Let the Dead Lie by W. L. Brooks.
The McKay Series, Book One.
A widower with four adopted daughters, Emmit McKay likes to keep a handle on things. But nothing can prepare the former FBI sharpshooter for the battles coming to his small hometown. Especially the one which arrives in such a tempting package.
A really good read with good characters. I liked the story. 4*.

This is a fast paced, pretty well written romance that actually focuses more on the girls than on the romance. Although I enjoyed Emmit and Savannah, I LOVED the girls! There were definitely moments I felt this was a little over the top because come on, these are children, but I was able to push that aggravation to the side and just enjoy this for what it was. This was a light hearted, family oriented read with a mystery that, if it didn’t actually surprise me, was definitely interesting. I enjoyed it very much!

I could not get into this book and could not finish it.

Loved the McKay girls! I wasn't a fan of Emmit and Savannah. This was a great light romance/mystery. Not a lot of suspense or thrills but a very light easy read. I would recommend you will enjoy the McKay girls !

OMG be prepared to fall in love with 4 little girls who will make you laugh, smile and even bring tears to your eyes. These girls by far steal the show in this book; they are each just as much of a main character as Emmit and Savannah are.

About half way through the book you get to the true suspense part of the book. I have to admit the entire FBI/sniper thing seemed to come out of left field and I struggled with the new piece of information we learned about Emmit as it really didn't sit with the character they introduced thus far.

Emmit really rubbed me the wrong way throughout the book when it came to Savannah. He was hot and cold with her, as if he couldn't decide whether he wanted her. At first you assume this is because of his late wife and the obviously love he still feels for her. However what you learn later changes everything you know but still doesn't explain Emmit's constant back and forth.

Savannah I liked...except one part. But otherwise, my heart broke for her. The way she fell in love with the girls, the way she battled the small town mentality...all of it. I felt for her.

As far as the who did it, that came as a surprise. I hadn't factored him into the picture until a few pages before it was revealed who he was.

The book sort of ends on a cliffhanger. The story itself feels resolved so that's a plus but there's a part that leaves you going hmmmm... I'd be interested to see where the second book in this series picks up. Unless it's with the one of the kids who are now grown up, I can't see reading it. Emmit and Savannah's story has been told, I can't see continuing it beyond this book with them as the primary characters.

Talk about being misled by a cover and a blurb. I had this little gem all figured out as a small town cozy, chaste romance, with maybe a bit of mystery. Boy I missed this one by a mile. My own fault, never judge a book.... Dark secrets, heartbreaking scenes with children, terrible crimes, and hot sex, all in the first chapter. Okay I might by lying about that last part.
New principal, Savannah Walker is challenged by three, then four motherless girls, but nonetheless finds herself totally beguiled by the girls. Same principal strongly attracted to their grieving father, Emmit McKay. Secrets abound and Savannah finds herself caught in the middle. McKay finds himself the target of an escalating series of crimes.
This book was surprisingly good and constantly surprising me. Open mind, insert snobbery. One thing that didn’t surprise me, were the small town portraits. No caricatures, but warmly drawn friends and neighbors. Also, the girls are little scene stealers. I hear W.C. Fields whispering about never acting with children or dogs, so I guess the concept applies to books too.
I am totally furious over the epilogue. How dare Brooks set the hook so strongly for the next book? Think I’m exaggerating? You read it and tell me you aren’t dying to know what happens next, because the set up is a huge shock.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange of a fair and honest review.

I really loved this book! The story is set in a small town filled with a wonderful assortment of small-town personalities—from the school secretary to the local diner owner/waitress. Emmit, a single father, demonstrated great love and affection for his four adopted daughters and Savannah, the new school principal, easily grew to love his girls as well. I was greatly attracted to the unique personalities of the four McKay girls, and especially loved the youngest, Fletcher. The story of this family, and romance of Emmit and Savannah, was a joy to read and with the added mystery/suspense this book was hard to put down. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next book in this series! (I was given a copy of this book for my honest review.)

What a well written, exciting book! Just when I thought it was going to be a simple story of a man with 4 adopted daughters in a small town, it got so exciting, I couldn’t put it down! Loved the characters, especially the girls, and how they interacted. It wasn’t until near the end that you find out who the bad guy was, although It wasn’t too difficult to work it out. I wasn’t sure about how the main character Emmet acted earlier on with the leading lady though... it didn’t seem in line with his character and I couldn’t fathom what he was thinking to act so strangely with her.
I can’t wait to read the next book as we were left with a bit of a cliffhanger!

I loved the McKay girls! Every one of them. They are rough and tough and full of vinegar, except Alex…uh, I mean Alexandra.

Emmit’s wife died three years ago and he is left to raise his four darling daughters. Or as some might think of them, little hellions. When he’s called into the school’s office to conference with the new principal, he is knocked for a loop at the beautiful woman he meets. Savannah is shocked to discover that the gang of miscreants that has the school office in an uproar is actually four sisters. And she’s got the hots for their father. This will never do!

This is a fast paced, pretty well written romance that actually focuses more on the girls than on the romance. Although I enjoyed Emmit and Savannah, I LOVED the girls! There were definitely moments I felt this was a little over the top because come on, these are children, but I was able to push that aggravation to the side and just enjoy this for what it was. This was a light hearted, family oriented read with a mystery that, if it didn’t actually surprise me, was definitely interesting. I enjoyed it very much!

This is an honest review of an advanced copy provided by NetGalley.

Dual POV
Safe
Possible Trigger (view spoiler)
Epilogue wraps up this couple but leaves open the opportunity to tell the girls' stories

Billed as a "romantic suspense", for some reason, I still didn't expect explicit details of sex. My bad, perhaps, but it seems like there should have been some warning. The writing was okay, the story was pretty good, the ending was totally annoying - well, the epilogue, really. Loved the girls, was mostly confused about the adults. Wasn't sorry I read it, except for the 2 sex scenes.

I loved the idea story but the excursionist was lacking. At times the story was a struggle to fully understand due to the verbage (Sp) that was being used. I understand that it was suppose to be a little on the backwoods side but had the author given readers a year in which the story was taking place I think it would have help understand the way people communicate or reacted to certain events.

It is a sweet romance with enough mystery for reader to enjoy. Romance was odd at best of times and confusing. The story didn't flow as well as I had hoped which could be due to editing or the authors writing style.
The author sets the story up to follow the adoptive girls as they turn into women leaving a cliffhanger open to keep readers hooked. If you follow the story well enough the cliffhanger I don't think will be much a of a cliffhanger at all.
While I really wanted to love this book I found the writing style, the editing and lack of time confusing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book for my review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The book is set in a small town called Blue Creek. Emmit McKay , a local hardware store owner and a former FBI agent , returns to his childhood home with his four adopted daughters. Their life take a turn when the town gets a new principal for the elementary and middle school, Savannah Walker. Savannah falls head first in love with the McKay kids and is attracted to their father. But not all is what it seems in the small town. The hardware store is vandalized and the principal is not liked all in the school. As the danger increases for the McKay s and Savannah, will they survive it and come out of it as a family?

Now , after then short introduction to the book, I must mention my favorite characters in this book. The McKay girls, Wow reading the book I fell in love those girls. Let me introduce the girls to you using the author's words: The eldest Casey , 10 yrs, prideful little thing with major superiority complex. The second eldest Alex/Alexandria, 8 yrs, girly girl, extremely prissy with an attitude. Then comes Charlie, 8 yrs, the story weaver and a mother hen. Finally Fletcher, 7 yrs, tomboy and the instigator of any trouble. Of them all my favorite was Fletcher. The girls are way mature for their age and super smart too. They are super protective of their dad and when you read it you will know the extent they go to keep the family safe.

In all, I will definitely recommend this book to others. If you are looking for a decent romance with a little mystery in it, grab this quickly. I am waiting for the next book in the series.

This is a small town romance/mystery.
The book itself, the adult characters and the mystery get 3* it's obvious half way in who the villain or villains are and while I liked Emmit as a father I didn't really like him with Savannah he blew far too hot and cold for me.

It's the McKay girls who completely steel the show, these girls are amazing and the reason for the extra *.
Yes they're OTT I mean seriously these girls could give government covert operations lessons and it's all crazy but it's impossible not to love them.

Emmit McKay is a widower with three soon to be four adopted daughters. Casey, ten years old, Alexandra, eight years old, Fletcher, seven years old and the soon to be new addition Charlie who's eight years old.

Raising four hellions isn't easy but Emmit loves them with all his heart and it's so rewarding and he's happy.

Savanna is the new school principal and she's no idea what's going on when she first meets the McKay girls. She soon finds herself falling in love with them and their far too handsome father.

There's some small town quirky characters and it's an enjoyable read but one of the reasons I don't often read romance mysteries is it's always so easy to work out the villain and I like to have to work for it.
I have to say the ending was too abrupt for my taste with a large jump in time but I suppose it's getting the reader ready for the next book.
I'd decided while reading that even though I was enjoying it I wasn't going to continue on since the best part of the book was the girls and I wasn't really interested in any other town characters but it looks like the next book is about the girls so sign me up.

I voluntarily read a review copy kindly provided by NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press Inc.

Let the Dead Lie by W.L. Brooks
The McKay Series #1

Complex, intriguing, small town story that includes family, friends, romance, deceit, mystery and suspense…this was a story that kept me reading and kept some twists for the end.

Emmit is a man who loves his daughters. He is raising them on his own having been widowed a few months before the story begins. Four unique, headstrong, tenacious and precocious girls that are unusual, to say the least, and have bonded to create an unbreakable force to be reckoned with are the stars of this story. Into the lives of Emmit and his daughters steps Savannah Walker – new school principal. Her first encounter with the sisters during the first week of school is…interesting. Her encounter with their father…even more interesting. Her encounters with others provide background and fodder for the storyline.

The story is fast-paced, action-packed, charming, endearing and has a small town cozy feel to it with a bit of the backwoods in dialogue and behavior, at least at times. The bad guy is not revealed till the very end and is done with a bit of drama. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading the second book in the series to find out if the questions I had related to a letter will be revealed. I did think the ending a bit abrupt with a significant time span leapt over but all in all this was an interesting and entertaining book.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press, Inc. for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars