Morgan becomes a detective due to her need to solve the murder of her best friend from school. Book was full of twists and turns, and the identity of the killer was a twist from the top shelves. Recommended.

WOW! If your looking for a great mystery novel this is it! when two best friends Morgan and Fey spend the summer together neither one of them expect for a murder to occur. Especially not a murder involving one of them, when Fey is found dead Morgans world is turned upside down. Years pass and still Morgan is haunted by her friends murder. However Morgan knows that her best friend held secrets before she passed away when all of a sudden a women is found dead Morgan can't help but notice this body is very similar to how Fays body was. This novel was EVERYTHING I loved all the detail that was put into this book really made it spectacular. As well as the multiple themes that are weaved into this book such as forbidden love and sexual obsession.

I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books and the Netgalley website for allowing me to read this book.

It features the two best friends Morgan and Fay who want to make the most of it together before they go to university. Fay is shy, her mother dominates her and Morgan is her perfect yang. Except fay's about to be murdered. Morgan's going to be upset.

Later, still as upset as ever, she'll try to find out more about her friend and find out she had a secret. Now, as a homicide detective, she'll be investigating on her own. Until one day she is called to a crime scene that reminds her very much of her best friend's crime scene. She was waiting for that to happen before the investigation was reopened. She's going to realize that she didn't know her that well after all.

A book read in one go, so much so that I hung on to the story, so moving in certain passages, addictive, captivating, full of suspense and twists and turns with endearing characters. I can't wait to read more of this author's books because I love her addictive writing so much.

This copy of the book didn't download properly for me, which is a shame because I was looking forward to reading this. I will get myself a paper copy of this when I can get it in my region.

What do you do when your best school friend gets murdered and the crime is left unsolved? You become a cop and try to find the killer.
At least that's what Morgan Jewell did.
When a woman is found dead, Detective Jewell works tirelessly to find the killer, thinking it's linked to her friends murder.
While I enjoyed this book, I found it quite slow at times. This was a pretty gripping thriller with a very unexpected twist.
My first from this author but I look forward to reading more.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book but I did find it a touch slow and a bit repetitive. Those who read a lot of thrillers likely won’t find anything different in this one.

I absolutely loved this book, I was hooked right from the start, a true page Turner.

Morgan and fay were beat friends in highschool but before they got to college fay was found dead. Years later Morgan is a homicide detective a journey she chose due to this experience. Morgan discovers a case eerily similar to fays. Will she ever discover wgat happened to fay?

Plus it has a total twist ending that i absolutely did not see coming

Thank you @Netgalley for this ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This title just wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not the biggest fan of detective heavy mysteries but the synopsis drew me into this one. It just seemed a bit slow in the parts that, In my opinion, needed to happen quicker.

I would love to give this author another chance, though!

This was a ferociously twisty thriller. I couldn’t put it down.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Morgan & Fay are best friends they tell each other everything. Morgan is the wild one Fay is quieter. They are enjoying their last summer before they go to college. Morgan is at an award ceremony her friend takes a photo she sends it to Morgan. Morgan can’t believe her eyes in the background is her husband David who went missing two years ago but it can’t be him because Morgan killed him. More strange things start happening. The story is told by Morgan in the past & present . Can all that Morgan says be believed . This book kept me hooked to the end with a brilliant ending.
Thanks NetGalley y could this be the lead she needs. Will she finally find out who killed Fay.
Great read
Thanks NetGalley

Tracey S. Phillips writes a hugely engrossing and entertaining début novel.

Homicide Detective Morgan Jewell is obsessed with finding out who murdered her best friend Fay Ramsey sixteen years ago. Her desire to obtain justice for Fay is so great that she starts to link other killings with similar M. O. 's to Fay’s death. Against the will of partner Detective Donnie James and in spite of his best efforts to rein her in, the present day murder of Hallie Marks reignites Morgan’s theory of what happened to Fay as Morgan unremittingly and arduously searches for information that will, at long last, bring Fay’s killer to justice.

Tracey S. Phillips delivers an unstoppable and exuberant psychological thriller with a toxic concoction of disturbing memories and deep, dark secrets. The novel’s great strength is in the way the author weaves past and present. The final scenes deliver a mind-blowing and shocking twist that I didn't predict.

Best Kept Secrets is a cracking story and a book that I revelled in all the way through bringing no disappointments. An awesome read which I'm very happy to recommend and also award five stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I was given this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The plot of this book was good enough. What got me was the pacing. I felt that it was so slow in some places and it lasted a while. For a thriller, I found it no thrilling at all. There wasn't any of the anticipation that normally comes with the genre for me. It also felt repetitive due to the main character, Morgan, holding such an obsession over the murder of her best friend from high school. The actual plot I did like. The mystery aspect was there and unlike a lot of mysteries I've read, I didn't know how this book would end. So in that regard, I think of it as a success.

I really liked certain parts where Morgan showed a glimpse of Fay, and the synopsis had pulled me in for the fall feels. I love to read thrillers in the fall 💛🍁


The plot seemed to go way different than expected, but still in range and I stayed up a bit later to find out what happened next. There was a pov shift that at first was weird and interesting, and I'd wanted to see where it would go.


The said character that we start to see more of is more unsettling as we go on, but this character also has some intriguing flashbacks and memories that reveal more with each turn of the page.




Character-wise, Morgan didn't connect for me but I did still like her as a protagonist.

Donnie was wonderful, and I really wish that Rob and Morgan had ended up together somehow!

There were very few characters that I cared for, and the other pov character was definitely not one. I wasn't sure at first what role she was playing, but eventually, it clicked!



This book is about two women that each has kept secrets very well, and parts of their lives with those secrets are now enter-twining. One is a detective hunting for the murderer of her best friend, and the other holds some very dark secrets and harsh past.


A page-turning thriller for a cozy day in fall!

3 stars!

WOW ! A chilling and brilliantly written thriller with disturbing secrets !! Loved this book and can't wait for the next book ! I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review this book ! #Netgalley # CrookedLaneBooks

Right from the start, I liked Morgan. Strong and confident. I enjoyed the timeline jumps and it made me look for clues like I’m a detective too.

Morgan became a police officer because her best friend Fay was murdered - killed brutally the summer before they started college. She's been trying to solve that crime for years and now, suddenly, another young woman- Hallie- is found with her face smashed in same way Fay's was. This sets Morgan off in an effort to link a pattern of murders over a 20 year period, which her partner Donnie thinks is futile. At the same time, we're reading Caryn's story, sort of; she's got secrets and no spoilers as to why her chapters alternate with Morgan's. This is a little slow in spots but the characters are good and the mystery itself sufficiently twisty. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

3 1/2 ⭐️‘s
After Morgan’s dear friend Fay was killed on the eve of their departure for college, Morgan pulled herself out of her deep depression, changed her major and entered college to get a degree in criminology. She vowed to find Fay’s killer. Sixteen years later a case with enough of the same criteria has finally landed in her lap. Could they be related? Will she finally find justice for Fay? Phillips debut novel is well crafted, but could be hard to follow for some as the transitions from past to present were choppy at times. Told in the alternating voices of two women with secrets, Phillips draws the reader in as those secrets slowly unfold with the biggest twist left until the final page. Phillips does a nice job with this police procedural and I wouldn’t mind reading more cases involving Donnie and Morgan.

Best Kept Secrets is told in a present-past-present timeline, much like many other thrillers. The main character, Morgan, became a detective due to her decades long obsession with solving the murder of her childhood/teenage best friend.

The author tosses in a lot of red herrings and suspects to keep readers guessing. Unfortunately, the identity of the main killer wasn’t even slightly hard to figure out. The book’s main twist at the end wasn’t exactly a shock, either. The best, most effective surprise came with the revelation of Morgan’s true relationship with her friend, Fay.

Many of the characters in this book come from fractured backgrounds and have developed messed up coping mechanisms. Obsession is a common theme, and the author does use it to showcase how easily someone’s life can go flying off the rails.

Overall, I found the story and its execution to be only okay. Those who have read a lot of thrillers probably won’t find much new here, but newcomers to the genre will likely enjoy the twists.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

Best Kept Secrets will be a hit with those who love thrillers.
It was a good book overall.. . i just found it to be a tad bit slow and choppy at times.

Morgan is obsessed with finding her best friend's killer. She even becomes a police detective to help solve the case... similar cases start to pop up, and she finds herself closer and closer to solving it.

3-4 stars, could’ve been a solid 4 or even 5, but found it to be a bit too slow in many parts. Overall, I think it was a good read, but found it easily set aside to work on another book, which doesn’t really make it a favorite of mine. I thought it was pretty well written, but did seem a bit chopped up and out of order or something at times. Overall, I think those with a love for thrillers will enjoy this book.
I’ll make sure to rave it up!