She's searching for answers that no one wants her to find... Secrets Never Die by Laurie Lewis (Review & #Giveaway)


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Secrets Never Die
By Laurie Lewis
Adult Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 328 Pages
July 1st 2019 by Covenant Communications

Summary

Tallie Brown's life has never made any sense. Raised in isolation by her mother, Julia, Tallie was dragged suddenly and without explanation from one third-world outpost to another until life normalized seven years ago when Julia took a position on a mountaintop in the Pacific northwest. But when Julia unexpectedly dies, Tallie uncovers clues suggesting that Julia had a secret life.

Journalistic phenom Jackson James is still recovering from the devastating mistake that flatlined his promising career. Now he's paying the price, working as the editor of a syrupy community rag in a posh D.C. suburb. But when the very man who destroyed him drops a tantalizing lead about a potential D.C. scandal, the reporter sees his chance for redemption and sets off to chase the story.

Jackson's investigation leads him to Cutler's Ridge, a dying Virginia coal town, and directly into the path of the mysterious and beautiful Tallie. As these two mistrustful loners follow their leads, their stories begin to intertwine until they reach an alarming conclusion - something terrible happened in Cutler's Ridge. As they doggedly pursue the story, the town's cold reception spirals into threats and danger, proving that there are those who will stop at nothing to keep the past hidden forever - because secrets never die.

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My Review

SECRETS NEVER DIE is one of those stories that starts with questions and then takes you on a goose chase as the heroine tries to find answers in a small town where no one wants to help her. The suspense gradually builds to a climatic ending. Suspense readers will find much to enjoy about this story.

Tallie is one of those characters easy to relate to on a lot of levels, but also a little removed due to her upbringing. She's very intelligent, beautiful, and talented, but socially inept and somewhat unmoored. He mother has left her with so many questions and on unsteady feet as she tries to piece together what she is supposed to find. I would have liked her character to be a little more steady as I felt she was sometimes on the brink of being unstable, but I also got why she was the way she was. Jackson is also really easy to relate to and is a great character. I enjoyed seeing things through his journalist eye as he tries to figure out what is going on. It is interesting seeing how their friendship develops, as well as a few others they meet, and how there is just a hint of romance (not enough to really call this romantic suspense).

As a reader, you constantly follow bread crumbs that seem to lead nowhere, building frustration for trying to figure out what happened that coincides with the climax of this story. The feeling of unease is always present. Everyone is a suspect. You're never quite sure where it all is going and what will happen in the end. There are all these pieces that need to be put together. I appreciated that the author never just gives the answers until the end, that you only know what the characters know. As noted previously, it can be frustrating as you're strung along. I did want a little more danger and a more complex plot in places. The ending had a few holes that didn't work for me, but otherwise, it was well done.

In the end, was it what I wished for? I enjoyed reading this! It's a slowly-building suspense full of clues that readers try to make sense of right along with the main characters. It's gripping in places, emotional in others, and ends sweetly once the truth comes out. Recommended to suspense readers.

Content: Some violence applicable to the story, but would consider this clean.
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not require a positive review nor affect my review in any way.

About the Author


Laurie (L.C.) Lewis is the author of women’s fiction romance who also writes under the pen name L.C. Lewis – writing the award winning FREE MEN & DREAMERS historical romance series set again the backdrop of the War of 1812. She is a RONE Award Winner for The Dragons of Alsace Farm and was twice named a New Apple Literary Award winner in 2017. In 2018, winning Best New Fiction for Love on a Limb. She is also a BRAGG Medallion honoree, and she was twice named a Whitney Awards and USA Best Books Awards finalist.

Laurie is a Marylander at heart – loves weather-whining lover of crabs, American history & the sea, she admits to being craft-challenged & a devotee of sappy movies. Secrets Never Die is Laurie’s twelfth novel.


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