Secrets Never Die is a mystery full of intrigue, danger, a dash of romance, action and lots of interconnecting parts. The main characters and the plot are very interesting. I couldn't put all of the pieces together to solve it and appreciated the way the author showed the solution through dialogue. If you like mysteries, I think you'll enjoy this one. It does raise the question of how much is too much to sacrifice for the greater good. I received an ARC. I chose to write a review and share my opinion.

This book took me a little while to learn all the characters and get into the story but once I did I was hooked. The mystery and suspense of the book had me glued to the story. I could not put the book down. There were so many twist and turns in the book that kept me guessing who was a good guy and who wasn’t.

Laurie (L C) Lewis' suspense novel Secrets Never Die guarantees the reader a roller coaster ride of emotions. Rich, believable characters and beautiful settings bring the story to life. Main character Tallie suddenly finds herself at a crossroads, deciding whether to disappear into a new identity or face some painful revelations that just might rock her world. Lewis provides a balance of psychological suspense and action. Fans of suspense thrillers won't be disappointed with the twists and turns they face along the journey. Overall Secrets Never Die proves to be a great read--one you'll have a hard time putting down. My only complaint is that Lewis' plot may be overly complicated with too many details for readers to keep up with--especially as they reach the climax and conclusion--so much so that the ending may seem almost unbelievable. It's almost as if the author tried to include too many subplots wrapped around each other, and in doing so, the great story loses as little and may leave some readers dissatisfied with the way it ends. Still, overall, it's a great, suspenseful read that will likely see me picking up other Laurie Lewis suspense novels in the future.

The publisher provided me with a copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. However, the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

If you like suspense, with some romance thrown in, this book will not disappoint. There is intrigue and mystery right from the start. There are twists right to the end. It is interesting how and why the characters relate to one another or are manipulated together. I don't want to give any spoilers! I highly recommend this book!

Secrets Never Die
by Laurie (L.C.) Lewis


Covenant Communications

Christian , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 01 Jul 2019



I am reviewing a copy of Secrets Never Die through Covenant Communications:


Tallie Brown’s Life never made any sense. She was raised in isolation by her Mother Julia. Tallie was dragged from one third world outpost to another until life became more normal seven years ago when her Mother took a position on a mountaintop in the Pacific Northwest. When Julia does suddenly and unexpectedly Tallie learns her Mother may have had a secret life.


Jackson James, Journalist Phenom is still recovering from the mistake that flatlined his career that had been full of promise. Now he’s paying the price for his mistake, working as the editor of a syrupy community rag in a Posh D.C Suburb! After the very man who destroys him, drops a lead about a possible D.C Scandal, the reporter sees his chance at redemption and goes to chase the story.



Jackson’s investigation takes him to Cutler’s Ridge, a dying Virginia Coal Town and directly into the path of the beautiful Tallie. As the two distrustful loners follow the leads their stories begin to come together until they come to the conclusion something happened on Cutler’s Ridge. As they pursue their stories the town’s cold reception turns violence, proving that some will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden!


If you are looking for a powerful, suspenseful, Christian Novel, Secrets Never Die is just the book!


Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

When Tallie Brown's mother (Julia) dies in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington Tallie finds a letter from her with two choices--"establish yourself in a new place with a new career. You can start fresh, be anything you want, with no past and no baggage." or another option, "Do you want to find answers to the questions you were afraid to ask? Start with the photo. You'll figure the rest out." A file folder with a letter and a faded photo from 21 years ago taken in Cutler's Ridge have the power to send Tallie on a journey that will bring emotional upheaval, and change her life in a way she can't possibly imagine. It's the start of a hunt for answers to questions Tallie has had most of her 22 years.

Jackson James is working at a small local paper in Kensington, Maryland trying to get back on track after a devastating decision ruined his promising journalist career. A mysterious phone call from the someone he never wanted to hear from again sends him to Cutler's Ridge, where he crosses paths with Tallie Brown. For such a small, insignificant little town there are a lot of secrets.

Wow!! This is my first book by this author and it was spellbinding. The mystery and suspense start in the first chapter, but the answers don't come until the last few chapters, and even when the questions are answered the suspense doesn't stop. I've never read a book with so much intrigue, where almost everyone has a secret.

I'm not sure how much I can say in my review without spoiling anything, but if you enjoy suspense this is a great book. I didn't want to stop reading because I had to know how Tallie finding out the truth about her past fit in with the reason Jackson was sent to Cutler's Ridge. I NEVER would've figured it all out. WARNING: You may not want to start reading this book at night--you'll never go to sleep.

Thank you to Covenant Communications via NetGalley for my copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A Well Crafted, Well Written Mystery

Nothing is as it seems in the life of Tallie Brown. Her mother raised her in isolation, teaching her survival skills and living crafts, encouraging perfection in everything she learned. Encouraging her to trust no one, they frequently picked up roots, moving around the world at will. Tallie never learned the reason for her mother’s behavior. Never knew when her life would be rearranged in the blink of an eye. At last, they settled down in the forests of the Pacific Northwest where they have lived for the past seven years.

Then a mystery man comes to visit, her mother dies under strange circumstances, and at 22 Tallie is forced into another unexplained move at the direction of her mother’s final instructions. Without people skills, she struggles communicating her need for answers, and the town of Cutler’s Ridge is doing everything possible to keep the truth from her.

Thank you, Covenant Communications and NetGalley, for offering me a free advance copy of this novel for my honest review.

#SecretsNeverDie #NetGalley

Secrets Never Die is a suspense, that gripped me from the first page and had plenty of twists to the plot to keep me turning pages. Tallie Brown hasn't lived a "normal" life, Tallie and her mom, have moved all over the world. At the start of the story, they are living in Washington, deep in the forest, living in a watch tower. Tallie's mom is private and hasn't shared much with Tallie about her life growing up. When unexpected events happen, Tallie finds herself with unanswered questions and taking everything she owns, in a backpack and her only clue a picture of two people, she doesn't know, she heads to the only place she feels, will give her the answers she needs to find. Her mother's secrets seem to only get deeper and Tallie is determined to find out what her mom was running from. Quick read with a lot of twists.

SECRETS NEVER DIE by LAURIE LEWIS is an exciting suspense novel with some romance, which starts off fast and keeps up the momentum right to the end. Do not start reading too late in the day - I made that mistake - I was not able to put it down!
The story is good and the characters are well portrayed. I especially enjoyed the "Towners", unwelcoming of strangers as they are, but so very true to life!
When Tallie Brown finds the instructions left by her mother, Julia, to be read after her death, she sets off to Cutler's Ridge, armed with a newspaper cutting and lots of questions about her mother and her origens.
The locals are unfriendly and want her to leave town, but she meets three friendly people who help her in her search for the truth, one of whom is Jackson James, a reporter, who also has his secrets.
To all this mystery add military secrets, a plane crash and a psychiatric retreat, and you get a thrilling story, full of twists and turns!
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Covenant Communications. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

This novel was brilliantly written. I really was able to feel for Tallie and her journey of trying to not only discover who she was but also her mother and what they had been hiding and running for all these years. I could really feel her heartache as she discovered the life she was wrenched away from and the life she lived instead. Unfortunately it all came too late and much more was lost for her then when she had started her journey. I would be interested to see if we follow Tallie and her journey into another novel.

When Julia died the authorities ruled it an accident. Tallie believed otherwise, they knew the forest and the cliffs too well to accidentally fall to death. Julia had raised Tallie to be strong, smart, wise and able to defend herself through all situations. Tallie believed it was suicide from the packet of information her mother left giving her two options to take this opportunity to start fresh somewhere else or go to Cutler's Ridge to fill in the blanks in her life. Tallie chooses to go to Cutler's Ridge to try to find out who her mom really was. As soon as she arrives she witnesses a plane crash. A well known mother and daughter died in the crash, but why were they coming to Cutler's Ridge. Is this crash connected to Tallie, will Tallie discover who she really Is and what her mother was trying to hide from?

I would like to thank covenant communications and netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review


You can also find my review on my Instagram www.Instagram.com/teatime_with_a_book and my goodreads

Laurie Lewis is known for her heart-wrenching women's fiction romances, but her new book, Secrets Never Die, is a suspense that is riveting.

We are introduced to Tallie whose mother Julia dies under very mysterious circumstances. After the memorial Tallie starts to uncover deadly secrets with answers that her mother carried to her death. Tallie makes the choice to find the answers herself, and that leads her to Cutler's Ridge and into the path of Jackson James, an investigative reporter who also has some pretty mysterious reasons for going after this story. Can they both find the answers they're seeking before either of them has to pay with their life?

I loved how the author pulls you in from the beginning with the tension of wondering what is really going on in Tallie's life, then slowly, slowly, the reader is lured into this tangle of a mystery until you are caught and HAVE to keep reading. There are several story threads to keep track of, but seeing them come together is one of the payoffs of the novel and the author handles that very well. The tension ratchets up to a nail-biting level until you're turning pages as fast as possible to see what happens! A very enjoyable mystery that will keep you guessing with several unexpected twists and turns.

Intriguing mystery with plenty of twists and turns! Tallie has never lived a normal life. Her mother kept them pretty isolated and on the run. After her mothers sudden death, Tallie, is sent on a journey to find out the answers for the questions she’s always had. Enjoyable read that keeps you guessing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Readers wanting a roller coaster ride of mystery and adventure will love this novel. Raised by a single mother, always moving at a minutes notice, Tally searches for answers when her mother dies. This novel had many twists and turns as readers navigate toward the truth of what happened years ago after a tragic auto accident. What revived a small town in West Virginia? What is the national security risk surrounding Tally? Readers will need to stay to stay alert to sort the many small details and clues. Recommended!

This book is AMAZING and will take you on some twists and turns to find all the answers. Be prepared to be riveted to each page. Such fun writing! I loved how the ending came together. Do no miss out on this one.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Thanks to #Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review purposes. This was my first Lewis novel, and I greatly enjoyed her writing! The suspense story line was unique, and there were many unexpected parts that I did not see coming. For one thing, I never knew that there was actually a "Quiet Zone" where cell phones and radio communication is banned. This shows that this book had a great mix of fiction and fact. I would categorize this is a clean suspense thriller book. By the way, I read this book in a day, so that also says a lot about its enjoyment factor!

Mystery, adventure, romance, family....this book has so much to offer.

I was drawn in from the start. When I first started the book, I thought I knew where it was going. I was so wrong. Then I thought I had the mystery figured out. Wrong again! This book took me on a journey with multiple surprises.

It was different, which gives it bonus points. The romance was a realistic slow burn. I was totally absorbed in the story, and the world that was built.

Tallie has been brought up in a most peculiar way, with the result that by age 22, she holds two masters' degrees, has lived in almost as many different places (and countries) as she is years old, has excellent shooting, tracking and other similar skills, and is utterly socially inept and isolated, having had little contact with anyone but her mother Julia - and that very limited and cold. When Julia dies suddenly, leaving dangerous secrets behind, Tallie is left with a choice: to disappear and take on a new identity as she has done so many times before, or to visit a town called Cutler's Ridge in search of answers, whatever might await her. On her arrival, the secrets do not prove easy to unearth, and a plane crash not only adds to her questions, but introduces Jackson, a young reporter in desperate need of redemption and chasing an important story connected with the plane - and maybe, it seems, with Tallie. Will they each find the answers to the secrets they are investigating? And is it really true that some secrets are best left as secrets?

Wow! I took a little while to get into this, probably largely due to the nature of the story, where so much is hidden - but once I got into Tallie's story, I found it very hard to put down (though also at times impossible not to put down for a minute to think about what's going on). The writing is good, and the suspense/mystery are managed well, with information being revealed gradually but comprehensively. I really felt for almost all of the characters as they and the story unfolded/developed, but particularly (naturally) Tallie and Jackson. Tragic and yet redemptive, the book is definitely not a light read, but is clean and satisfying. Of course, though I call it satisfying, I'd still really love to see more of what Tallie makes of her life after this - a sequel? All in all, highly recommended - but read it when you have plenty of spare time, or you may find you don't get things done!

Note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. This is my considered opinion of the book.

I discovered this author earlier this year and have read one book after another because I like her so much! She has a great writing style and good character development. The other books were romance but this one only had a little romance developing at the end.

I didn't give this book 5 stars because it was a little slow for me in the beginning. I also found a few things a bit too much--both of the main characters had physiological reactions like "hair on his arm stood on end" or hands or legs were "shaking" or "hackles rising" or "trembling" etc. too much. Normally readers don't need that to be spelled out too bluntly. Maybe she wanted the have readers feel that way so she suggests the characters feel it? Most seasoned journalists or individuals (that grew up without a lot of emotional connection) have a way of repressing emotional reactions like these, so it seemed contrived.

Additionally, I also thought the story would have been better if it had develop over months, rather than days (real relationships do take time to form and would have made it more believable) and the author seems to compress time in most of her books, not sure why.

To sum up: this book is a mystery with lots of interesting twists and turns. I highly recommend it!

"Tallie Brown's life has never made 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."

Oh, the "something terrible happened in Cutler's Ridge" is the hook of this book!