On a quiet Florida island in 1970, newlyweds Catherine and Dr. Frank Overbrook are warmly welcomed by their neighbors at a small gathering. But their fresh start takes a dark turn when Frank is found dead the next morning. Detective Quentin Jones steps in to investigate, uncovering secrets among the party guests—from a retiring doctor and his nurse to a fiery couple, a reclusive young pair, and a blind sculptor from Quentin’s past. Everyone seems to be hiding something.

The book’s writing is smooth and easy to follow, and the story feels like a nod to Agatha Christie, where everyone’s a suspect and the detective is piecing things together alongside the reader. While the pace is slow at times and some characters’ suspicious behavior feels unnecessary, the short length keeps it from dragging too much. The big reveal in the final chapters ties things together in a satisfying way.

Overall, it’s a cozy and intriguing seaside mystery, perfect for fans of twisty investigations.

Another solid Boo Walker read.

It is fun to see how the writing changes depending on who Walker writes with. This one kept me interested the whole book and while I tried to savor it, I just wanted to keep reading.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book was 30 years too late. While this kind of story, whodunnit, Agatha Christie style, was popular in the past, they aren't stimulating enough as today's thrillers.
The writing was great, it definitely made the book easier to read. But the story was dragging a lot, and some characters were just thought of as shady for the sake of it.
Namely, the doctor and his nurse. Looking back after finishing the book, some comments and scenes were blown out of proportion over nothing substantial. They were just background noise to fill the empty parts.
I couldn't for the life me like Jones as a character. He was intolerable to me. From the repetitive mention of his reputation as a "killer-finder", to his relationship with one of the suspects, it was all too much.
The funny part is, he wasn't really the genius detective he was presented to be, but the how is for you guys to find out.
I really wanted to like the book, but it was just super underwhelming for me.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

This was a mystery/thriller set in the 1970's, which I thought was a super cool time period (due to the atmosphere built into that period) to set this type of book. And it happens in Florida...and we all know how much weird stuff happens in Florida, so that was super fitting.

Unfortunately, I didn't find this to be all that exciting or interesting. You are thrown right into the meat of the story (the murder mystery) right away, but I still felt like it was quite slow. I prefer my mystery/thriller reads to be interesting and engrossing the entire time, I want to be kept on the edge of my seat.

This was pretty okay, not bad, but not amazing, so I didn't find it to be super satisfying the way I like for this kind of book to be.

There was an interesting and diverse cast of characters which I think did add to the atmosphere of this book, but I just wanted more from it. But it is pretty short, so you could probably knock it out in a day if you wanted to!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC.
It's1970 in Paradiso, Florida and the2 main characters, Catherine and Detective Jones, are involved in a murder case that changes their lives forever.
The mystery is almost impossible to solve, until one of the small group of Islanders confesses. But is that the truth?
At first I had a hard time getting into it, but I'm glad I kept going, because I ended up really liking the book.

I really enjoy a good mystery. This one kept me guessing until almost the end. The book is well written and reminds me of an Agatha Christie novel.

Set in 1970s Florida, with several interesting characters which all knew (or not) the murdered doctor.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc. This is my honest opinion. I absolutely recommend this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Secrets of Good People" and all opinions expressed are my own. A bit of a slow burn set in the 1970s. There is a murder and the detective is going to find out who did it no matter how long it takes him. Overall it was an interesting story.

This is a very old-school “who done it” book. It was somewhat of a slow burn in the beginning, but really picked up later on. There were definitely some twists that I did not see coming!

This is a fairly average murder mystery. The reader is left so far out in the dark, there's no way the solving of the mystery would feel satisfying. It also tries to be a gumshoe detective story at times but I wasn't feeling it with the 28 year old protagonist. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good, entertaining book! I love the mystery, and the way the characters were written. This book has so many twists and turns and it kept me engaged throughout reading it. There were lots of secrets, and the ending was not predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I loved that this romance novel had a murder mystery that I was looking for from the description. The characters had that element that I wanted and I was invested in what was going on in this world. Boo Walker and Peggy Shainberg wrote this well and am excited for more in this team.

The Secrets of Good People by B. Walker, published by Lake Union Publishing, is an intersting murder mystery. A slow burn I wanted to speed up, I liked the story and the characters but nothing Like the author's An Echo in Time - that book I loved and fell hook, line and sinker.

Catherine and her husband Dr. Frank Overbrook move to a tiny island in Florida in 1970. Neighbors gather to welcome them but in the morning frank is found dead. Detective Quentin Jones now must find who did it by looking at the welcome guests and the island residents. There was a lot of drama, descriptives scenes and mystery in this book. I am not a huge detective/mystery book fan but this was done well and had a lot of other good parts to it going on.

I loved this mystery book set in old Florida that I loved . The setting is almond a character itself . It was a good book and I liked it better than the other books by this author
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

A murder mystery set on an island off the coast of Florida in 1970, before the days of theme parks and strip malls, this story is as much about the beauty of an unspoiled Florida as it is the murder

Buckle up, because this book takes you for a wild ride full of all sorts of drama, emotions, and twists! I was so engulfed by it from the first chapter. It was fantastic. Loved it! Wonderful job Boo Walker and Peggy Shainberg.