. Corrine's young 18 month-old daughter is left with her mother's body, covered in blood. As Nashville homicide detective Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her team begin investigating, it becomes quit clear that much more is going on than they initially thought. The investigation initially points to the husband's involvement, uncovers links to online porn, a trafficking network, and even pulls Taylor into several scandals.

During this time John Baldwin, Taylor's fiancé, is called back to DC. He is the acting director title of the Behavioral Science Unit, but he is also working on an off-grid assignment partnering with the CIA to catch an international assassin out for revenge. The trouble is Taylor is a target due to her relationship with Baldwin.

This is a fast-paced thriller that has a whole lot going on and seemingly becomes more twisted as the plot unfolds. You may need to set aside some disbelief over the vast amount of moving pieces and investigative leads all uncovered and being some how related, including several video attempts to discredit Taylor. Admittedly, I quickly read the chapters following Baldwin as everything happening to Taylor was enough for one novel. Really, multiple story lines involve someone trying to humiliate and discredit Taylor was over-the-top. It will hold your attention but it is also quite obvious while reading that it was originally released in 2008.

Taylor is basically a likeable character, but she does have a bit of an attitude, needs better control of her emotions, and didn't always act in a logical manner. Also the story lines involving her past became a bit much as the actual murder investigation was enough to follow. Also I guessed the perpetrator immediately and was surprised this person wasn't initially looked at more closely. 3.5 rounded up when needed.

Judas Kiss is a good choice for those who enjoy procedural with lots of moving pieces. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.