A unique and interesting series in which the main character must take over her deceased father’s business and solve a mystery. The descriptions and character development are good but my mind wandered at times.

Did not finish, no rating. I didn't realize this was part of a trilogy. Tried to get into the plot without reading the first, but felt confused without any connection to the main character.

To begin with, I haven't read the first book in this series, but other than a little bit of confusion to start with, it did not affect my enjoyment of this book, but I'm sure it would be much easier to start the series from the beginning.

If you have never read a book by a Danish author, then you may feel like the writing is cold or detached, but that is far from true, I personally find it enjoyable as it's refreshing and direct, but then again I also listen to a lot of podcasts about Scandinavia.

But on to the story; when Ilka Jensen estranged father died it came as a shock to her, but she gave up her life in Denmark and flew to America to take over the funeral home that she inherited...but what she didn't expect was meeting her a stepmother and 2 half-sisters that she never knew had existed, or the nasty reception that she gets from them. But Ilka perseveres and tackles running her father's funeral home. But nothing is how it seems, and now Ilka life is in danger!

I was really impressed with Her Father's Secret, especially as Sara Blaedel is a new author to me. But I truly enjoyed everything, from the writing to the plot and the characters, it's certainly an edge of your seat kind of a book, this is defiantly a series that I want to finish!

While not near the level of the great books by Sara Blaedel I have read in the past, Her Fathers Secret is not a bad book. As a young lady takes over her dead fathers funeral home there is about four different stories going on at the same time. Ends on a cliffhanger. This is book 2 of 3,

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy.

I recommend this thrilling series to any fans of the genre.

Summary from Goodreads:

"After suddenly inheriting a funeral home from her father--who she hadn't heard from in decades--Ilka Jensen has impulsively abandoned her quiet life in Denmark to visit the small town in rural Wisconsin where her father lived. There, she's devastated to discover her father's second family: a stepmother and two half sisters she never knew existed. And who aren't the least bit welcoming, despite Ilka's efforts to reach out.
Then a local woman is killed, seemingly the unfortunate victim of a home invasion turned violent. But when Ilka learns that the woman knew her father, it becomes increasingly clear that she may not have been a completely random victim after all.
The more Ilka digs into her father's past, the more deeply entangled she becomes in a family drama that has spanned decades and claimed more than one life--and she may be the next victim..."

My Thoughts:

Her Father's Secret was an enjoyable read that has me itching to pick up the previous book in this series. Yep, I started yet again in the middle of a series. In this case it was only book two but it still seems as I never read in order. I will admit that it took me a few chapters to really get into this book. It may have been the fact that I jumped in without having read that first book (I do honestly believe that was the reason). It just took me a bit to catch on to what was going on and what had happened. But before long I found myself just caught up within the mystery of Ilka's father and the life he had led in this small Wisconsin town. I loved the fact that this book felt very real to life. Ilka is struggling financially after basically inheriting all of her father's debt and trying to figure out if she should close the business he left of her because of it. This isn't something that is just mentioned and then forgotten either; instead, it played a prominent role throughout the book. It just felt so real to life for me which kept me reading wanting to see how everything would work out. I felt this attachment to the funeral home that her father had left Ilka because it was really the only thing that she had left of her father. This was a book that I took my time with and just enjoyed. It didn't feel like a book that needed to be rushed in the slightest, so I just let the author pull me along for the ride. I enjoyed every minute of it! That being said, the ending was much more surprising than I expected. It left me seriously wishing for (and looking forward to) the third book in this series! But first I think that I had better go back and see how this all started with that first book I missed.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book and am eager to continue on with this series. I'm kind of kicking myself though because I have had this author's books on my TBR list for awhile now. I feel like I've been missing out not having read them. Once I finish the first book in this series, I will give her other series a try too! I do think that readers should probably try reading this series in order. While it didn't end up effecting my enjoyment overall, it did take me time to really catch on to what was happening with this book and the why's at first because I hadn't read that first book. This is a quieter mystery and one that I would almost label as a domestic mystery. Don't let that description deter you though because it was really good! I'm super excited to have finally given this author a try and that I have more books to look forward to. I would recommend this book to both mystery and suspense fans. Recommended!

Bottom Line: A mystery that I took my time with - it was perfect to cozy up with and enjoy over long afternoons and evenings!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher. Thoughts are my own.

Start off by saying this book is part of a series and you need to read the first one before this one. I am a huge Sara Blaedel fan. I can say I'm am not totally invested in this series as I am her other series. This one is falling alittle flat for me, but I will continue to read anything she writes.

This is my first Sara Blaedel book and it was a hard read for me - so hard, in fact, that I did not finish it. It felt a little all over the place - I understand that this is the second in the series but I have read "out of order" before and have not had trouble.
Thank you to Sara Blaedel, Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The first thing you should know is this is not a standalone, it’s a cliffhanger, except I won’t be reading any subsequent books because I had a tepid response to this one.

Ilka is called from Denmark to Racine, Wisconsin, when a father who abandoned her mother and her a long time ago has left her his funeral home in his will. Many mysteries are presented, and some answers are revealed, but I never felt burning tension. That feeling of HAVING to turn the page to find out what happens next. I thought it was interesting that Ilka was from Denmark, but I didn’t really care about anyone and or anything that happened.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book not only picks up pretty much right where the previous book left off, but it also does a great job filling in the reader about how things went in book one. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to read book two right after I finished book one, but for those that read the first book and didn’t have all the details in mind this book does well to catch you up.

I also really appreciated how Ilka grows and develops as a character. In the first book she was a bit lost and trying to find her way, in this book I liked getting into her flaws, her past, and watching her get to learn the truth while trying to make the most of her current situation.

My favorite aspect of this story was watching the plot unfold and the secrets come to light. It was great getting to follow Ilka into dangerous situations to learn who to trust and why, as well as who might be untrustworthy and just how cutthroat they can be. Ilka and her sister Amber have interesting bonding moments and I really hope to see more of them in book three. The twists were again unexpected and while I wasn’t sure why Ilka gives everyone a chance from the start, it was nice to see how each secondary character had an honest side to match their perceived dark or mysterious side.

The mystery in this story is well woven into her father’s storyline which was nice. The previous mystery in book one was interesting but it didn’t feel as woven into the story (now that I think more it was but not as directly as it could be), so seeing the mystery connected to the main plot was very cool. There were some big reveals which could have had more of an impact, but there were a few times I was wide eyed and shocked at what I had just read because I didn’t see the twist coming at all.

I would definitely recommend this book to those that have read The Undertaker’s Daughter because there are tons of answers to the questions that arise in book one. I would also recommend this book to readers that enjoy character driven mysteries with family drama, blackmail, and tension from beginning to end. I appreciated that this book resolved some of the previous issues in the last installment, but also ramps up for the big finale.

In the second book of this new series by Sara Blaedel we follow the character Ilka Jensen. Ilka has been faced with the hardship of losing her estranged father. Ilka moves from Denmark to Wisconsin to handle the failing funeral business her father left behind. Wisconsin is where she finds a half family she never knew about, and blackmail letters addressed to her father from a woman named Maggie. This is the start of family drama with many surprises along the way.

This was a fast paced read which I found a little different than the Louise Rick series by Blaedel I also love. A lot of surprises which kept me on my toes! I did not read the first book in the series, and feel as if I missed some key information. This story would have been more enjoyable if I started from the beginning!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for my review copy.

This is the second book of the series, Ilka. Since I have not read the first book I felt a little lost. I would encourage readers to read, The Undertaker's Daughter before reading this book to fully understand the background. Ilka is trying to sell the family funeral home which is in poor financial shape after her father's death. All kinds of family secrets come out during this story and the reader is left with a surprise at the conclusion to encourage reading the next installment.

I am a huge Sara Blaedel fan and was very excited when I heard her speak about this book at last fall’s Bouchercon. An added bonus was that I have visited Racine to visit friends. But, I could not bear to finish this mess of a book. Everything seems flat, thin and cliched about it. I wish she had written about the American funeral business with the same knowledge and enthusiasm with which she spoke about it. Her Father’s Secret is a big disappointment.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was not up to the authors normal standards. It was very slow and I did not really like the characters. It did have some twists and turns.

I've read almost all of Blaedel's books and liked most of them. However, as with many in this genre, the books are becoming tedious and repetitive, as if Blaedel has a "story board" and just keeps moving different characters around the same plot in different settings. But that's okay for quick easy reads in the dead of winter.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An utter disappointment on every level.. I’m a big Blaedel fan, but this book and series is such a waste of time. It’s boring, and nothing rings true for me here. The characters are cliche cartoons, and the book just seems stuck. Sadly a miss, for this otherwise terrific writer.

I read The Undertaker's Daughter by Sara Blaedel last year and liked it.

Unlike her Louise Ricks series, Blaedel has set her Ilka Jensen series in Racine, Wisconsin instead of Denmark . When Ilka was about seven, her father abandoned his family in Denmark and moved to the U.S. where he started a new family. Ilka never came to terms with the desertion of her beloved father.

When he died, Paul Jensen left his funeral home to Ilka, and she flew to Racine to finalize the estate and maybe find out more about her father. The first book details her meeting with her father's new family (who reject her) and the problems concerning the sale of the funeral home. Oh, and a disappearing corpse and a decade old murder.

In Her Father's Secret, Ilka continues to face difficulties involving selling the funeral home. Worse, there is so little money available that even getting through pre-paid funerals is a challenge. Ilka has found blackmail letters to her father from a woman named Maggie; someone is following Ilka; a feud between two wealthy and influential men becomes more threatening; Ilka's half-sister is seriously injured and her horses stolen; a woman is killed in a home invasion; and a boatload of uncomfortable and dangerous family secrets make this book much more suspenseful than the first book.

A couple of unexpected twists at the end make me eager to read the next book.

NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing
Mystery/Suspense. Mar. 5, 2019. Print version: 320 pages.