A fabulous book by Lissa. I read this book within 24 hours. It was that good i couldn't put it down. Great writing and a fantastic storyline. A must read for anyone one who likes this genre of books. Didn't guess the culprit at all. Well done Lissa.

Shea is a young cop who has previously worked undercover on a high profile case but can’t tell anyone about it. Using her feelings of being under appreciated, she is persuaded by the FBI to work undercover again. Three college girls have disappeared without trace. Shea attends their college and gets to know their friends in an effort to find out what has happened to them. The book started well but Shea wasn’t very professional which bothered me, She ‘solves’ the case at the end. This was enjoyable enough but I’m not rushing to read anything else by this author. Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #Crooked Lane Books

Three college girls disappear without a trace, their is no sign of a struggle and their belongings were left behind. Two months later the FBI sends Shea Anderson a young policewoman from Buffalo, NY to go undercover as a college student. The cover story for Shea is that her parents were killed in a motor vehicle accident and she is the niece of Roy Bishop the local Chief of Police. The Chief isn't happy that Shea is on the case and does not approve of her undercover tactics.

The story has many twists and turns and several suspects. I changed my mind a few times on who I thought the suspect was and then I was surprised as to who it turned out to be. I enjoyed this book very much.

I went back and forth with the rating on this one and decided to go with four stars. What I enjoyed about the book is how fast paced it was and how I was able to feel connected to some of the characters. I also enjoyed that there was an ending to this thriller. What I didn’t enjoy was how long it took for the buildup to happen. It was a lot of backstory and reference to her past case. I also guessed who the suspect was. I just didn’t understand know the motive. I would still recommend this one.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for my advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this one!

First of all, this is one of those books that does the ending really good. I did NOT see it coming although I had my many suspicions while reading. I liked the characters, the story, the writing.
I actually would love a prequel to this as in this story there are some important events that happened prior to those here. I would love to get to know the characters on a deeper level, understand their relationships and how some events came to happen.

Overall, four stars. It was enjoyable, a fast read, actually surprising.

Shea O’Conner, a police officer who has helped the FBI before as an undercover officer, is called in on another case. She looks very young and can easily pass as a co-ed. Three female college students from a small town disappeared one night and the case has grown cold. So Shea is sent to be a student at the local Community College and become friend with the crowd those girls were part of. As she pursues the case it gets curiouser and curiouser.

I loved this book and highly recommend it.

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

I just LOVE Lissa Marie Redmond's police stories... She has a marvelous ability to write female protagonists who have been through the wringer but remain capable, tough, and willing to do what it takes - even when what it takes threatens to tear them apart. It probably doesn't hurt that I grew up near Buffalo, either - it's always extra engaging when I know the locations and personality types being referenced in a character-driven story like this one.

Shea's tale - both present and past - is a dark one, full of secrets and betrayals and horrific violence against young women. Redmond tells it with no holds-barred, but also with an element of compassion and a voice that rings with brutal clarion truth but never devolves into extraneous graphic depictions, which so often feel thrown in for shock value. She seems to recognize that there's no need to make things extra shocking - the elements of her tale provide more than enough horror without needing any of that...

This is a great mystery/thriller - it held me in its claws from the opening and never let go until the bitter end. The pacing was spot-on, the settings worked beautifully, and the characterizations were excellent. I picked it up and within a day, had finished. I did not see the bad guy for who he was; the misdirection and teasing revelations worked beautifully for me. And Shea is a great character - and definitely one that I'd love to see more about in future installments!

This was a really entertaining police procedural with an audacious 23-year-old protagonist! Shea is pulled off of her Buffalo cop job to go undercover for the FBI as she previously helped them convict a serial killer. Now posing as an 18-year-old college freshman in Kelly's Falls, she hopes to uncover the mystery of three missing girls who disappeared mysteriously one night after a party. The chief of police takes her in as his "niece" and she befriends other college girls hoping to gather information about the night in question. But of course, these cases are never easy and what she discovers are buried secrets and many surprises about this small town. Fast-paced and layered, this novel moves at breakneck speed and delivers many punches and twists. I do hope there's a sequel as well as we haven't heard enough from Shea!

When i came across the title “The Secrets They Left Behind”, this book immediately felt like the perfect read to me and the title I thought suited the cover perfectly.

"Damage attracts damage.."

Three college freshmen girls have disappeared from a house Christmas eve, the girl's purses, cell phones, and coats were left behind. Local police have been unable to find a clue.
Now it is 2 months later...
Having done work with the FBI prior to this, Shea O'Connor, a policewoman from Buffalo, NY has been summoned. This, once again, by Bill with the FBI. Shea is 23 years old but can pass for a college freshman, only she is "damage" after the last case she work with Bill but still she goes undercover in the small town of Kelly's Falls, NY for the girls that missing.

This book heve everything mystery, romance and secrets.
Many Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a great read!

The plot is realistic.. but watered down? I wish the author include the flashback on what really happened that night. How the girls get killed.. a gruesome shocking description of sort? but overall it gave me the thrill, the suspicion, the excitement. I just felt the story was short.
Anyways, Ms. Redmond is one of those authors that puts me on reading mode again after a slump. 💕

I was going to write a lengthy review, but I recently heard in one of my reading groups, that most people don't like long reviews. So, this is what I absolutely need to say about this book.

READ IT! You wont regret it. This book has made the list of my favorite books of the year, Good writing, story line keeps your interest and it's not to graphic. I thought I had the perp figured out, then I got about 80-85% into the book, and BAM, I was totally wrong! I will definitely be reading more from this author!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was a solid thriller with a great twist. This felt a bit more like a YA book, which I wasn’t expecting. Still a great read.

I voluntarily read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

This is not my usual fodder but I found the story good, liked the characters

Overall, very enjoyable

Ok, This book was written by a former cold case detective which makes it a) pretty cool and b) super legit. (All my “does that really happen?” questioning was put to rest.)

2. I liked this book a lot more than I expected. I didn’t want to put it down until I solved the mystery (which was pretty close to the end).

3. The main character was lovely. The other (mini) story arc focusing on her personal life that made her relatable.

A bit far fetched as mysteries go but it was a decent story with a twist. As the story went on there were times I would get tired of the droning on between the characters regarding the missing girls. Otherwise, the story was a good and characters were interesting.

Lissa Redmond gives a refreshing take on crime and suspense!

This story follows a police officer, Shea, as she goes undercover for the FBI to solve a mystery of 3 freshman girls who go missing in their small town during Christmas break. Shea has to befriend the girls families and friends while unfolding the town secrets. In the meantime, she starts to fall for one of the victims brothers, Nick. Will her emotions interfere with her undercover identity or will she be able to find the girls before the kidnapper finds her? I don't want to give away too much but I will say that I did not guess the plot twist! I was shocked and frankly pissed off for Shea and everyone else involved whenever the truth was revealed!

I really wish these things had half stars because this would be a strong 4.5 from me. I have read plenty of suspenseful murder mysteries but this one stood out to me and Reymonds knowledge is to thank. The details and layout of this case could only come from someone with experience in the matter. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is because I was able to sit the book down. It definitely was not boring and once I hit the halfway point I had to finish it without stopping but it did take me a couple days to get to that point. Overall a strong read and I cannot wait to read more by her!

After three college students go missing a baby-faced police offer, Shea, goes undercover to find new leads when the trail goes cold. A good premise and great execution. After starting slowly while the plot is established, the book suddenly takes off and roars to an unexpected ending. Excellent - highly recommended.

WOW!!! I was not expecting this book to be as good as the cold case books but it so is! I loved it. Could not put it down for a minute. Keep me guessing till the very end.

The Secrets They Left Behind was outstanding. I was on the edge of my seat from the very beginning and had a hard time putting it down. The first thing to draw me into this book was the title. The blurb was the final deciding factor as to wanting to read this book. I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this book provided via netgalley by Crooked Lane Books, in exchange for my honest review.

One of my favorite thing about mystery stories is being able to try and solve the mystery before finishing the book. I failed miserably this time around and was completely blindsided by the end result. I felt that Lissa Marie Redmond did an amazing job not making this an easily solved story. I couldn't help but suspect everyone that Shea came across in the small little town. The main character, Shea, is a strong female lead who wants nothing but respect from her fellow officers. I love being able to feel the emotions that the characters are exhibiting throughout the story, I feel a better connection to the book. The ending was perfect and just what was needed to make it complete.

I wish that this was a series that followed Shea on her undercover work. I would have loved to have read about her previous experience, rather than having it written into this story.

3.5 stars. A straightforward suspense novel that will appeal to fans of procedurals/undercover tropes/small town secrets. Might have crossover appeal to YA fans, as the MC is 23 pretending to be 18, and the missing girls are 18/freshmen in college. That said, some of the young adult characters read as a bit older than they are supposed to be at times.

I'm a bit mixed on this one, though I did enjoy my reading experience. It hits on tropes I really enjoy, including small town secrets and secret identity. I liked the set-up a lot--a 23-year-old, baby faced police officer is recruited by the FBI to go undercover as an 18-year-old community college freshman in order to find out what happened to 3 missing girls in a small town. The set-up was strong, with some issues on execution that kept me from this being an unequivocal 4 or 5 star read.

Many sections rely heavily on narration/summary/time skipping/telling rather than dramatization/showing, and thus I felt some distance from the plot and particularly the characters. Ultimately that was I think the thing for me: distance from characters/many of them feeling like walking tropes/not the right age.

Shea the 23-year-old doesn't really feel realistically 23 NOR 18--she feels like a much older character for many reasons. She's a little too polished in places, including her almost motherly dedication to "finding those girls"--those girls would be a peer to a 23-year-old, even if she's a cop (I personally didn't start to feel motherly/mentorly toward teens until I was closer to 30). There's a bit of teenage girl soup: we have 3 missing girls who are only on the page in a 1 chapter prologue, 3 teen girls who were also friends with THOSE teen girls, whom the MC befriends, plus mean girl & friend, and then a small collection of tropey teen boys. Most of these characters weren't distinct enough to grasp onto or remember. In the original trio, Emma in particular is under characterized, and in the "present" trio the only difference between Jenna and the M one whose name I can't remember is the latter likes Nick. Can't tell you much else about them. So it's a tricky balance between enough young people to feel realistically like college and too many who are under-developed. They party and drink like young people but otherwise I felt a layer of separation from the narrative.

I liked Shea herself a lot. Other than the aforementioned small issue with her feeling too mature at times, she was compelling enough and easy to follow. Her backstory was really interesting--I would have loved more flashbacks! Really more about Shea as a cop and young woman would have been welcome. I cared for her a lot less within the context of the romance, partly because I didn't like the romance. And the romance accounted for a solid 50% of this book. It comes down to my personal taste, though what bothered me will likely bug others. This book has some very regressive gender roles/romance tropes that aren't adequately challenged, as I expected them to be by Shea specifically. Don't give me a tough-as-nails woman cop born in the 90s, coming of age in 2019, and NOT pushing back against patriarchal/misogynist bullshit. Nick is a jealous, possessive alpha male type... but only once or twice; the rest of the time as it suits the narrative he's a Sweet Awesome Teddy Bear! But those few times he's RIDICULOUSLY jealous and possessive, it's not challenged at all, and Shea in fact BEGS FOR HIS FORGIVENESS!!! I was just. Turned off. One big aggressive jealous scene and it ruined the character for me, and ruined the romance. Hugely disappointing. And Nick, of course, is contrasted against the Garbage Bad Boy Who Sexually Assaults Shea And Nick Gets Jealous About It. Like seriously: she's ASSAULTED and Nick loses his shit and Shea doesn't even defend herself or call him a dick?! Also Nick, a 21-year-old in the year 2019, also says his mom would "have a cow," so that made me do a double take. Has anyone said that since the 90s?

Deep breaths. I'm afraid I also had one other major issue, which is 100% a spoiler. I'll refrain from detailing it here except to say I found the characterization of the main baddie to be inconsistent, and this aided in my guessing it was them in the first scene in which they appeared.

I don't mean to rag on the book! It was still a solid reading experience: I wanted to return to the book each evening, because I really enjoy small town secrets, and the set up of the undercover cop. There were a few very juicy entanglements, and even though I guessed the ending, the journey was still enjoyable. I just sincerely wish I cared about the romance and about more of the characters.