Nadia Armstrong, a teenage runaway and single mother is found dead at a construction site. It is assumed by most that she jumped to her death. Major Crimes is called in to determine if it was a suicide or murder. Detective Kala Stonechild is taking care of her niece, Dawn. Dawn is not only secretly talking with her newly paroled father, but her friend is now dating an older man, who has set his sites on Dawn.
I enjoyed reading the book, with all the twists and turns, but didn't realize there were five prior installments. I plan to read them, reread this one and hope there are more to follow! I have recommended this book to friends, it can be a stand-alone, but have recommended they read the first five before this one.

I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

A well done procedural. I'd not read the earlier books in this series but that didn't hamper my enjoyment. Major Crimes is investigating the death of a young woman and the case opens more old wounds than they anticipated. Each member of the squad stands out. This one kept me guessing.

I haven't read anything by this author before, but I enjoyed this one so much, I will make a plan to read some more now. This was a well written read, and recommended.

I was a bit confused reading this book.. not realizing that it was sixth in the series! I enjoyed the mystery, but I think I would connect to the story and characters more if I read the other books.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the 6th book in the Kala Stonechild series, "Turning Secrets".

I have enjoyed this series very much, so the opportunity to read a pre-release copy was too good not to take advantage of.

Stonechild and Rouleau and their 'merry band' are investigating the apparent suicide of a young woman, Nadia Armstrong, a woman who came to Kingston to turn her life around, and who has left behind a small child, and a family that really didn't seem to know her.

At the same time, Kala's adopted daughter Dawn's father has been released from prison and wants to reconnect with his daughter; but he's in trouble himself and doesn't know how long he's got with his daughter before he has to move on.

Dawn's friend Vanessa has herself a new boyfriend, but he's very mysterious, and Vanessa is not really acting like she's happy; then Dawn is accidentally brought into 'Leo's' orbit and finds herself in a precarious situation.

Of course, there are the usual subplots galore: Woodhouse is still leaking sensitive information to reporter Marci Walker who is herself wondering where her relationship with Rouleau is going; and Kala and Gunderson are still dancing around their own relationship (with continuing roadblocks supplied by his ex-wife).

This is a satisfying mystery, and advances the stories of all of the regular characters. I understand that there is only one more book in this series, and I will be sad to see the end - but I look forward to the next one.

thank you for the opportunity to read this book and I really enjoyed it. not what i thought it was but i still liked it and was well written, not heard of this author before but will look out for more

Thank you again NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I wish i recognized that it was a book from a series but it was not hard to read either way. A Thriller is a Thriller to me. It is like missing days of a soap opera that you always watch...you will eventually pick up what is going on. It was not exceptional as I enjoy a great thriller but it was good enough to keep my attention.

Thank you again.

"Former teenage runaway and new single mother Nadia Armstrong moves to Kingston to turn her life around. But six months after she rents a low-end apartment, her body is found on a concrete slab at an isolated construction site."

-I had a hard time getting too much into the book, I found out that this was part of a series of books ( my bad) but I couldn't get into the writing style. Maybe I will go back and read the other books? Who knows!?!?!

My Rating : 4.25
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Thank you so much Netgalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.
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When I requested this book for review, I didn't realize this was a part of a series and that too the 6th book! So I was quite skeptical about the plotline since I would be missing 5 books worth of it. Turns out, it's not actually a series and like any murder mystery novel, it's following our detectives and deals with different cases.
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First of all, the plot of this book was really interesting and I have to give kudos to the author for the placement of the events that gave a really good vibe! I am a huge fan of murder mysteries and I was surprised at times by the way the scenes were described or the way the flow of the story went !
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Second of all, can we just talk about the writing and the ending? Not to spoil, but I think I am going to start with the first book and read every single book in the series to satisfy my little brain and give me some hangover cure! But that doesn't mean it wans't quite predictable at times and few characters were very cliche.
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Overall, this book had an amazing amount of gripping effect, the plotline was amazing, the way the story flowed was really good and the characters were all needed whenever they were and not just over used. If you are a fan of murder mysteries or not, I definitely recommend reading this book to just enjoy the feel of it !

Brilliantly adapted from current serious crimes our society faces today.

Paul Gundersund and Kala Stonechild part of a police investigative team have a complicated relationship evident from the beginning of the book. They have the body of a girl that has been found and the head of major crimes Rouleau keeps them to a tight investigative schedule.

The dead girl turns out to be a former teenage runaway and single mother Nadia Armstrong who came to Kingston to make a new life for herself. It is up to the team to find out if it is a suicide, murder or more sinister.

While the investigation unfolds, other subplots are being played out. Stonechild's niece Dawn is secretly communicating with her father, who is on parole and has appeared in town. Dawn's friend Vanessa is playing a dangerous game with an older man who is a predator. To add to the subplot, someone in the department is leaking information. It gets quite complex to follow all the characters.

The crime investigation itself is excellent reading as the plot unfolds. The stories of the lives are the major crimes unit also have a sub-plot that makes you want to know how their lives unfold and what happens to them. I believe it is worth following the whole series to keep up with the characters.

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I had no idea this was #6 in a series and I usually try to avoid reading series, however, this book worked well as a stand alone book. Do not be put off by the #6 thing. Go for it! It was riveting, fast, and written extremely well. I think I might want to keep following this series too!

A woman’s body is discovered on a construction site and death appears to be by suicide. Teagan McPherson is concerned when her young neighbor doesn’t collect her baby after a night out. When she files a report with police the two events are linked and police instincts lead them to consider it should be a murder investigation.
Sixth in the Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural series this covers underage prostitution and trafficking of young women. You can this by itself but why wouldn’t you want to try more.
Some of the law enforcement characters include Gundersund who has separated from his wife and is still in love with her, Stonechild who is good at hiding her true feelings and hopes the man she loves will soon be free to be with her and Rouleau is head of major crimes and in a relationship with a crime reporter. These and several others are well fleshed out by the author and play interesting parts in this police procedural thriller story
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I started reading Turning Secrets this morning and found myself reading constantly throughout much of the day. What a compelling story.

A young woman, new to Kingston, Ontario, has been found dead at the base of a hotel being built in the city. What initially appears to be a cut and dried suicide may in fact be something else. Kala Stonechild and her fellow officers are involved in this investigation which slowly widens in scope.

Meanwhile Kala’s niece Dawn continues with her adjustment to life and school and her new friend. Through this friend, Emily, she has more contact with Emily’s best friends Vanessa and Chelsea. Vanessa, whose parents are involved in a bitter divorce, has been spending a lot of time with a mysterious “older man” she met online. Dawn wonders why no one else sees the changes in Vanessa that she sees.

There are other changes in the city including a new acting police chief which brings Rouleau back to leading cases with his Major Crimes team. And there are so many secrets. Some of them may be innocent but some may be deadly.

This is now my favorite episode of this series which I have enjoyed from the start. It is well written, with characters that continue to develop and compelling plots. I recommend Turning Secrets and the entire Stonechild and Rouleau series.

A copy of this book was provided by Dundurn Press through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The plot and story are OK, even though they are based on too much stupidity. A lot of the descriptions and dialogue seem to be there to fill pages instead of moving things forward, and that makes it very slow.

Full Disclosure, I have not read any other books in this series. That being said Turning Secrets by Brenda Chapman could be a stand-alone book. But for me, I had a hard time getting involved with the characters and even the book itself.

Nadia is a young single mother found dead at a construction site. Everyone assumes its suicide, that she jumped to her death. The Kingston police believe there is foul play, possibly murder. As they dig deeper into Nadia’s background, they discover drugs and prostitution. But who’s leaking information about the case? And who could be this older man Vanessa is dating?

This suspicious death is taking up much of Detective Kala Stonechild’s time. But its’ also taking away time she wants to have with her teenage niece, Dawn, who she is raising while her mother is away in prison. Kala is doing the best she can, trying to balance work and raising a teenager. When one of Dawn’s friends get involved with a new boyfriend, she is drawn into a situation that could be more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. Can the police crack the case or will the same threats follow Dawn and others?

As the case progresses, more disturbing elements come to light. What I found interesting about this book is how the author ties social issues that are often in the news — from drug abuse, prostitution and even high crime rates — by making them more personal with the characters.

When it comes to Chapman’s writing I did have some issues with it. The transitions between chapters were extremely choppy. I had difficulty with where I was in the book and who was talking. While her writing is simple and clean, the flow made this less than enjoyable to read.

I will say one aspect that I really didn’t like was the amount of characters to keep up with. That also goes with the many POVs that changed throughout the chapters, it was hard to know which ones to become invested in. That being said, I haven’t read the other books in this series, so I think there could have been more character building in the earlier books.

Although Turning Secrets by Brenda Chapman moved a bit slow for my taste, it did hold my interest for the most part. I guess it is a typical good cop/bad cop plot, but the story never really wowed me and it left me wanting more. I would recommend checking out the five other books before reading this one, but it does still stand on it’s own. All things considered, Turning Secrets is a decent crime drama with a thought-provoking case. This book will be published on June 4!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dundurn Publishing and Brenda Chapman for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Is it every a good idea to jump into a series at book six? Probably not. Turning Secrets by Brenda Chapman may be the exception to this rule. I requested the chance to read the book based on the summary on NetGalley but I don't think I realized at the time that it was book six in a series. Would I have requested it had I known? Probably not. And that would have been the loss of a fantastic book I didn't know I never read.

This book is fantastic. Even coming in six books in to the world of Kala Stonechild, it is fantastic. It can easily be read as a standalone, because Chapman has included enough explanation of what shaped Kala and her fellow police officers and her niece that nothing was confusing.

I thought I had the story figured out. Some of the clues seemed like predictable plot points in a mystery. I was prepared to be disappointed.

I did not have the story figured out. The seemingly predictable plot points were red herrings meant to throw the reader off. And I was not disappointed.

Reviewing mysteries is always had because I don't want to give up spoilers that might make someone wonder why they should read this good book when they already know X. So what I'll say is this...

- The plot (missing teenagers, crooked politicians, a dead girl with a sketchy background, a lead cop with a history) is excellent
- The setting (Kingston and Toronto in Ontario) is vivid and detailed and very easy to imagine even if you've never been any of those places
- Kala Stonechild, her niece Dawn, Dawn's father... they are all indigenous people and, from my very limited knowledge of indigenous stories, the representation is really good
- The plot twist and the surprise ending were perfectly executed... I thought I knew, I did not

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to track down the earlier books in this series!

(I received a copy of Turning Secrets through NetGalley and Dundurn in exchange for an honest and original review. All thoughts are my own.)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy of this book.

I was a bit concerned since I noticed I have never read any of the other books by this author that I know of nor I had read any in the series. So, I waited a while to pick this up but I noticed I never was getting around to the other books so I thought I might as well go ahead and read it and I am glad it did. It actually did great as a standalone.

I loved the concept of this book so I am curious as to pick up the others books now just to see if I will find any hidden gems in this book that I missed since I had not read the others.

The body of young woman, Nadia Armstrong, is discovered at a construction site, and it is at first thought to be a suicide. Rouleau and his team investigate. While finally it seems that Stonechild's niece, Dawn, has made some friends at school but one of them looks to have problems, is this anything to do with her new and first boyfriend.
Another interesting addition to this good well-written series. The book can easily be read as a standalone though I would recommend reading in order to watch as the characters and their interactions have developed.

Turning Secrets is the 6th book in the 'A Stonechild and Rouleau Mystery' series but it was my first and the fact that I finished reading it in a matter of 2 days (which is very quick for my speed level lol), and my 5* rating speak volumes for the book.

This book deals with two plots running alongside each other. One is the death of a young, single mother, Nadia Armstrong whose body is found on the ground of a hotel construction site. Initially it is ruled as a suicide but as the team of Major Crimes with its lead investigator Kala Stonechild go underway with the investigation, it begins to look like the apparent suicide could actually be murder. As the team get together to solve the case, they have to weave their way through a lot of roadblocks as solving it will bring a lot of skeletons out of the closet of everyone who is remotely connected to Nadia. The second plot deals with Kala's niece Dawn, who is now living with her. Unknown to Kala, Dawn is in contact with her estranged father Fisher, who is out on parole and at the same time Dawn becomes a target of Leo, one of Dawn's friends Vanessa's boyfriend who has sinister motives when it comes to young girls like Dawn and Vanessa. Although each chapter inititally focuses on a different narrative related to a separate character, the author smoothly manages to connect and bring all these separate threads and plots together to a very believable and satisfying conclusion.

A very intelligent and thrilling police procedural with well developed characters and setting. This 6th installment was the first time I heard about this series but after reading it, I can say I am a big fan and have gone ahead and downloaded the first five books in the series since I am now interested to know the back story of all the recurring characters in the book. Superb and highly recommended!

My thanks to NetGalley, Dundurn Press and the author for providing me with an e-ARC of the book.