Thank you, NetGalley, Lissa Marie Redmond, and Crooked Lane Books for a copy of this book!

The Secrets They Left Behind by Lissa Marie Redmond introduces Shea O’Conner, she is a young beat cop that just finished an intense undercover investigation that left her with P.T.S.D. The FBI contacts her about another undercover assignment. In a small town, three young women have vanished. It is up to her to help the local law enforcement by going undercover at the local junior college to find out everything from the missing girl’s friends. Their best friends definitely know more than they are letting on, the police chief is not being helpful, and the case is getting colder by the day.

I could not put this book down. It is a quick and suspenseful read. The one thing I appreciated the most is that the book is just from Shea’s point-of-view. So many thrillers now contain multiple points-of-view and more times than not, it is unnecessary and causes the pace of the novel to slow down. With the focus on Shea, we get to know her and the suspense builds as she tries to solve this crime.

Shea is a fantastic main character. She is young and works in a male-dominated work environment. She doesn’t feel she can measure up but goes through some terrific character development, which doesn’t happen in the straight line. Because she goes undercover with girls that are younger, she finds herself slipping into their habits.

One of the best parts is that the ending was not predictable! I was shocked and loved the twist! The story is relatively short but I still enjoyed the story immensely! I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

This book is available on April 7th!!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Lissa Marie Redmond for the opportunity to read this mystery/police procedural - great book to get lost in. I thought I had it all figured out but was wrong! Obviously Redmond, being a retired Buffalo Police Department homicide detective, knows her stuff!

Buffalo Police Officer is still healing from her physical and emotional scars after being used as an undercover FBI agent to solve a serial killing. To make it worse, her colleagues on the force don't know what role she played and still think of her as a young, weak officer. But the FBI knows what she did and Bill, the agent who recruited her before, has another assignment for her. Three young college students have gone missing from a small western NY town. The families are devastated and clues have dried up. Shea is sent into the town to go undercover as a college freshmen with the girls' friends to see what she can uncover.

Well written with a very interesting look into the world of undercover police operations. I will definitely go back and read this author's previous books!

Shea, a patrol officer, is pulled in by the FBI to help infiltrate a college campus, looking for three girls who have disappeared. But, she has done this before and is still traumatized by the event. So take her and add a small town grappling with the possibilities of what happened with the three 18 year olds and you have a pretty compelling story. I liked how Shea had to deal with her own issues while also fitting in with those around her. I felt the story was a really good balance between life in a small town and all the pros and cons of that, a woman dealing with her past and trying stabilize herself, and the mystery itself. I liked how several characters were developed during the course of the book, each with their own traumas and scars. It made for a very engaging read. Can Shea move on from what happened and accept herself? Did the girls run off or are they dead somewhere? You will have to read it to find out!

A solid addition to the procedural subgenre. A good purchase for collections where crime fiction is popular.

Redmond returns to the Buffalo police department, but not specifically the Cold Case unit, in this new police drama. Here we find the story centers on Shea O’Connor, a 23-year-old police officer. The young officer is recruited to go undercover at a NY community college, a distance away from her Buffalo department. The FBI has used Shea in the past and has asked her once again to help solve a mystery. This time three female college students have gone missing and they want Shea to pretend to be a new student and see if she can uncover clues to the disappearances.

Shea’s earlier undercover experience did not go smoothly and she still has flashbacks of the unnerving experience. Yet she is willing to overlook her misgivings and work for the FBI one more time. Shea is likeable and she fits right in with the students. No one suspects she is older than she pretends to be. But there is a chance that, as she learns more about the missing girls, she might once again be putting herself in danger.

For those who loved the earlier Redmond books’ Buffalo factor, the feel of the city, this is somewhat removed and has less of a flavor of the locale. Policewoman Shea has her own troubles but she is dedicated to doing her job. She fits right in at the college and even acts like a typical female student. Some of her actions may seem inappropriate for an officer of the law but given her age, may be understandable. Fans of Redmond’s suspenseful police dramas will enjoy this new story of missing college girls and a youthful detective who must ferret out the truth.

Three college freshman goes missing with out a trace at the same time. A young detective goes undercover to try to find out what happened to the three young women.

This was a bit of mystery and a bit thriller and the story kept me going throughout.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in April 2020.

This book had me guessing the entire time. I went from the priest. To Nick. To Joe. Never did I think it was the chief. Even at the end when the priest was talking about it, I thought he was messing with her. Great suspenseful book. I only wish we had more of a different ending with the three missing girls and maybe even more on the chiefs past

Three students, Skyler, Olivia and Emma, go missing the night of December 28. In late March, Buffalo Police patrol officer Shea O’Conner agrees to go undercover, for the FBI, at the Harris Community College in Kelly’s Falls, in an effort to develop new clues in the investigation.

FBI Agent Bill Walters is Shea’s handler and sets her up as the orphaned niece of local Sheriff Roy Bishop. Shea quickly meets Kayla, Jenna and Maddie, all friends of the three missing girls, along with Nick Stanfield, Olivia’s brother. Spending time with the missing girls’ friends and Nick, Shea picks up new leads that Bill and the sheriff begin to follow up.

The author crafts an intriguing mystery with relatable characters, just the right amount of suspense and the requisite red herrings.

Twenty-three year old Shea O'Connor is an officer for the city of Buffalo, New York police force. Her youthful looks can be a disadvantage on the job, but allowed her to go undercover and help the FBI catch a dangerous serial killer who was working at a school. They are calling on Shea's help again when three college freshman from a nearby town disappear on their Christmas break. Shea goes undercover at the local community college to try to solve the mystery of what happened to the missing girls and to discover if other young woman in the town of Kelly's Falls are in danger.

This book is either a standalone or the first in a series written by a retired Buffalo New York police officer. It sometimes reads like the second in a series with the frequent referrals to Shea's prior case. However, the flashbacks from the past case show the trauma she went through, but there isn't a previous book. The book has several elements of a procedural, but is more tense and suspenseful with the added element of Shea working undercover. Shea has to strike a balance between gaining the trust of the other students and getting the needed information for the case. I like that she feels uncomfortable making friends knowing she can't be fully honest about who she is. I've always thought that would be just one of the hard parts about working undercover and I am glad to see the author makes that an important part of the book.

I like Shea and although she sometimes acts impulsively, it's her instincts that make her so good at her job. She found a lot of clues as to what could have happened to the girls and although they didn't all pan out, she was determined to get to the truth and didn't give up. I thought I had guessed the solution and it wasn't until right before a dramatic scene involving Shea and someone very dangerous that things clicked into place for me. The solution was more shocking than I had expected and I loved the ending of the book. As someone who likes many different types of mystery novels, I really enjoyed the book. I also think it would appeal to fans of New Adult fiction since so many of the main characters are college students. I would give the book 4.5 stars and will look out for this author in the future.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Crooked Lane. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

3 1/2 ⭐️‘S
When three college age girls go missing in the small town of Kelly’s Falls with no trace and no leads, the FBI is called in. Twenty-Three year old Buffalo police officer, Shea O’Conner has worked undercover for the FBI on a prior case and is called on again to infiltrate the college in hopes of finding out exactly what happened. A great cast of characters and a good premise made this a fast paced police procedural/mystery and I’m hoping Shea O’Conner is called in on future cases!

A young police detective goes undercover in the case of 3 missing coeds who disappeared without a trace.. Although this was written about a much younger crowd than I am from, I felt like it was a really good read and kept me interested and reading well into the night and finished it in one day. The mystery of whodunit was really intriguing. A touch of romance was also thrown in. This was a stand alone but could be developed into a series in my opinion because I really loved the main character.

One Christmas break, three college girls leave a party and go to one of their houses in Kelly's Fall. They are never seen again, their coats, purses and phones left behind. With nothing really to go on, the case goes cold. Shea O'Connor is a fresh faced Buffalo Police officer. She has done undercover work before albeit not common knowledge as it is still to come to trial, and she is approached to go undercover again, as a college student in Kelly's Fall to try to find out what people aren't saying. Posing as the niece of the Police Chief she befriends the missing girls' friends and families, immersing herself in their world. Hoping that maybe she will discover something that will spark the investigation into life again.
This was a gripping read that held my attention nicely throughout although I did guess a few things a bit early. I also thought a few things that missed the mark completely!
I took to Shea from the off. She is a bit stereotypically wounded from something that happened in her previous case but that added to her character rather than distracting and helped me connect to her better along the way. I felt for her as she had to lie to people about who she was, making her come across as very human.
The plot was intriguing and had me spinning about all over the place as I tried to work it all out. We had secrets lies and duplicitous behaviour aplenty as well as a few subplots that may or may not be connected. Little by little, the author chips away, exposing the underlying truth, leading up to an ending that both shocked and surprised, as well as being satisfying.
I'm already a fan of this author's series of books so, as well as this, I would also recommend those. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping novel

3 young girls mysteriously disappear one night
at the site of the abuction the tv and music are still playing, but nobody knows where they are or if they are still alive...

shea o'connor goes undercover as shea anderson the police chief niece....

can she work her magic again or will it all end with no answers

as shea gets closer to answers her relationship with the chief of police becomes fraught and so do her feelings for one of the brothers of missing girls....

wow this story had me hooked and couldnt put it down at all...the flow of the storyline and and the characters of the book were brilliantly thought out and its worked so well, brilliant ending

love how this authors writes, cant wait for the next book from this author

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for granting me an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Shea O' Connor is an under appreciated beat cop in Buffalo who gets a call from the FBI to go undercover to find 3 missing girls from the small town of Kelly's Falls. Despite months of investigation, there are no real leads after 3 college freshman vanish. There are no bodies or clues, so Shea is inserted as a college student to try and find any information about the case that she can.

Shea quickly befriends the missing girl's friends to see if they are hiding any secrets that they haven't told the police. In the process she becomes quick friends with all of them, including Nick, the brother of one of the missing girls. Its a race against time as Shea follows leads to find answers before the FBI pulls the plug on her whole operation.

I am a bit torn by this book in how to rate it. I was surprised by the twist, and do enjoy a good murder mystery. However, Shea crosses too many professional lines for me, and I just don't see that as being realistic. She instantly becomes bffs with the missing girls' friends and develops strong romantic feelings for Nick in a total of 2 weeks. That isn't a long time for anyone in general, plus she is supposed to be working cop. The Secrets They Left Behind was a quick read, and I did enjoy the twists throughout the novel.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Secrets They Left Behind is part police procedural, part portrait of a town affected by the disappearance of three teenage girls. Police officer Shea O'Connor is sent to a rural town undercover as a college student to determine the fate of the missing, while dealing with the effects of a previous undercover investigation.
The first half of the novel established Shea's relationship with the town teens and associated drama, which while essential to an undercover situation, took the story much too long to get into the actual mystery and investigation.
The portions when she is being an officer/adult feel more authentic.
This may work better as a YA rather than a traditional thriller.
For release April 7, 2020.

Wooooooohoooooooo!!! Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that roller-coaster ride!!

Lissa Marie Redmond, where have you been my whole life?!? I’m so glad to finally meet your acquaintance!

So, about the book, 3 college students go missing without a trace, and Shea O’Connor, a young police officer, goes undercover to see if she can discover the truth. I loved Shea and I loved Kelly’s Falls.

The book is very well written and it’s so bad-ass that the author was a cold case detective.....if I could do life over again, I would be a detective. You’re my hero! Please write another book with Shea. She’s so spunky and I also loved her roommate/bestie, Karen.

Also, a special thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an ARC.

When Buffalo PD officer Shae O’Connor returns to the beat after playing an integral role in the arrest of a serial killer, she wants to take things easy and fit in. Problem is, she is offered another assignment undercover at a community college. The task - locate three missing female teenagers.

Shae moves to Kelly’s Falls, set up by the FBI in a boarding house with the cover of being the chief of police’s niece. The chief Roy Bishop makes it clear he doesn’t want her around making things difficult for Shae from the outset.

The story sees Shae infiltrate the friendship group of the three missing girls (Skylar, Emma and Olivia). She befriends Kayla, Olivia’s cousin and as the new girl in town she also attracts a lot of attention from the the local men including Skylar’s ex Joe and Olivia’s brother Nick.

So where are the girls? Someone knows something. And they aren’t taking.

But a small town always has its secrets.

At 237 pages I read this book in two days, thanks to crappy weather on a weekend and the growing possibility of COVID-19 spreading. Its is a mystery and police procedural book that had a bit of a YA feel to it that I didn’t expect. It focused primarily upon the relationships of Shae as she navigates life in Kelly’s Falls within the context of the investigation. It’s a small town, new girl meets love interest, another love interest enters the fray, cue the drama, then there’s and ending type of book.

It’s very character based, with a couple of major plot points and you can feel the pace start to quicken a little as Shae skirts around an outcome. The ending was an area that if given a little bang would have turned this one from a good book into something above average.

It’s the second book by Lissa Marie Redmond I have read, the last being one of the #ColdCaseSeries which I enjoyed a little more due to it being a bit more hard hitting and procedural.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for proving me with a free eARC copy of this book to review.

Publish day 7 April 2020

Buffalo Police Officer Shea O’Connor is working undercover at Harris Community College to investigate the disappearance of three college students. The girls left behind all personal items and have been missing for almost two months. Shea had barely recovered from an undercover assignment for the FBI that took down a serial killer. Due to her youthful looks, she is able to blend in and poses as the niece of the police chief. She is getting too close to Nick, the brother of one of the missing girls, and he has no idea who she really is. What will he do when he finds out? Will Shea be able to save herself and another student as danger edges closer? An exciting and unexpected conclusion to this very intense mystery. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

This was such an engrossing read. I thought it was well written, and while it was a little slow moving in some places, it all added up to an outcome & murderer that I did not guess.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher's description: Three college freshmen go missing from their rural hometown of Kelly's Falls while on Christmas break. Their cell phones, coats, and purses are left behind, but the girls have disappeared without a trace. As the days turn into weeks and the investigation grows cold, twenty-three year old Buffalo police officer Shea O'Connor is called on to dig up leads undercover.

Still bearing the emotional and physical scars of a previous case, O'Connor infiltrates as eighteen-year-old Shea Anderson, a college freshman and the "niece" of the town's police chief. As she begins to immerse herself in the missing girls' world, befriending their friends and family, and doing whatever it takes to maintain her cover, O'Connor realizes the track is far colder than she initially thought. But whoever was behind the girls' disappearance was only warming up, and they have set their crosshairs directly on her.

The heat is on for O'Connor as she closes in on the shocking truth about what really happened the night the girls vanished.
************
Lissa Marie Redmond's "The Secrets They Left Behind" was an intriguing concept, reminding me of the TV series "21 Jump Street," where young-looking police officers were recruited and assigned to infiltrate high schools to combat youth crime. At 23, Shea O'Connor isn't much older than the college students she is supposed to befriend, so it wasn't much of a stretch. In the end, I thought this book was ok. It wasn't a clunker, but it wasn't much of a thriller from my perspective either.

I guessed pretty early on who was involved. I just didn't know how, so it felt a little slow and predictable. Shea spent more time socializing than actually solving the crime, which is what the local police chief also accused her of. Her response was that she needed to become friends with these people in order to get them to trust her so she could get information. I get that, and the author is a former cold case detective, so she knows how this works. It just felt like the story wasn't focused enough on the crime. I also had a hard time believing that the FBI would send her in undercover with no backup (spoiler on this below).

There are some editing things that can be cleaned up before publication (clique instead of cliche, roll instead of role, feel instead of fell), but the big one that kept cropping up was "could care less" versus "couldn't care less." I know this is me being the grammar police, but this is one that really bugs me, and it wasn't a typo because the author used it three times. I would also suggest changing the name of the serial killer in Shea's first undercover op with the FBI. I was surprised to realize that Terry Roberts was a woman, and it had me second-guessing what I had already read.

Now a couple of things that didn't ring true or were too predictable that I didn't want to spoil for other readers.

***SPOILERS***

I suspected early on that the chief was involved, and I had a hard time believing that the FBI would have suspected him and not sent Shea in with other backup, told her that the chief was her only backup, and then not have backup in place when the story broke that blew her cover. That just felt too convenient to create the "suspenseful" conclusion of the case.

I also knew how the love interest with Nick was going to play out, that as soon as he found out who she was (and he would) that he was going to be angry but that they would eventually get back together for their happily ever after. It struck me as a bit cliche.

All in all, not a bad read but not a great one either. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This title will be available April 7, 2020.