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Bound by Evidence

By Kari Trumbo
KOBO
Level 1 Intimacy
No Innuendo
Zero Swearing
Moderate Violence
No LGBTQ Content

Trigger Warnings

Blood, Death, Death of Loved One, Kidnapping, Murder

Book Details

Genre

Christian Romance, Romantic Suspense

Publisher

Self Published

Series

Standalone

Book #

Point of View

Dual First Person

Length

Novel
christian themescontemporary settingprotector heroslow burnsmall townStrangers to loversworkplace

Found a trope you love? → Tap it to explore more ❤️

Audiobook Details

Narrators

Narration Type

Synopsis

When the evidence lies, who can you trust?
K9 officer Chris Johnstone has spent years avoiding partnerships—human ones, at least. But when he and his highly trained German shepherd, Sherlock, are called to track a missing woman in Poplar Bend, Chris is pushed into an uneasy alliance with Investigator Marin Bayless, a woman determined to find answers.

What begins as a simple search, spirals into something far darker. Evidence surfaces that shouldn’t exist. Clues appear where no one could have left them. And someone in the know wants the truth buried before Marin gets close.

As Chris and Marin race to separate manufactured evidence from the truth, every discovery places them directly in the killer’s path—and draws them closer together.

In a town where secrets are currency and corruption hides in plain sight, Chris and Marin must rely on God and each other to survive the hunt for a predator who always seems one move ahead.

Where to Read

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Apple Books

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KOBO
Amazon

*Affiliate link — I may earn a commission*

Kobo
Apple Books
Barnes and Noble

Bound by Evidence

By Kari Trumbo

Genre

Christian Romance, Romantic Suspense

Publisher

Self Published

Series

Standalone

Point of View

Dual First Person

Length

Novel

Narrator(s)

Narration Type

christian themescontemporary settingprotector heroslow burnsmall townStrangers to loversworkplace

Found a trope you love? → Tap it to explore more ❤️

Content Guide

This guide helps readers understand the content of this book.
Click the ⓘ icons to see how each level is defined.

Level 1 Intimacy
No Innuendo
Zero Swearing
Moderate Violence
No LGBTQ Content

Trigger Warnings

Blood, Death, Death of Loved One, Kidnapping, Murder

Synopsis

When the evidence lies, who can you trust?
K9 officer Chris Johnstone has spent years avoiding partnerships—human ones, at least. But when he and his highly trained German shepherd, Sherlock, are called to track a missing woman in Poplar Bend, Chris is pushed into an uneasy alliance with Investigator Marin Bayless, a woman determined to find answers.

What begins as a simple search, spirals into something far darker. Evidence surfaces that shouldn’t exist. Clues appear where no one could have left them. And someone in the know wants the truth buried before Marin gets close.

As Chris and Marin race to separate manufactured evidence from the truth, every discovery places them directly in the killer’s path—and draws them closer together.

In a town where secrets are currency and corruption hides in plain sight, Chris and Marin must rely on God and each other to survive the hunt for a predator who always seems one move ahead.

Reader Reviews

Have you read this book? Help other readers by leaving a review.

No reader reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Leave a Review

Reviews help other readers know what to expect from a book.
Please avoid spoilers and be respectful in your review.

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Find Your Next Closed Door Romance

Stop guessing — find books that actually match your preferences
Filter by intimacy level, tropes, and more in seconds

Find books you'll love

2700+ books • Filter by exact content levels • Built for closed door readers

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Physical Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands or affectionate touching
  • Compliments or confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces or cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters are only referred to from the past, not described or shown on page
 

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in the underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied but not described
  • Feeling warm or flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls or groans
  • Thinking or speaking about desire in a non-descriptive way
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level, though this may be unpopular if they are not married
 

Level 3

 

  • Hands moving, still not in the underwear zone
  • French kissing with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions that still follow these guidelines
  • Feeling hot or sweaty
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, or panting
  • More frantic moments and some loss of control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If characters lie down together, there should be little description of contact or movement
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with a fade to black scene
  • Focus stays on the emotion
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged or committed couples

Innuendo Levels

Level 0 — None

  • No sexual innuendo
  • No suggestive humor
  • No crude or sexual jokes

Level 1 — Minimal

  • Minimal innuendo or double meanings
  • Light teasing
  • Mild crude or dad humor
  • Not frequent or strong

Level 2 — Moderate

  • Moderate suggestive humor
  • Double meanings
  • Sexual tension
  • May include crude or sexual jokes

Level 3 — Heavy

  • Heavy innuendo
  • Strong suggestive dialogue
  • Frequent crude or sexual humor

Swearing Levels

Zero

  • No swearing

Mild

  • Up to 10 uses of “hel*” or “dam*”

Moderate

  • 10+ uses of “hel*” or “dam*”
  • And/or use of bodily swear words like “shi*,” “as*,” etc.

Severe

  • 30+ swear words
  • And/or any use of the F-word one or more times

Violence Levels

Zero

  • No on-page violence

Mild

  • Violence is present without detail or only referenced vaguely
  • May briefly mention blood or injuries
  • Comparable to a G-rated movie

Moderate

  • Violence is more frequent and/or more detailed
  • Can be more intense
  • Injuries may be lightly described
  • Comparable to a PG-rated movie

Severe

  • Violence is more detailed and frequent
  • Blood may be mentioned and injuries may be described in detail
  • Comparable to a PG-13-rated movie

Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands/Affectionate touching
  • Compliments/confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces/cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters from past only referred to, not described or on-screen

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied not described
  • Feel warm/flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls and groans
  • Thinking/speaking about desire non-descriptive
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level – but may be unpopular if not married

Level 3

  • Hands moving, still not in underwear zone
  • French kiss with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions still follow guidelines
  • Feel hot, sweating
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, panting
  • More frantic and lose some control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If they lay down together anywhere, use little description of contact/moving
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with fade to black scene. Keep focus on the emotion.
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged/committed couples.