Secrets Never Die by Laurie Lewis
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.
Andrea's Review:
Secrets Never Die was a quite intriguing. I really didn't know what to expect from this unknown-to-me author, but Laurie Lewis did a great job of creating a story and characters that kept me wanting to turn each page.
Tallie's upbringing was pretty sad. Her mother was very emotionally disconnected. She taught Tallie many skills, but the most important thing (love) was something Tallie never felt. I wasn't really sure what to think about Jackson initially, but he grew on me.
Cutler's Ridge was a town that I wouldn't want to spend time in. The people came off as a bit crazy, and so many were full of secrets.
I really had no idea how everything was going to tie together, and there were lots unforeseen of twists and turns-perfect for a suspense novel.
This was a fast, clean read. I would read more from this author.
Rorie's Review:
I was swept into the story right away and it kept my attention for the first handful of chapters, but once Tallie got to Cutler's Ridge, the story started to lag a little. There were so many unanswered questions and I felt like I was constantly missing half of the story because of it.
Thankfully, the story picked up steam later on and I became more invested in it. Sadly, I just didn't feel that much of a connection with any of the characters. I'm not sure why, maybe they just needed a bit more development. The ending played out well and I liked the twist near the end, but I couldn't wrap my mind around the reason for all the secrets and subterfuge. Maybe I just didn't understand the explanation, but it really didn't seem like that event was enough to cause everything that happened in the story. (Ok, it's really hard to get my point across while not giving out any spoilers!) All that being said, I would still read more from this author.
Tarah's Review:
It took me a bit of time to get into this book. I think my biggest problem was that we didn't know anything until Tallie or Jackson figured something out, and because there was so many things they were all trying to figure out it was hard to keep track of everything. I also felt like there were a lot of characters. Everyone is introduced, and it seems like everyone even got a backstory, which I generally love, but because there were so many people it was difficult for me to keep track of who was who and why they were important. The story definitely picked up for me when Tallie and Jackson connected and started a friendship.
I appreciated the twists and turns. It really does make for a great suspense novel. This one really just wasn't my cup of tea, however. And honestly, it might have been that I just wasn't in the mood to read it, I'm not sure. It was well written, but it just wasn't quite for me.
Tour Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Title: Secrets Never Die
Author: Laurie Lewis
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: July 2019
ISBN:1524408417
Source: We received copies from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Purchase: Amazon | Deseret Book
No comments:
Post a Comment