I absolutely loved loved loved Kerry Watts' first two books in the wonderful Jessie Blake series, so of course I needed no persuading to read this one. But unfortunately I don't think it was as up to par as the first two. It was an OK read and upon reading other rave reviews on HER SECRET PAST, I found myself wondering if we'd been reading the same book. It certainly had promise...but this one just wasn't as thrilling as "Heartlands" or "Her Missing Child".

Alice Connor was just 14 years old when she and her 19 year old boyfriend David Law blugeoned her grandparents with hammers in their cottage on Boxing Day 1990. Because they told her that David was too old for her and she couldn't see him anymore. They were the only parents she'd known having brought her up after the death of her own when she was a baby. But sentiment played no part in the gruesome slaughter as Alice relished in the killings. And then she and David could be together forever.

But a neighbour heard the screams and called the police...who arrived just in time to see Alice covered in her grandparents' blood.

Thirty years later and with a new identity, Rachel is now living in a remote Perthshire town in Scotland. Her husband, wealthy businessman Kenny Ferguson, knows all about her past. Rachel knows all too well the crime she committed and not a day goes by that she doesn't remember and feel remorse. Due to her age at the time, it was alleged she had been groomed by the adult David and after spending six months in a young offenders home, she was given a new name and a foster placement...while David spent 25 years in prison for the murders.

Malcolm and Jean Angus are Rachel's elderly neighbours on a neighbouring farm. Recently there had been words exchanged regarding the use of a paddock Rachel had purchased from the Angus' to train her racehorses and a disagreement over the proposed application the Fergusons had filed with the council. And now, twenty nine years to the day after the Connor murders, someone has shot Malcolm and Jean Angus through the head.

DI Jessie Blake, accompanied by her partner DC Dylan Logan, is called to the brutal murder scene on Boxing Day. They are immediately bemused by the indifferent behaviour of the elderly couple's 21 year old grandson Gordon who is seated beside his dead grandfather enjoying a chicken sandwich seemingly without a care. Gordon's father Tommy, who called it in, is in the sitting room in shock.

After questioning Tommy, Jessie and Dylan learn about the couple's recent dispute with Rachel and Kenny over the land, so they set off for the neighbouring farmhouse to question the couple. But nothing prepared them for the confession Rachel makes...which immediately makes her the prime suspect.

But then money is withdrawn from the dead couple's bank account. So who had access to their money? Rachel surely didn't need the money - her husband is wealthy enough - so who else could it have been? But when evidence at the murder scene is identified as belonging to Rachel, Jessie has no alternative but to arrest her for the murders. Rachel swears her innocence but the evidence is damning.

Not only is the case taking its toll but Jessie's abusive ex-husband Dan is back on the scene, as we have seen in the first two books, but this time he is in plain sight and not hiding in the shadows. Jessie is sure he is up to something but she doesn't know what so she endeavours to keep herself on her toes...and to expect the unexpected. What she didn't expect was for Dan to have a new girlfriend, Hayley, who co-incidentally works with Jessie's boyfriend forensic pathologist Benito Capello in Edinburgh. She has to wonder, is there something in that? And while Hayley means nothing to her Jessie feels she must warn the young woman about Dan...for she feels sure that history is only going to repeat itself. Men like Dan don't change...and it's only a matter of time before Hayley ends up in a hospital room, having "tripped and fallen".

But Dan is not the only person watching Jessie. It seems she has come to the attention of someone with murderous intentions and one night with Ben back in Edinburgh, Jessie answers the door to an unexpected visitor...and finds herself fighting for her life.

Told in dual timelines beginning in 1990 with a series of flashbacks and the present day's investigation, HER SECRET PAST is quite a complex, convoluted tale that carefully weaves the past and the present. And as the secrets begin to unravel, we are left wondering exactly what role everyone had in the bigger picture.

There were twists and reveals that you may or may not see coming. I figured one of them out rather early in the story but was disappointed to see that it didn't play a bigger part. The other twists, though, I never saw coming. And I certainly never guessed till just before it was revealed who the villain actually was.

What I did love in HER SECRET PAST is what I love to see in every book - short snappy chapters! They keep the pace moving quickly and the tension palpable.

I really love Jessie. She is a detective with heart and not your stereotypical copper that grumps and ends every night with a bottle of prosecco. But after three books, I would have thought we would have more insight as to what is going on with her ex-husband Dan. In all three books he has been clearly stalking her, more secretly in the first two though still with some stealth in this one, it doesn't seem to have gone anywhere. He is still just there and we still don't know to what purpose. I thought by now there should be something more happening there.

I also love Dylan. He has just become a father again and things at home are a little tense as they tend to be with new babies. I would like to see a little more of Dylan and his personal life maybe somehow connected to a future investigation. Something to spice things up while we learn a little more about him in the process. He still seems a bit tight-lipped on his personal life no matter how often Jessie has offered her ear.

Although HER SECRET PAST is the third in the series, it cane be read as a standalone as with the previous two. There is an underlying theme regarding Dan but readers won't miss out on anything as all he seems to be doing is stalking Jessie and keeping track of her in each book. Plus, any backstory information is given to readers to keep them appraised.

While I didn't enjoy HER SECRET PAST as much as the first two books in the series, it is still an OK read. I will still be coming back for more with the next book in the hope it is more on a part with the previous ones. And I would still recommend it to fans of the crime fiction genre.

Bring on book four! I cannot wait!

I would like to thank #KerryWatts, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HerSecretPast in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in the series featuring Detective Jessie Blake and her partner DC Dylan Logan. The book opens with the gruesome murder of an elderly couple thirty years previously. Back to the present date and Jessie and Dylan are called out to a similar case of a brutal murder of another elderly couple. The grandson is there and seems to be oblivious of what is around him and is quite happily sat next to his dead grandfather. He soon becomes a suspect as does his father, as the elderly couple were writing him out of their will. Jessie soon realises that they have another suspect, the couple’s next door neighbour who has been keeping a terrible secret for a long time. As well as trying to solve the case Jessie is having to contend with the appearance of her abusive ex husband. The story is told at a rapid pace, with likeable characters and a brilliant, well written plot. It is a book that will have you hooked from the start and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this.
Absolutely brilliant!!! I lost two nights sleep because I literally couldn't put it down!! The best psychological thriller I've read in a long time. Get your hands on it!!

Her Secret Past Review

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookoutour for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this one I was not aware that it was part of a series and honestly it didn’t affect the story at all. I really enjoyed the writing style and the nice short chapters. I liked that it had different perspectives and went back and forth in time explaining what happened. It flowed very well and I already ordered the other two on the series so I get all the stories in the Jessie Blake series.

On a dark winter night, the bodies of Malcolm and Jean Angus lie cold and still in a pool of blood in their kitchen. Detective Jessie Blake is called in to find out what happened to the reclusive pair.

Searching the couple’s property, Jessie learns about a vicious dispute with a nearby land owner, Rachel Ferguson, and when Jessie looks into Rachel further, she doesn’t expect what comes up. Rachel isn’t the person everyone thinks she is and a previous murder conviction just made her Jessie’s prime suspect.

The small Perthshire town begins to gossip about the double murder and Jessie’s own past comes back to haunt her, when her abusive ex-husband begins to interfere in her new life. As the town starts a witch hunt against Rachel, Jessie is under pressure to find out what really happened in the farmhouse that night. Because if it isn’t Rachel, then who is the murderer living among them.

Thoroughly enjoyed the previous books in the series & this one did not disappoint.

Captivating storyline with lots of twists to hold your attention. The ongoing storyline of the main characters is enthralling too.

Looking forward to the next instalment.

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC.

This is the first book I’ve read by the author and it is the 3rd in a series. It can be read on it’s own though. The book got off to a great start with a double murder, and you know who did it. Fast forward to present day and an elderly couple are found dead at their farmhouse on Boxing Day. DI Jessie Blake investigates and quickly has a suspect. Is the evidence found reliable though? The book had some really believable and likeable characters in it, and I loved DI Blake’s working rapport with her DC. You read of glimpses of her home life and a bit of her history. There were a lot of twists in the story, some I expected and one I didn’t. This is a very well written book that really held my attention from beginning to end. I didn’t want it to end! I devoured it in one day and want to now read the two previous books, and hope for future books featuring DI Blake.

Jessie Blake faces a double murder scene with the victims’ grandson calmly sat beside one of the bodies eating a sandwich. He has no sign of gunshot residue on his hands so is not the killer, but who is?
Could it be Tommy Angus, the couple’s son who was about to be written out of their will due to his alcoholism?
Could it be neighbour Rachel who reveals her true identity at Alice Cooper, who as a fourteen year old was involved in the double murder of her own grandparents?
The book makes an important point about the problem of teenagers and the age of consent and responsibility. Alice’s experience of a teen in love with a 19 year old demonstrates the difficulty of even a small age range. Is David guilty of abuse and manipulation or were Alice’s feeling valid and was she manipulating him? The law is clear that she was only 14 so the former must be true but this novel cleverly shows both angles. Later in life, 5 years age difference doesn’t matter (isn’t that right, Chris?!)
This is quite emotional at times as detective Jessie struggles to deal with her new relationship as well as the continued presence of her abusive former husband. Meanwhile, charting Alice’s painful journey and desperation for her lover is very raw. The plotline of Gordon Angus and his autistic tendencies (with no diagnosis) and the impact this has on his mother is quite heartbreaking to read.
Her Secret Past deals with some very big issues in a sensitive way. It is also a pretty good murder mystery with a strong yet vulnerable lead detective. I admit that I did guess the killer as there were lots of clues throughout and I also worked out the final twist right at the end, but this did not detract from my enjoyment of the book at all.

This is the third book in a series featuring DI Jessie Blake and her partner, DC Dylan Logan. They get a callout on Boxing Day morning to a farmhouse in Perthshire. Inside are the bodies of 70-year-old Malcolm Angus and his wife -- both dead of a single gunshot wound. The victims were discovered by their son, Tommy, and grandson, Gordon. Both had come over to visit and to enjoy a meal after having talked to the elders earlier and then found them dead. The only lead happens to be the Angus's closest neighbor, Rachel Ferguson, and the possible motive a dispute over some land. That all sounds really flimsy until Jessie and Dylan find out about Rachel's past: it seems she was implicated in a horrific double murder when she was just 14-years-old. Rachel, then known as Alice Connor, and her older boyfriend, David Law, took hammers to her grandparents and hit them until they were dead. Rachel (Alice) spent only a short time in a young offenders place but David went to prison. Rachel insists that she is not that person any longer and wants to keep her identity secret and claims that she had nothing to do with the murder of Malcolm and Jean Angus. Of course Rachel becomes the main suspect but there's a lot more going on. The murder investigation leads them to new discoveries and revelations. NO SPOILERS.

I found the synopsis to be quite misleading after getting into the book. The main thing that bothered me, other than an intense dislike for Rachel and most of the other non-police characters, was how she could have spent so little time incarcerated for the murders she committed. Though excused due to her relative youth, it made no sense as teenagers in USA are often tried as adults in cases this heinous. Regardless, Jessie and Dylan have their work cut out for them. They make a good team but I just can't connect with them. I have read both other books in the series, but often lose track of characterization since it is the time between books and so many others read in between. I read this in a single sitting and anticipated any possible twists so there were no surprises.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Unbeknown to me until I had finished this was the third in a series featuring Jessie Blake. This didn’t detract anything for me but it did make me go and buy the previous two books so I could fill some missing gaps.
Gripping from start to finish I cannot wait for book 4.
Thanks to Bookouture for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #Her Secret Past #Bookouture

This is the third book in this series but can be read as a standalone. This book had a very twisted and shocking plot. Just when I thought I had everything figured out I was hit with yet another shocking surprise! I have not read the first two books in this series, but will definitely be reading them now.

There is a lot going on in this book, which unfortunately meant that some things didn’t get as much attention as they should have. The crime is interesting, and the investigation is well-done, but it is sometimes gets lost with everything else. That being said, there were some good twists, and I liked the characters. 3.5 stars. For more thoughts, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.

I have been a fan of Kerry's work for a little while now. I absolutely love the series featuring Detective Jessie Blake. Each time a new book in the series is released, I eagerly snatch up a copy and hibernate until I have finished reading it. The latest book in the series is called 'Her Secret Past' and it was released on 17th January 2020. It's another cracking addition to the series, which I thoroughly enjoyed but more about that in a bit.
What can I say about Detective Jessie Blake? She is one tough cookie but then she has had to be. She was married but her husband was abusive towards her. Jessie managed to escape her marriage and she has been trying to rebuild her life since then. Jessie has managed to do this quite well but her ex-husband then starts to try to interfere in her new life. I so wanted to jump inside the pages of the book to give him a swift knee in the nuts for how he treated Jessie and how he was still trying to dominate her life. As a detective, Jessie is one of the best. Her own life experiences have helped her to become the kind and compassionate lady that we all know and love. Jessie leads from the front and she wouldn't ask anybody to do anything that she wouldn't be willing to do herself. Jessie takes on more than her fair share of the workload. She works well as part of a team but she works equally well on her own. Jessie is tenacious, determined, stubborn, driven and thorough. The case in 'Her Secret Past' tests Jessie as she has never been tested before. Will Jessie get to the truth? Will Jessie's ex-husband succeed in wrecking Jessie's life? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
Oh my word, what can I say about 'Her Secret Past'? Well it is one hell of an addictive and fast paced read. I picked the book up only intending to read for about half an hour but I was still sat there reading over an hour later. I just couldn't put the book down. It wasn't as if the book was glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn't bear to miss a single second of the story. I tried to pace myself and not read too much at once so that I could prolong my enjoyment of the book but that attempt soon failed because I was enjoying the book too much to put it down. The case intrigued me and I had no idea in which direction the book was going to take me next. There were more twists and turns to the story and case than you would find on a 'Snakes & Ladders' board. The pages turned over at a furious rate and then all too quickly I reached the end of the book, which I had been dreading because it meant that I had to say goodbye to Detective Jessie Blake.
'Her Secret Past' is brilliantly written but then I wouldn't expect anything else from Kerry Watts. She certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draw you into the story. In that respect she is much like a fisherman reeling in a catch with the reader being the catch. She has created a strong female lead character in Jessie, who is impossible to dislike and who by the end of the book felt as though she was a friend of mine. The case itself is an intriguing one and as the investigation continued I kept chopping and changing my mind as to who was doing what and why. In that respect Kerry certainly kept me guessing. I was gripped by the story and on the edge of my seat throughout. Kerry writes so realistically and uses such vivid descriptions that I really did feel as though I was part of the story myself and I was another member of Jessie's team.
In short, Kerry has written another fabulous book in a truly fabulous series. I can't wait to read more of Kerry's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

EXCERPT: 'I'm Alice Connor,' she began. 'When I was fourteen, along with my boyfriend, we murdered my grandparents in our farmhouse on Skye. We hit them with hammers until they were dead.' She said it rapidly as if ripping off a plaster quickly to get it over and done with, then sighed as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: On a dark winter night, the bodies of Malcolm and Jean Angus lie cold and still in a pool of blood in their kitchen. Detective Jessie Blake is called in to find out what happened to the reclusive pair.

Searching the couple’s property, Jessie learns about a vicious dispute with a nearby landowner, Rachel Ferguson, and when Jessie looks into Rachel further, she doesn’t expect what comes up. Rachel isn’t the person everyone thinks she is and a previous murder conviction just made her Jessie’s prime suspect.

The small Perthshire town begins to gossip about the double murder and Jessie’s own past comes back to haunt her when her abusive ex-husband begins to interfere in her new life. As the town starts a witch hunt against Rachel, Jessie is under pressure to find out what really happened in the farmhouse that night. Because if it isn’t Rachel, then who is the murderer living among them, waiting to kill again?

MY THOUGHTS: Her Secret Past by Kerry Watts was only an okay read for me....and reading through everyone else's reviews, I have to wonder, were we reading the same book? I found this tediously slow paced, and was tempted several times to throw in the towel and not finish it.

One thought that kept occurring to me as I read was 'I don't think the author had much fun writing this.' It felt forced, the conversations stilted, and it just didn't flow. And don't get me started on cliches....this book is riddled with them.

The story is told over two timelines from multiple points of view. I didn't have any issues with that, it worked reasonably well and it was easy to keep track of who was who and where we were.

This is actually the third book in a series, which is not made clear on the cover or in the publicity. I don't know if having read the previous two books in the series would make any difference to my enjoyment of Her Secret Past, probably not, although frequent references are made to things that have obviously happened in earlier books. I am not interested enough to go back and read the earlier books, and I definitely won't be following this series.

#HerSecretPast #NetGalley

**

Reading is a personal and subjective experience, and what appeals to one may not please another. If you enjoyed the excerpt from Her Secret past by Kerry Watts, and the plot outline appeals, please do go ahead and read it. You may well enjoy it as have many other readers.


THE AUTHOR: Kerry Watts was born and grew up in a small town in the East of Scotland where she still lives today. She is always writing and carries a little notebook and pen with her wherever she goes because at her age ideas need to be captured before they disappear.
Kerry specialises in crime fiction because she enjoys pushing the boundaries of what it is to be human. The nature versus nurture debate fascinates her. She loves to put her characters in impossible situations just to see what happens. Her experience as a psychiatric nurse heavily influences her writing. She also wants to create characters that people can relate to who might be facing the same struggles as anyone else.
Authors who inspire her are anyone capable of creating a character who lives inside her head long after she has closed the book. Her favourite fictional character's are Dexter Morgan, created by Jeff Lindsay as well as Hannibal Lechter created by Thomas Harris. She doesn't have a favourite genre as a reader. Kerry will read anything. Written by anyone. If the blurb has a good feel about it she's hooked.
When she's not writing she loves to spend time following her other passions - dogs, particularly rescue mutts and horse racing. The sight of a thoroughbred race horse at full stretch has been known to move her to tears, not just lump in the throat stuff but full on blubbing. And for that she is unashamed. One day she's going to buy a racehorse filly and call her Into Darkness.
She also had a small role in a film called The Rocket Post but decided acting wasn't for her. She would rather create a character than play one.

DISCLOSURE:Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Her Secret Past by Kerry Watts for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage

Housekeeping first: this is not the first Jessie Blake story but it is the first I have read. Do you need to have read the earlier stoies? I didn’t think so – Her Secret Past stands well on its own and at no stage did I feel I was missing out on important information or was meant to know what had occurred previously.

Her Secret Past opens in pretty shocking style – a young teenage girl and her 19yo boyfriend have beaten her grandparents to death in a pre planned attack. We watch as things start to go wrong and their careful planning comes apart. Needless to say the pair are found out and prison awaits.

Spin forward to present day and we are at another murder scene and so too is Jessie Blake. Another unusual event – the grandson of one of the victims sitting at the table to eat a meal is also sitting beside the corpse of his grandfather – seemingly unperturbed by the brutal slaying which took place not long before. The boy is clearly on the spectrum but as the story develops it becomes apparent he is very focused on murderers and killers and this is a fascination which could cause some problems during the course of Jessie’s investigations.

The murder throws up a good number of suspects which kept me guessing and reassessing where I thought the story may go. The narrative switched nicely between Jessie’s current investigations and events from 20 years ago which followed that attention-grabbing opening scene. As readers may have guessed – the two stories entwined but not how I had anticipated and someone in the cast is playing a clever game.

The story is well paced and several chapters end on cliffhanger moments which are not immediately resolved on the next page. It keeps you reading but once or twice the effect felt forced and not really necessary.

All in, a good story, interesting cast of characters who mixed up the action well. I’d certainly look for more books in the series.

Even though this is the third book in the Jessie Blakes series, it can definitely be read as a standalone, which is what I did. This was my first book by Kerry Watts, and it will definitely not be my last.

The prologue begins in 1990 when a husband and wife are viciously slaughtered by their teenage daughter (14) and her boyfriend (19) as a result of the parents forbidding the daughter from seeing her older boyfriend. Her boyfriend was sent to prison for 25 years. Now, she changed her name and remained free, but the events that transpired on that night continue to haunt her.

It’s Boxing Day and DI Jessie Blake and her partner are called to a gruesome scene where they find Malcolm and Jean Angus beaten bludgeoned with a hammer. What is even more odd about the crime scene is that their grandson was found nonchalantly eating in the kitchen even though there is blood everywhere. Needless to say, he quickly becomes a suspect in their deaths.

While investigating the murders, Blake learns that Malcolm and Jean were involved in a property feud with their neighbor Rachel Ferguson. Blake uncovers some rather surprising information regarding Rachel. She is not the person she claims to be and her previous involvement in a murder case makes her a suspect as well. Now Blake must race against time to determine who killed Malcolm and Jean and to prevent more murders from happening.

This was a fast-paced thriller dripping with suspense and intrigue. I loved that there were twists and turns along that way that kept me guessing. I loved the strength and independence of Jessie’s character especially when it came to dealing with her abusive ex-husband.

Overall, if you like psychological thrillers mixed with police procedurals, definitely check this one out!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing an eARC. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Favorite Quote:

Benito Capello had the knack of making her feel like a teenager again. It was his brooding Latin looks. The way his big brown eyes twinkled like he was sharing a naughty secret when he smiled.


My Review:

This tale was jam-packed with itchy twists, oddly peculiar and intriguing characters, compelling storylines, and a full slate of dark secrets and hidden agendas. The storylines seemed unlimited, as were my wild theories, and each was ingeniously complex and cleverly crafted -both mine and the authors ;) My brain was on fire while attempting to work this one out ahead of the detectives. I have a new favorite author to add to my list.

I haven't read any books in this series, not a problem "Her Secret Past" can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed this book and the twists and turns in the story . It might have helped if I had known more about the detectives, but I felt that I knew them quite well by the end.
This book is about Malcolm and Jean Angus, shot in their kitchen suspicion immediately falls on their neighbor Rachel Ferguson who has had an angry exchange with the dead couple and is not all she seems. Jessie isn’t so sure and continues to investigate.
Jessie Blake is an abuse survivor so she’s not happy that her ex-husband, Dan, appears to be stalking her as she’s trying to start a new relationship. It’s another twist in a full plot but she manages fine, keeping him at arm’s length and conducting her investigation.

Well written and a believable story . This book is very gripping and will keep you guessing right up until the end.
I received an advanced copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I look forward to reading more books by Kerry Watts

Her Secret Past is the third book in a series of detective mysteries, but can be read as a standalone. This mystery surrounds the question, "who killed the older Angus couple, and why?" It may have just been me, but it was confusing to try to keep the characters straight in this book. I enjoyed the storyline, though.

Happy publication day for this one! I spent this book in a short time because I'm too curious of the ending. I'm so glad I got this book from NetGalley and Bookouture, thank you so much.

Have you ever read the first page of the book and realizing what you read at the moment is the main conflict ? This is one of them. Two murder case greet me since the very beginning. To add the horror, the victims are geriatry. Grandfather and grandmother. Everyone suspecting Rachel, the neighbor. At first, she seems innocent enough, only a few problem with the victims. Not until she confessed that she is actually Alice Connor, the girl who murdered her own grandparents when she is 14 years old. Detective Jessie not sure she is the culprit, because Rachel seems innocent enough. Despite, the victim's grandson behavior is so odd and suspicious to her.

I like the way the conflict started without too many detailed background before it revealed. The conflicts keep growing until the end, I can't even guess what's next. That makes this book complex. There is so much possibilities about who did it and why. Eventhough, some things seems not fit the puzzle.

I still enjoyed this book very much though. The book also contains a privacy issue, grooming, abuse, and Asperger Syndrome which I love to read. But don't expect you get detailed and deep session with this issue, the book mostly about the thrill. I personally would be happy if these issues a little bit more explored though.

This book is the third book of the seri. Jessie's problem with her past life is still developing in here. The new reader don't have to worry about this. I am a new reader of this seri and I still can enjoy it without knowing the story behind Jessie.

If you are in love with detective series with many characters, the book is for you. Her Secrets Past is a suitable book for light reading, it's fast paced book with complex conflicts in it.

Gave it 4 stars.

She was only 14 when she and her 19-year old boyfriend slaughtered her grandparents with hammers.... just because they told her she couldn't see the boyfriend anymore.

She is now an adult, married to a man who knows her past. There's not a day goes by that she doesn't remember and feel remorse. While the boyfriend went to prison for 25 years, she had her name changed and she was free to go.

Detective Jessie Blake and her partner are called to a gruesome scene. Malcolm and Jean Angus have been beat to death with a hammer. Their son is in the living room, in shock. Their 21 year old grandson is sitting at the table, just a few feet away from his grandfather's body seemingly not knowing or understanding what was going on around him.

Blake discovers that Malcolm and Jean had a bit of a feud recently. Looking into Rachel Ferguson's background, she didn't expect what she found. Rachel is not who she says she is and her involvement in another murder makes her the prime suspect.

Jessie is under pressure to find out what really happened in the farmhouse that night. Because if it isn’t Rachel, then who is the murderer living among them, waiting to kill again?

Well written, highly suspenseful, there are plenty of suspects to keep an eye on. I like how the story bounces back and forth between the murder of old and then the savage murder of today. There's a few twists and turns, even a red herring or two. Jessie's personal problems in the form of an abusive ex-husband keeps this tautly paced suspense high. The ending was unexpected and unpredictable.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.