Daryl Wood Gerber, Agatha Award recipient, releases her second stand-alone thriller, Day of Secrets. Chase Day, who has for most of his life (31 years), considered himself an orphan, discovers his mother is alive, and while witnessing her murder, she admonishes him with her dying breaths to find his father and warn him that he is in danger. Chase drops everything to investigate and finds himself in danger, wondering if he will lose his life to fulfill his mother’s wishes. He doesn’t know whether or not to trust the people he comes in contact with as he tries to solve the mystery and get to the bottom of things.

Gerber is a prolific author, and many of her novels are in the cozy genre; they are fun, humorous, and light. Day of Secrets is very different, and while her thriller savvy is developing, aren’t quite on the level of her award winning books. For instance, Chase does some things that aren’t really plausible and are out of character for a successful person, (he was a Naval officer, and is presently a college history professor). He is a fairly liberal professor and his job is on the line, so this investigation makes him even more likely to lose his job.

Gerber has a good writing style, develops her characters well, and knows how to build suspense and keep the interest of her readers. Parts of the novel will keep readers on edge, and, as is essential for a good thriller, the dénouement will be unexpected. The novel is suitable for all ages, and has no graphic violence, language, or sex.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Former U.S. Navy lieutenant turned history professor Chase Day is shocked to get a phone call from his mother Sybil whom he thought had died in a fire more than 30 years ago. Chase goes to the trailer where they once lived and finds her there barely alive. Chase tussles with her apparent assailant who gets away. Sybil asks Chase to save Luther, the father he never knew, before she dies. The police don't believe his story of what happened so Chase is determined to find Luther on his own.

Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her various cozy mystery series, but this stand-alone is a thrilling read with frantic action to keep the reader on edge to the end.

I received a free book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was another exciting suspense novel by Daryl Wood Gerber who also writes several popular cozy mystery series.
Chase Day grew up living with his grandmother believing his mother had died in a fire when he was a young child. Soon he'll learn that nothing is as he thought. He must decide who he can trust to help him get to the bottom of the secrets that have been kept from him his whole life. That is if he survives long enough to find out.
Filled with twists & turns with an exciting conclusion, Day of Secrets is definitely a page turner. thought it was great. Ms.Gerber shows she has what it takes to make it in the suspense genre. I enjoy the fact that there isn't any graphic violence or bad language.

Disclosure: A review copy of this book was sent to me by the author. All of the opinions are my own.

This is a stand alone thriller from beloved cozy author Daryl Wood Gerber. Within the first few pages I cancelled my day and could not stop reading. This is non stop action and suspense from page one. The author has written a masterful thriller that is fast paced and kept my pulse racing. I appreciated the excellence in plot building suspense and how each clue kept me guessing.
I loved it and the main character who is deeply flawed but determined to heal himself and find answers to the mystery surrounding his life. Excellence in reading without violence or curse words is truly wonderful and a welcome change from most thrillers of today. I hope the author considers continuing this into a series. A excellent fiction debut !
I highly recommend Day of Secrets for your reading enjoyment.
I appreciate the ARC which did not influence my personal review of this book.

“I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.
Benjamin Franklin


Chase The Day, yes, that’s the first, middle, and last name of the lead character in Day of Secrets by Daryl Wood Gerber that I had the displeasure of reading. There were so many things wrong with this book: cardboard characters, beginning with the lead, an hyper-masculinized doofus we are supposed to believe is a history professor whose speciality is war but loves going to anti-war rallies. Same character was five years old when his mother died. Fast forward thirty-one years later when his phone rings and his dead mother says a few sentences asking for help. He just knows it’s her! He remembers her voice!
Implausible to say the least.

Then there’s the omniscient character, Manuel. Manuel knows everything or can find it on the Internet. Even if someone disappeared over thirty years ago! Then there’s the matter of the author conveniently writing in things as the characters need them: Chase Day finds himself in the woods and wants to be hidden. No problem! Just write that the omniscient Manuel gave Chase a camouflage jacket. Problem solved. There are multiple instances of characters needing something, and wham, write a sentence and there it is.

Let’s revisit implausible events. The majority of characters have no problem putting their jobs and lives on hold for days on end, and it seems everyone at some point loaned their car to Chase. And then Chase, history professor and ex-Navy man, has this great ability to remember details with just a cursory glance. Why he can look at the names of five people and immediately commit to memory their names, addresses and phone numbers easily recalled hours later.

But the major flaw of the book was the plot. From just a few random spoken words, Chase manufactures a story about his mother and spends the entire book getting to the bottom of it. I can safely say no one would ever make these leaps. It’s ridiculous. I also think the author had a hidden political agenda that surfaced every once in a while and certainly informed the storyline. I suppose if this political view matches yours, all is good. I found it short-sighted and provocative.


I received a copy of this book from NetGalley to review. My opinion is my own.

Exciting. Fast-paced and suspense-filled adventure. Chase, the mentally bruised hero of this tale, becomes physically bruised and battered throughout, while his mental issues are resolved. I have thoroughly enjoyed the cozy mysteries written by Daryl Wood Gerber. Her stand-alone adventure is a winner. As with cozies, there is no foul language or sex. I appreciate an action book without those two issues.

I couldn't put this down. A really good easy read and very well written.

Day of Secrets is another absolutely riveting book by author Daryl Wood Gerber (the first being last year's Girl on the Run), who is best known for her cozy mystery series, but as of late has been branching out into the suspense genre. In a nutshell, Chase, our protagonist is a former Navy man, now history professor, and must overcome the trauma of his past to find and save the father he never knew, all while trying to keep a vital document out of enemy hands. Fast-paced, and quite the page turner. (Side note: it's so refreshing to read a suspense book without lots of violence and profanity!!!) I highly recommend Day of Secrets to one an all, even those who are not traditional suspense readers. This is a very well-written story and I was on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last. A+

This is a good mystery with lots of old secrets. Old secrets that kill. It is quite the roller coaster ride. Chase's mother died when he was five and he never knew his father. Then one day he gets a call from his mother. By the time he got to her, she had been shot. She stayed alive long enough to tell him to protect his father. Now he is trying to find his father and the reason for his mother's murder. An old girlfriend shows up and he isn't sure she can be trusted. He relies on his friends, but he isn't sure he can even trust the police. He needs to unravel the old mystery to keep his father, friends and grandmother safe.

I was drawn into this book quickly. Gerber is very skilled at catching your attention and keeping it and I enjoy the grittier feel of this book. Gerber's usual genre are Cozy Mysteries, which I also love.
Chase has so many secrets that he didn't know the answers to and this book follows him as he tries to figure them all out. A surprising ending, action, and well written storyline will make you look forward to the next book this talented author writes.

Day of Secrets is an action packed, suspense filled, riveting book. I was glued to this story, could not put it down, and didn't want it to end. Chase Day is facing many obstacles trying to get answers to his past. I experienced every emotion reading this book. It was fast paced, and kept me on the edge of my seat. Daryl Wood Gerber is a multifaceted author and I highly recommend this book.

This is Daryl's second foray into fiction and there is no stopping her, in just a few sentences she is able to bring her characters to life. In Day of Secrets, main character Chase has lived his life with the knowledge that his mother died when he was a child. After finishing work one day he receives a phone call and surprise it's his mom and she needs his help. Chase rushes to help this woman to whom he thought was dead and his world is turned upside. Follow along with Chase as he learns where his mom has been, who his father really is, and so much more. Chase finds himself needing to figure out the truth to all his unanswered questions and why so many secrets. I loved the writing style of this book and finished it in one sitting. Daryl really knows how to draw you into a story and keep your attention there. I look forward to more from her.