Morgan has been obsessed with finding her best friend Faye’s killer. She became a police homicide detective to help herself move forward and give herself closure. Several cases like Faye’s have come to light and Morgan knows she is close to finding the killer.

The book is told between the past and present and from the p.o.v.s of both Morgan and another character named Caryn. The book had a lot of suspense and turns. The end of the book threw me for a loop. I need more information!! I truly hope there are more books in the future.

Good characters, good writing and will definitely keep your attention.

This book is about a woman who is obsessed with finding her best friend's killer. She wants nothing more than to find them and give her friend the justice she deserves. It was such a great book. It kept me wondering who the killer actually was. And such a great twist at the end! I never wanted to put this book down. 5 stars from me!

Best Kept Secrets: A Novel
Tracey S. Phillips
2⭐⭐

Best friends tell each other everything.Even their deepest, darkest secrets--pinky promise.
Right? Morgan Jewell and Fay Ramsey are enjoying their last summer together before college. Fay is shy, with a controlling mother, and Morgan is the perfect, wild, loud-mouthed yang to Fay's yin. But when Fay is found dead, Morgan's entire world crumbles.

Years later, Morgan is still haunted by the abrupt end to her best friend's life. She knew Fay held a secret in those final days, but Morgan, now a homicide detective, has failed to make a picture out of the crooked puzzle pieces she left behind. Nothing makes sense. The leads have run dry. Until she's called to the scene of a murder: a woman whose body is left mangled, too similar to Fay's to ignore.

Could it be? Morgan vowed to do right by Fay. This is the case she's been waiting for to set her back on the killer's trail. But the closer she gets, the harder it forces her to confront the memories of herself and her best friend. What was her secret? What got her killed? Maybe Morgan didn't know her at all.
MY REVIEW :
This psychological thriller will keep you guessing with all the twists and turns right up until the last sentence. There were parts in the story that were rather slow and repetitive in many areas. It also jumped around alot which took away from the book. However the plot and wanting to know the answers kelpt me reading. The dual timelines from the past and present Along with different POV from Morgan and Caryn Make it a little hard to follow. I personally did not like Morgan at all. And the ending ......omg what was that ! I did not like it at all and I will not be reading the second book. I desperately wanted to love this book but it fell flat for me. However this author does have much promise.

2.5 rounded up for the ending

The writing in this one drags at times. The pacing was a bit slow and repetitive. The characters are decent, Donnie more likable than Morgan (at least to me). I found the change in narration and from past to present a bit choppy.

That being said the story was entertaining enough to finish and it certainly did with quite the sentence! I would try more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Crooked Lane Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

Thank you @Netgalley for this ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.
**
Detective Morgan Jewell is investigating the death of Hallie Marks. Beaten to death in the face with a hammer; hands smashed to pieces prior to death. Strange thing is Morgan doesn't think this is the first kill for the killer. This all ties back to Fay Ramset. Her high school best friend & should be college roomie; but right before move-in day Fay went missing. Some thought she ran away, Fay's mother blamed Morgan.
A few weeks later Fay was found dead by the river, face smashed beyond recognition. This event changed Morgan's life forever. It sparked her to become the detective she is today; in hopes to one day find Fay's killer and bring them to justice.
As Morgan investigates Hallie's death she tried to connect the killer to at least 5 other cases she's come across over the last decade. Hallie seems to be quiet the town harlot, and was recently engaged to a man. However, no one can find this find mystery man. Either he doesn't exist or he's using a false name. Between him and Caryn, you'll be reading more about her, you definitely get a creepy vibe.
Tracey Phillips had me on the edge wondering is Morgan can solve Hallie's murder, as well as finally figure out what happened to Fay.
The ending on this had me spinning, can't say I saw that one coming.
I love Morgan's detective style and hope to read more about her investigations in the future!

For her first novel, Ms. Phillips has hit a grand slam. Easily intermixing past and present, she weaves a tale of love, friendship, life lost, and obsession. Following Morgan Jewell as she works to uncover what happened to her friend, Fay, so many years ago... as well as other women who Morgan feels have many similarities. Supported by a dynamic cast of characters - gotta love Donnie and his devotion to both his family and partner - Morgan's tale is one that will keep you turning the pages... well after midnight. A must read!

Dark and mysterious. This was a fantastic police procedure story. Fast read and easy read. Highly recommended for thriller and suspense fans x

thanks netgalley. Morgan and Donnie make great partners. Morgan's friend Fay was killed when she was young.. Now there are a few recent murders that match the same injury patterns. Morgan is trying to make the murders match that of her friend.

This was a good mystery read which kept my attention flowing in certain parts of the book.

Best of friends were Fay and Morgan when Fay disappeared and was found murdered. Morgan became obsessed about finding her killer and became a cop. A similar crime led Morgan to believe the same perp was was responsible. And that started the ball rolling.

My first book by author Tracey S. Phillips was an entertaining read. Dual timelines and different POV from Morgan and Caryn, another woman with secrets had me turning the pages fast to get to those secrets. What were these women hiding? The thought raged in my mind as I read the story.

There were parts in the story which were slow and repetitive. I skim read through them to get to the exciting bits. Overall, a good read about hidden secrets.

WOW!! This is a page turner that will not disappoint.
Fay and Morgan were best of friends growing up. They were always together, even planning on going off to college together. Until the night Fay disappeared. After weeks of searching, Fay was found murdered. Years later Morgan grows up to become a detective, her life mission is to find Fay's killer.
When a dead body is discovered, beaten in the same way as Fay, Morgan is convinced it is the same killer. Working around the clock Morgan fights to learn who is really killing these woman and what the motive could be.
This psychological thriller will keep you guessing with all the twists and turns right up until the last sentence. Great characters and plot make this an awesome read.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and #netgalley for an advance copy of the book, which did not affect my review.

I loved the premise of this book. But I was disappointed in the book itself. It was really slow, and actually confusing. It jumped around, and didn't flow.

I was interested enough to read to the end, but i did find myself skimming to get through.

I read loads of crime books and unfortunately this just didn't stand out for me. I found it quite slow paced and the way it was written was quite choppy. It was an ok read but was just not very memorable.

Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy of "Best Kept Secrets". The book was written well but slow paced. Jumps around quite a bit. Some details are not clearly placed. The end didn't quite fit my expectations.

This book was kinda slow to me and all over the place. It was very hard to keep my attention. I even found myself nodding at one point because the thrill factor just wasn’t up to par. I will say that I did like certain parts of the book but it wasn’t enough to give this book a stellar review. Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an Arc of this book for my honest opinion. 3 stars . I gave an extra star because I loved the cover.

Morgan is a police officer, who is still looking for answers from her teenaged best friends murder. This book follows her journey in trying to find the killer. Its a good story, but in reading it there were a few mistakes, less details then I would like. I'm not a cop but can you connect murders just because there fingers are broken and their faces smashed in? That doesn't seem like enough to connect murders over a 20 year time period.

Also the main character Morgan was unlikable, and a little annoying. She seems to just fly off the handle at the first chance. The last line of the book made me wonder what I had actually just read.

If there is a follow up I might read it, but I won't be waiting outside the bookstore on release date to buy it.

This book was provided to me for free in exchange for my honest review.

.

This book is a roller coaster of events. It involves a female cop, Morgan, who is obsessed with the murder of her best friend when she was younger. The case she is now working is looking very similar to the case of her friend. She and her partner, Donnie, work together to piece all the evidence together and see who the murderer is. The story twists and turns through the current and early lives of the cop and the suspects. There are many inconsistencies where Morgan gets a piece of information and it doesn’t ring a bell apparently because when she finds the same piece of info later it is treated as a new revelation. I also didn’t like the teaser at the end of the book. Instead of making me want to read the next installment like most teasers, it made me not want to pursue the story any further. I found parts of the story to be dark. It was interesting and it held my attention to the end and it is obvious the author is perfecting her craft. Maybe future books will have a better flow.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I'm quitting this at around 25%. Initially I found the writing a little repetitious and heavy-handed, but decided to persevere. Then I found the pace a little slow, but continued to persevere. Then there started to be chapters set in the past and/or from the perspective of a completely different woman than the main protagonist, and this slowed things down even more. The final straw for me was when the same name came up in connection with two of the murdered women and neither of the detectives seemed to notice...?

Sorry, not for me.

Best Kept Secrets is a great read with interesting characters and storyline. It is well written and entertaining.

Years after her best friend Fay’s death, Morgan still has difficult accepting what happened. Now a homicide detective, Morgan wonders about the secret her best friend was hiding that last summer and has never stopped looking for answers. Now, she may at last have an opportunity as she’s called to the scene of a murder that is all too familiar. This is a terrific, surprising read, with a very strong female lead and a mystery that will leave readers scratching their heads

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Ok this was a good mystery.

Morgan and Fay are best friends when Fay is found murder Morgan had a breakdown and she became obsess with finding Fay killer so she became a cop.

When a murder woman name Hallie is found by her girlfriend Rebecca Morgan sees similar of the crime matching Fay. When her partner Donnie tries to get her to see reason that not every crime is connect to Fay. Then we find another victim Susanne who went missing years ago with the same injuries.

You'll have to read it your self to found out if the killer is same one that killed Fay.

This book go from the present to past it focus more of point of view of Morgan as she tries to found out what happen to Fay and you can get the sense that she loved Fay more then a friend. Then we jump to this woman name Caryn as we get inside her head in the present right along with the past as we learn about her childhood and her relationship with her brother Ekhard.

Morgan is in a on again off again relationship with a guy name Rob. I like Morgan even though she was a bit inpatient when it came to things she had great relationship with her family and her partner family I wouldn't mind reading more about her.